June 2024 campaign finance reports dominated by double digit donations from major developers and concrete firms

Campaign finance reports for June show Commissioner Keon Hardemon bringing in $48,250 to his campaign committee, including $5k in bundled donations from the Calusa Golf Course Developers GL Homes. His various political committees reported bringing in a whopping $254,500 during the month of June. County Commissioner Raquel Regalado reported bringing in $22,000 in June, largely from one developer who spread his donations across 20 different LLC’s. Her father, Tomas Regalado, running for County Property Appraiser, showed a much smaller intake to his campaign account and political committee in June ($7,900 and $5,500 respectively). 

We also track other major political dynasties and key figures like Joe Martinez below, who took in a $25,000 donation from Adonel Concrete.

Recap of June 2024 donations:

👑The Gimenez Family:

Carlos Gimenez: 

Running to hold his Congressional seat in Southern Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. We just got the latest donations data, and he has brought in $243,621 since March 31, 2024.

Mari Tere Rojas:

Gimenez’s sister-in-law, Mari Tere Rojas is the current chair of the Miami-Dade School Board. She is not up for re-election this year, and did receive any donations to either her campaign account or her political committee “It’s All About The Kids” in June.

👑 The Regalado Family:

Raquel Regalado: 

Daughter of former Miami Mayor Tomás P. Regalado, she is running to hold her County Commission seat.

Raquel Regalado reported the following totals through June 28, 2024: 

• Total Donations: $288,417
• Total Expenditures: $46,191
• Cash on hand (in campaign account): $242,226

Commissioner Regalado reported bringing in  $22,000 to her campaign account in her June report.

Her largest donor was real estate developer Lewis Swezy, who donated a total of $20,000 through 20 different LLCs, all located at the same address: 7735 NW 146 Street Suite 306 Miami Lakes, FL 33016

💰 Her Political Committee, “Citizens for Excellence in Miami-Dade County Government” (no limits on donations) took in $30,000 from just 3 donors: a $20,000 donation from Swerdlow Group (SG Holdings) that recently submitted a proposal to Miami-Dade County to redevelop and expand four public housing projects. 

• This PAC’s cash-on-hand: $638,783.52

SG Holdings has made multiple donations to county elected officials in the last year. Commissioner Regalado appears to be the largest recipient, receiving $30,000. 💰

Date	Name of Political Committee	Associated Politician:	Name of Donor:	Amount:
11/1/2023	Miami Future Forward	2023 City of Miami Commission candidate Mercedes “Merci” Labrada Rodriguez Political Committee	SG MANAGER LLC 2901 Florida Ave Ste 806 Coconut Grove, FL 33133	$4,000.00
11/3/2023	Citizens for Excellence In Miami-Dade County Government	County Commissioner Raquel Regalado Political Committee	SG Manager LLC 2901 Florida Avenue Ste 806 Coconut Grove, FL 33133	$10,000.00
11/20/2023	All Miami-Dade	County Commissioner Keon Hardemon Political Committee	SG HOLDINGS 2901 FLORIDA AVE STE 806 COCONUT GROVE, FL 33133	$25,000.00
2/12/2024	Our Democracy	County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava Political Committee	SG Cutler Bay LLC 2901 Florida Ave, Ste 806 Coconut Grove, FL 33193	$10,000.00
3/20/2024	Fight for Our Future	County Commissioner Danielle Cohen-Higgins	SG Manager LLC 2901 Florida Ave Ste 806 Coconut Grove, FL 33133	$10,000.00
6/28/2024	Citizens for Excellence In Miami-Dade County Government	County Commissioner Raquel Regalado Political Committee	SG Holdings LLC 2901 Florida Avenue Ste 806 Coconut Grove, FL 33133	$20,000.00

Tomas Regalado: 

Former Mayor of Miami (2009 - 2017), now running for Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser and patriarch of the Regalado political dynasty.

Tomas Regalado reported the following totals in his campaign account through June 28, 2024:  

• Total Donations: $137,602
• Total Expenditures: $37,685
• Cash on hand (in campaign account): $99,917

Mr. Regalado reported bringing in $7,900 to his campaign account in the month of June. 

💰 His Political Committee, “Proven Leadership For Miami”  (no limits on donations) reported bringing  in $5,500 in June 2024. 

• PAC cash on hand: $131,161.55

The largest donors to his political committee, at $20k each, are Edgewater Management Services LLC and Julio Del Rey, from the Del Rey family, owner of “Miami Executive Hotel”, known widely as an  hourly-rate motel rife with prostitution. (An attorney for Miami Executive Hotels wrote a cease-and-desist letter to the City of Coral Gables, disputing the characterization of their hotel as an hourly sex hotel.)

