News · Press Release

Former Giménez Campaign Staffer & Miami City Commissioner: Corrupt Carlos Turned COVID Relief Funds Into “Political Grab Bag”

Yesterday, former Corrupt Carlos Giménez ally and member of his 2016 re-election campaign Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo accused the mayor of using crucial CARES Act funding as a “political grab bag” as COVID cases continue to rise in the county and state.

Miami City Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla joined him accusing Corrupt Carlos of using CARES Act funds as a “political slush fund” to bolster his corrupt congressional campaign.

Commissioners Ken Russell and Keon Hardemon also joined Carollo and Diaz de la Portilla condemning Corrupt Carlos’ disastrous approach to the global pandemic, where political opportunism has won out time and again over giving his constituents the resources they need.

REMINDER: this brutal meeting comes just days after the county’s municipal mayors held a press conference to similarly condemn Corrupt Carlos’ handling of the pandemic, saying, among other things, that perhaps they should “abolish” Gimenez’s County government altogether.

Check out key excerpts from the Miami Herald’s report on the Commissioner meeting below or read the full article here:

  • Miami elected leaders are taking the fight over federal COVID-19 relief funds into the political arena by accusing Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez of using most of $474 million in CARES Act money to boost his profile with voters during his congressional campaign…
  • “I want to know if this is a political grab bag so that Mayor Gimenez can direct funds to help people that he wants to help,” said Commissioner Joe Carollo, once a close enough ally to Gimenez that he was on the payroll for the county mayor’s 2016 reelection campaign…
  • During a virtual meeting of Miami’s city commission on Monday, Alex Diaz de la Portilla said Gimenez’s plan for spending Miami-Dade’s $474 million share of federal CARES Act funds is fraught with “political slush funds” that will be used to score points with voters as he runs to represent Florida’s 26th Congressional District this fall…
  • “I think they want to allocate it to make headlines at a particular time in the political cycle,” Diaz de la Portilla said…
  • “It’s allowing people’s personal politics to put people’s lives at risk,” said Commissioner Ken Russell, adding that the city’s access to relief funds shouldn’t depend on its relationship with the county or state governments…
  • “Our community is in need right now, and the county mayor fails to realize that the allocated funds to the city of Miami wouldn’t begin to make a dent in the help that our city residents truly need,” Diaz de la Portilla said in a statement after Monday’s vote.

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