MIAMI – Suspended Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla has been out of jail for several days following his arrest on a host of corruption charges, such as bribery and money laundering.
Diaz de la Portilla calls the accusations bogus.
With an election just months away, competition is high for Diaz de la Portilla’s District 1 seat.
Appearing on This Week in South Florida on Sunday, Marvin Tapia said he’s been knocking on doors of constituents within the district as a qualified candidate.
“They’re unfortunately disappointed with the lack of representation, with the lack of movement that they’ve seen,” said Tapia. “Nothing has happened, so I tell the residents, ‘If you’re happy with what you’ve seen in the last four years, you know where to vote, you know who to vote for.’”
Miguel Gabela has also filed to run for the District 1 commission seat, although he’s in the midst of a lawsuit to determine his qualification status after a new redistricting map carved his home out of the district he’s lived in for more than two decades.
But as he explained on TWISF, his eyes remain on leading District 1.
“The sidewalks are dirty, the streets are full of potholes, we need more security, more police in the area and affordable housing is another problem we have in the area,” said Gabela. “And at the end of the day, Mr. Portilla has had four years to do the correct thing and I think he has not done it.”