UPDATED, Nov. 2, 10:50 p.m: Miami Mayor Frances Suarez was reelected on Tuesday evening with nearly 79 percent of the vote.
The real estate industry rallied behind the development-friendly Miami Mayor Francis Suarez in his bid for reelection. Developer David Edelstein, the Chetrit Group, Property Markets Group, Tibor Hollo and WeWork founder Adam Neumann are among the largest donors to his political action committee.
Suarez’s PAC, Miami For Everyone, raised close to $5.2 million as of Oct. 28, and his campaign raised more than $910,000 between February and Sept. 30. He ran against Maxwell Martinez, Marie Exantus, Frank Pichel and Anthony Dutrow on Tuesday.
In 2017, Suarez won with almost 86 percent of the vote.
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Tibor Hollo, Pam Liebman and Housing Trust Group latest to donate to Miami mayor’s campaign
For nearly a year, Suarez has been pitching the city as a hub for major tech companies and investors, garnering support from Big Tech, but also from developers, brokers, architects, and other major investors that would benefit from having him serve as mayor for another term.
And Suarez knows both the real estate industry and politics. The former Miami commissioner is a real estate attorney who is of counsel to Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. He is the son of former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez.
The Real Deal analyzed all contributions to Miami For Everyone from October 1, 2020 to September 30 of this year. For donations directly to Suarez’s campaign, TRD analyzed contributions from Feb. 1 to October 28. Here’s a look at some of the real estate donations:
PAC money
More than 92 percent of contributions to Miami For Everyone came from outside of Florida, according to TRD’s analysis of campaign contributions. The real estate industry – not including hospitality or construction – represented nearly one-third of all PAC contributions.
TriStar Management, led by Edelstein, a developer in Wynwood and South Beach, contributed $100,000. Chetrit and PMG Florida each gave $50,000.
CMC Group, the real estate firm led by Brickell Flatiron developer Ugo Colombo, gave $25,000. The PAC also secured $25,000 donations from Michael Stern’s JDS Development Group; Moishe Mana’s Mana Group; PMG; Vector Group, the parent of brokerage Douglas Elliman; Two Roads developer Taylor Collins; Atlantic Pacific Communities; and WeWork founder Neumann. (This summer, Neumann purchased waterfront land in Bal Harbour, where he plans to build a mansion.)
Coconut Grove-based Related Group, led by Jorge Pérez, contributed at least $20,000, Crescent Heights developer Russell Galbut contributed $15,000, and billionaire New York developer John Catsimitides (who has since expanded to Tampa) gave $10,000.
Campaign cash
Forty two percent of direct donations to Suarez’s campaign – capped at $1,000 per contribution – came from real estate, accounting for $385,000 of the roughly $910,000 raised between February and March. A majority of the total, nearly 92 percent, came from in-state donations.
Companies tied to Miami Design District developer Craig Robins contributed a combined $9,000. Seventeen entities linked to the Related Group, Miami’s largest condo developer and a builder of affordable, mixed-use and commercial properties, each cut $1,000 checks, for a total of at least $17,000 in August. Developers Stern, Arnaud Karsenti, Florida East Coast Industries, Jimmy Tate, Integra Investments, Atlantic Pacific Communities, Wynwood developer Joe Furst, and companies linked to Carpe Real Estate Partners also made donations.
Commercial broker and investor Javier Cervera, Mocca Realty, residential broker Katrina Campins and Douglas Elliman agent Oliver Lloyd also contributed to the mayor’s campaign, state records show.