👑The Hardemon Family

Keon Hardemon 

Mr. Hardemon is running to hold his County Commission seat.

Keon Hardemon reported bringing in the following totals to his campaign account as of June 28, 2024:

• Total donations: $145,510
• Total expenditures: $23,577
• Cash on hand (campaign account): $121,933

Keon Hardemon’s campaign account brought in $48,250, including $5k in bundled donations from the Calusa Golf Course Developers GL Homes. 

More importantly, the PAC “All Miami Dade”, which is associated with Keon Hardemon, received another $10k from the same Calusa Developers one day later (6/13).

Recipient Committee (or Candidate)	Date of donation:	Name of Donor:	Donor Address:	Amount of Donation:
All Miami-Dade	6/13/2024	Kendall Associates I LLP	1600 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy	$5,000.00
All Miami-Dade	6/13/2024	Home at 9810 LLC	1600 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy	$3,000.00
All Miami-Dade	6/13/2024	9800 Calusa Club Dr	1600 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy	$2,000.00
Keon Hardemon	6/12/2024	15500 Pines Blvd LLC	1600 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy	$1,000.00
Keon Hardemon	6/12/2024	9800 Calusa Club Dr	1600 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy	$1,000.00
Keon Hardemon	6/12/2024	Home at 9810 LLC	1600 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy	$1,000.00
Keon Hardemon	6/12/2024	Kendall Associates I LLP	1600 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy	$1,000.00
Keon Hardemon	6/12/2024	Shoppes at Silverisles LLC	1600 Sawgrass Corporate Pkwy	$1,000.00

'All Miami Dade' PAC is registered to Zakiya Kelley, daughter of Billy and Barbara Hardemon, which would make her Keon Hardemon's cousin. We reviewed Miami-Dade Form 28 filings to determine if any candidates claim this PAC as supporting them, and in Keon Hardemon’s updated MD-ED 28 Form from April 2024, he claims this committee as supporting him. The contributions to the PAC, which began in November 2023, total $769,000. The expenditures indicate that this PAC is running a comprehensive canvassing program. The expenses include $64,489 for management fees and payroll and another $39,147 for community outreach to nearly four dozen Miami-Dade residents (as matched by voter registration records). Several members of the Hardemon family are on the payroll, suggesting that this PAC is conducting a full canvassing campaign for the re-election of Keon Hardemon.

💰 Keon Hardemon also claims another two political committees in an earlier MD-ED 28 Form:

• 💰Do Good PAC brought in $54,000 in the month of June, 2024. Cash on hand: $336,000.00
• 💰Better Leadership ECO brought in $0 and appears to be inactive.
• 💰All Miami Dade PAC brought in $200,500 in the month of June, 2024. Cash on hand: $603,681.45

Some of the donors to All Miami Dade PAC: 

• $7k from Coral Rock Development Group and $3750 from their lobbying firm Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes
• Coral Rock also donated $88,000 in November 2023
• $5k from Raymond & Rene Gonzalez (Transportation America)
• $22k plus another $1k to his campaign from Atlantic Pacific Communities 
• $20k from Rebekah Neumann of WeWork

Monique Barley-Mayo:

Ms. Barley-Mayo is the daughter of Roy Hardemon and the cousin of Keon Hardemon. She is running for State House Representative for District 107. She filed in Sept 2023 but has yet to report raising any funds to her campaign account.

Roy Hardemon: 

Monique Barley-Mayo’s father and a former State Representative (2016-2018). He is running again for State House Representative for District 109. He filed in September 2023 and has yet to report raising  any funds to his campaign account.

👑The Carollo Family:

Joe Carollo: 

Mr. Carollo is not running for any office in 2024.

💰Joe Carollo’s political committee, Miami First PAC, brought in $0.

Other Politicians We Are Tracking:

⚠️Joe Martinez: 

Mr. Martinez is the former Miami-Dade County Commissioner who was suspended from office by Governor Ron DeSantis in 2022 after Mr. Martinez was indicted on bribery charges. He is now running for County Sheriff. 

Mr. Martinez reported the following totals to his campaign account as of June 28, 2024:

• Total Donations: $80,875
• Total Expenditures: $19,148
• Cash on hand (campaign account): $61,727

His campaign account brought in $20,500 in the month of June. 

💰 Joe Martinez’s political committee, “Let’s Move Forward Together PAC,” raised $97,000 in the month of June. The two largest donors to this political committee in June were $25k from County Commissioner Anthony Rodriguez’s PAC, “A Bolder Florida PC”, and $25k from Adonel Concrete. 

• Cash on hand for “Let’s Move Forward Together PAC”: $242,998.83