These days, Bruno Barreiro is hoping his lengthy political experience can carry him to the finish line in the race for Florida’s House District 113 seat.
Barreiro’s served twice in high-profile seats, first as the State Representative for District 107 from 1992-1998 and then representing District 5 on the Miami-Dade Board of Commission from 1998-2018.
Both districts, coincidentally, included areas of Miami’s Little Havana. Barreiro, a 60-year-old Republican, is quite familiar with the current precinct that also includes Key Biscayne, Brickell and The Roads, his own single-family neighborhood.
“You can’t take anything for granted,” Barreiro said in an interview with Islander News. “You’ve got to work hard.”
His political background runs deep, as evidenced by his own Wikipedia page and the fact that the Miami Herald, in 2018, once described him as “a powerful figure in Miami politics.”
So, why run now?
Bruno Barreiro.
“I know, with my experience, I can contribute at the state level,” Barreiro said, referring to his experience on the local stage. “This area needs attention, it’s a booming area and needs a lot of infrastructure (improvements), and I can be effective in that area.”
The District 113 seat is currently vacant after former State Rep. Vicki Lopez, another Republican, stepped down late last year after a three-year stint to accept a position on the Miami-Dade Commission.
“She worked hard but, obviously, she needed the experience to be effective in Tallahassee,” said Barreiro said, who looks to have four challengers in Tony J. Diaz, Gloria Romero Roses, Frank Lago and Justin Mendoza Routt.
“You can’t control that,” he said regarding the crowded field. “It’s all about how much I work and get my message to the people.”
Asked if he’s OK with canvassing neighborhoods or standing on the corner with a sign, Barreiro didn’t hesitate.
“I love it,” he said. “I’ve done it all my life, always had. I’ve walked the district. It’s the best way to get the pulse of the community.”
Key Biscayne issues familiar
The crux of Barreiro’s platform is, first, to try and lower property taxes and homeowners’ insurance, “the keys for this area,” and healthcare issues across local and state levels.
He feels Key Biscayne voters share similar needs.
“At the end of the day, the basic issues are property taxes and insurance,” he said. “You have to take care of individual needs, like traffic, and work with the local bodies. I know Mayor Rasco very well. A great guy, very experienced.”
Bruno Barreiro with his wife.
Solving traffic issues around the Village Green and making sure development along the Rickenbacker Causeway is properly controlled also are part of his local watch.
Barreiro’s familiarity with Key Biscayne goes back to when his parents owned an apartment on Galen Drive and he spent all of his summers during grade school on the Key.
“Donut Gallery and Sir Pizza were some of my fond memories,” he said.
Barreiro also was a State Representative who “worked hard during their incorporation,” and was a key figure in getting Florida statutes amended to allow golf carts in communities, like the Key, which are within so many miles of a golf course.
Part of healthcare industry
Barreiro was born in Clearwater but was raised primarily in Miami, attending Christopher Columbus High School and the University of Miami before going off to work with his father in his HMO medical business that has since been sold.
The son of Cuban immigrants remains active in the family’s Fatima home healthcare agency, providing nurses for home-care patients, and he also has a sub-metering business for water services, in which individual payments are collected for those living in apartments, for example.
Barreiro with his family.
He lives with his wife, Zoraida, while his daughter, Bianca, is a senior at Southern Methodist University and son, Bruno Antonio, is a sophomore at Florida International University.
Barreiro served as chairman of the Miami-Dade Board of Commissioners in 2007 and 2008 and was a key figure behind the Marlins Park baseball stadium in Miami, which later attracted controversy due to its enormous cost to Miami-Dade County and benefit to Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, who sold the team in 2017 for a reported $1.2 billion.
“To this date, it’s still one of the best stadiums in the league,” he said. “It was the cheapest at that point when it was built. It has also been an economic engine for our community, attracting the MLB All-Star Game, World Baseball Classic, numerous concerts, and becoming the home of the Serie del Caribe.”
Barreiro doesn’t mind Diaz’s effort of having a collective voice among all five candidates to at least get some representation for District 113 in Tallahassee during the current session, but prefers to meet his constituents face to face at his business in Little Havana.
“I’ve always had my doors open. To this day, people are always walking in and asking for support or guidance, whether it’s personal or for the community,” Barreiro said.
“Realistically, this area needs representation and it’s sad we’re going through this session without it. Just unfortunate timing. I thought they would have moved forward (on a special election) at least for budget issues.”
(Note: Contact Bruno Barreiro at bruno@barreirofl.com or call 305-642-2228 or 305-796-9911 (cell), or visit his office at 1454 SW 1st Street in Little Havana. His website, barreiroFL.com, is being built.)