Miami-Dade Commissioner Marleine Bastien far outpaced her two District 2 opponents during the latest fundraising period, with contributions coming from real estate and business interests, consulting firms and several notable local figures.<\/p>\n
Between April 1 and June 26, the most recent date<\/a> from which campaign finance reports are available, Bastien took in nearly $49,000 through her campaign account<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trapeze artist<\/a> and self-described First Amendment auditor Miguel \u201cSkip\u201d Quintero, who ran unsuccessfully<\/a> for Miami-Dade Mayor in 2024, raised a comparatively paltry $1,380.<\/p>\n But he still outstripped first-time candidate Ernst Jean, who filed for the race April 7 and cobbled together just $400 \u2014 all of it his \u2014 through late June.<\/p>\n District 2<\/a> covers a sizable portion of North Miami and Opa-locka, as well as smaller pieces of Hialeah, Miami, North Miami Beach and the unincorporated neighborhoods of Biscayne Gardens, Liberty City and North Central Dade.<\/p>\n Bastien, a nonprofit founder and executive, won her seat in 2022, defeating former North Miami Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime with 59% of the vote. A victory this year would earn her a second and final four-year term on the 13-member County Commission.<\/p>\n She received 83 donations last period, composed of a blend of personal and business checks. That included $500 apiece from North Miami City Manager Theresa Therilus, former Broward County Mayor and current congressional candidate Dale Holness, and nurse Marie Etienne, the founding CEO of Global Innovation Foundation<\/a>, which works to combat human trafficking, domestic abuse and gun violence.<\/p>\n Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center co-founder Gepsie Metellus, who ran for<\/a> the County Commission\u2019s District 3 seat in 2020 and was honored with a North Miami street renaming<\/a> last year, gave $261.<\/p>\n As was the case in the prior reporting period<\/a>, Bastien benefited from strong real estate-related donations, including $2,000 from GT Construction Group and a subsidiary, and $1,000 from GLC Real Estate, Renters Paradise Realty, DK III Group and Pave USA.<\/p>\n From consulting firms, Bastien received $1,000 from Christian Ulvert\u2019s EDGE Communications, Sinal Consulting Group, We Strategize LLC, Murat Capital Partners and Kemerica LLC. North Miami-based McDermaid and Associates Consulting gave $500, and the firm\u2019s principal, Michael McDermaid, kicked in another $521.<\/p>\n Other business contributions included $2,000 from Boca Raton-based Pro Transportation Inc. and a subsidiary, and $1,000 from Coral Gables-based Aviation Strategies and Trade.<\/p>\n Several political committees gave too, including $1,000 from Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava\u2019s political committee, Our Democracy<\/a>; New Leadership Florida<\/a>, a political committee run by Ulvert that supported Doral Vice Mayor Maureen Porras\u2019 2020 House campaign; and New Leadership Network PC<\/a>, which Miami lobbyist Jorge Luis Lopez chairs.<\/p>\n Bastien also reported $1,000 in in-kind aid from Randy\u2019s Restaurant & Lounge<\/a>.<\/p>\n She spent just under $14,000 last period on rent, equipment, signage and phone expenses.<\/p>\n Since filing to run for re-election in March, Bastien has raised $58,000 through her campaign account.<\/p>\n She had more than $44,000 remaining less than a month and two weeks before the Primary.<\/p>\n Quintero\u2019s campaign account<\/a> received six contributions last period. The biggest, a $1,000 check, came from Our Shared Vision PC<\/a>, a political committee run by Hector Roos, Miami Chair of the Libertarian Party of Florida<\/a> and a 2022 candidate for Governor (he came in last, with 0.2% of the vote<\/a>).<\/p>\n The PC\u2019s funding has come almost exclusively from a Florida subsidiary of The Kane Company<\/a>, a real estate development firm headquartered in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n Quintero also got $250 from Tony J. Diaz, a Republican candidate for House District 113.<\/p>\n Quintero was a registered Democrat until around 2024, when he switched to the Libertarian Party.<\/p>\n Bastien is a Democrat. Jean, who had no party affiliation until recently, is now a registered Republican, according to state voter records.<\/p>\n Quintero spent just under $1,400 last period on checks, bank fees, donation-processing fees and a $360 qualifying fee, which both Bastien and Jean paid too, but didn\u2019t include among their expenditures.<\/p>\n He has raised more than $13,000 since filing for the race in October. Of that, more than $6,000 was self-loaned.<\/p>\n As of June 27, he had less than $1,400 remaining.<\/p>\n Jean, meanwhile, reported having $350 by the end of last period, with $50 of the $400 he put into his campaign account<\/a> covering checks.<\/p>\n The Miami-Dade Commission is technically nonpartisan, as are its elections, meaning Bastien, Quintero and Jean will all appear on the Aug. 18 Primary ballot. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote to win outright, the top two vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 3 General Election.<\/p>\n