Broker running for Miami Beach commission loses campaign staff amid sexual harassment allegations

A Miami Beach commission candidate, who is the broker of a boutique brokerage firm, just lost his campaign staff amid allegations of sexual harassment.

Rafael Velasquez, president and broker of Sunset Realty Group, was accused of sexual harassment by two women this week, commissioner and congressional candidate Kristen Rosen Gonzalez and publicist Frances Alban, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein firestorm.

His campaign chairman and field director resigned on Monday, the Miami Herald reported.

On Monday, Rosen Gonzalez told Politico that Velasquez exposed himself while they were alone in the car together. “He had started to say that he thought that I was his soulmate, and I said, ‘Please, can we stay focused on the campaign?'” Rosen Gonzalez told Local 10 News. “By the time we got into the car, he had become abusive. He exposed himself. He was trying to, like, force my hand on him, and it was too much.”

Velasquez called Rosen Gonzalez’s allegations “an insane attack,” and said he “would never, ever, in a million years behave in the way the commissioner describes it.” He apologized on Tuesday “to anyone who was offended in any way by any of my communications.” He’s running in the Nov. 7 commission race. [Miami Herald] – Katherine Kallergis