Miami-Dade County Police Major Mario Knapp collected $70,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023 toward his bid for Sheriff, the most among 15 candidates competing for the job.
He also spent more than $12,000, most of it on consulting and bank fees, to have $156,000 left on New Year's Day between his campaign account and political committee, For a Safer Miami-Dade.
Knapp, one of a baker's dozen Republicans in the race, received a blend of personal and business checks. Many of the people who gave to him reported having law enforcement backgrounds.
His biggest single gain was a $10,000 from Michael Fux, a Cuban American centimillionaire who made his fortune selling foam sleep products. Knapp's donations ledger lists Fux as a "developer."
Knapp also received $5,000 apiece from commercial diving company Subsea Global Solutions, JCIA Family Therapy and Latino Alliance¸ PC run by Tallahassee-based consultant Alex Alvardo.
North Miami Beach-based Bryant Security Co. gave Knapp $4,000.
Republican Miami-Dade Assistant Police Director Rosie Cordero-Stutz, who filed to run Oct. 16, placed second in fourth-quarter fundraising with a roughly $60,000 haul between her campaign account and political committee, Citizens for a Safer Community.
More than 80 people donated to her campaign, many of them in police or police-adjacent professions.
Her most generous benefactor was Daniel Berkowitz, CEO and managing partner of Atlas Development Corp. Nick Hammerschlag, a Miami-based tech investor, gave $5,000.
Cordero-Stutz's largest business contribution was a $10,000 check from Global Media MKT.
She spent $2,000, nearly all of it on credit card-processing fees.
Raising third-most with $55,000 collected between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, Republican retired Miami-Dade Police officer Ernie Rodriguez leaned equally on people and companies in a variety of business sectors.
Half the checks he took through his campaign account were for $1,000, the maximum non-PC donation allowable to candidates seeking countywide office.
Of the $3,000 he spent in Q4, half went to Miami-based firm Dark Horse Strategies for "digital media consulting." The rest covered accounting and compliance costs, credit card and bank fees, and a $600 registration fee for a charity event hosted by The Love Fund, a nonprofit that aids fallen officers and their families.
As of Jan. 1, Rodriguez had about $57,000 left.
Twelve other candidates are in the race. They include:
— Democratic Miami-Dade Police Major John Barrow. He raised $43,000 in Q4, spent close to $24,000 and had $22,000 remaining at the end of the quarter.
— Republican lawyer and former police officer Ignacio "Iggy" Alvarez, who raised $37,000 and spent $16,000 last quarter. He had $173,000 left on Dec. 31.
— Democratic federal agent-turned community activist Susan Khoury. She raised almost $31,000, spent $1,500 and had $18,000 left to start 2024.
— Miami-Dade Police Sgt. Orlando "Orly" Lopez. He raised $2,500 and spent twice as much, leaving himself with $9,000 with just under nine months before the Republican Primary.
— Republican Miami-Dade Police officer Rolando Riera, who raised $1,800 and had all of it left at the quarter's close after spending nothing.
— Retired Miami-Dade Police Sergeant and former police union President John Rivera, a Republican. He raised $1,000 and spent less than $100. Due to bigger and better hauls in prior quarters, he had $26,000 at the end of December.
— Retired Miami-Dade Police Lt. Rickey Mitchell, a Democratic funeral home magnate who has run a mostly self-funded campaign. He raised just $900 in Q4, but still had $245,000 in his campaign account.
— Republican Miami City Police officer Ruamen DelaRua. He raised $200, spent $1,000 and had just over $1,200 left over.
— Republican Alex Fornet, a retired Miami-Dade Police reserve officer. He loaned himself $100 and had exactly that left at the end of the quarter.
— Republican Miami-Dade Police officer Jaspen Bishop. He raised nothing in Q4, spent $200 and had $1,600 remaining.
— Republican Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Sanchez. He filed to run for Sheriff on Jan. 8 and isn't due to report any campaign finance activity until March 10.
Miami-Dade hasn't had an elected Sheriff since 1966, when county voters eliminated the position after a grand jury report revealed rampant corruption within the department. Instead, Miami-Dade has a Police Director, who is appointed by and reports to the Mayor.
That arrangement is changing this year. In 2018, 58% of Miami-Dade voters joined a statewide supermajority in approving a constitutional amendment requiring all 67 counties in Florida to have an elected Sheriff, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser and Clerk of Courts by early 2025.
Former Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo "Freddy" Ramirez, a Republican-turned-Democrat, was widely considered a shoo-in for the returning Sheriff post until he attempted suicide on July 23 following a domestic dispute with his wife at a Sheriff's conference in Tampa.
He dropped out of the race Sept. 20.
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