40+ Candidates, Made Up of Mostly Executives, Run To Give Miami Voters a Choice For The Republican Executive Committee Leadership for the Miami, Florida GOP
Election Brigade of Miami-Dade Endorses 40+ Candidates for Republican Executive Committee of Miami, Florida GOP
The Election Brigade of Miami Dade County has released the first initial slate of Republican Party of Florida Republican Executive Committee leadership. The Republican Executive Committee is the part of the Florida GOP responsible for endorsing quality candidates with Republican values. The Brigade members tell Banana Republic News that if Republicans want a change in party leadership, they must vote in the August 20 primary elections.
The August 20 primary elections are the only time Republican Executive Party leadership in local districts and the State Committeemen and Committeewomen appear on the ballot.
Past REC Members Removed For Corruption Charges
In the past, Governor Ron DeSantis has removed State Committeeman Alex Diaz de la Portilla from both the City of Miami Commission and his State Committeeman seat, but he is running for State Committeeman again. Other hard-working Republicans are alienated from the executive committee because it’s how local politicians clench to power.
The Election Brigade aims to provide voters with a list of executives to grow the Miami, Florida GOP, communicate with voters regularly, and prevent scandals and further political corruption within the Miami GOP, which operates as part of the Florida GOP.
The Election Brigade of Miami-Dade was formed after the Miami Republican Executive Committee dissolved the election committee within the local Miami GOP Republican Executive Committee, which is the party’s leadership at the local level.
Since then, the same group of REC members has mostly become the communicative group for Republicans to get involved in organizing elections locally. The group’s members are all part of the Florida GOP throughout the State. Educating voters who hold conservative values and value liberties and civil rights is imperative.
The Republican Leadership In Miami-Dade County Claims Miami-Dade County is Red, Which Is a Falsehood
The Republican party ranks third among the nearly 1.5 million votes in Miami-Dade. There are 512,805 Democrats and 468,714 Non-Party Affiliated voters.
” Registering Non-Party Affiliated (NPA) voters for the Republican Party in Miami-Dade County, and in Florida generally, will be crucial for this election.
The Miami Republican Executive aCommittee repeats the slogan “Keep Miami Red” as if Miami-Dade was already a Republican-dominated county, when in fact Republicans are only the third largest party in the county, trailing both Democrats and NPAs. They’ve been saying it since Governor Ron DeSantis won the governorship vote in 2020. In my view, grassroots organizations won the governorship vote for DeSantis because the Governor did the right thing during the pandemic, not because Miami is mostly Republican.
Starting with facts is important. The Party needs leadership from Republicans with real conservative values to unite and grow. At the moment we have leadership that is, inexplicably, still “reaching across the aisle” and doing deals with an opposition that is now unequivocally socialist and has consistently responded with the political equivalent of scorched earth.” says the Election Brigade’s President, Mr. Henry Zarb, says:
Who is On The Election Brigade’s 2024 Miami Florida GOP Republican Executive Committee Voter Guide?
The EB Voter Guide includes some incumbent committeemen, committeewomen, and alternates; others are hard workers for Republicans who have been banned or blocked from GOP meetings. Members describe the meetings as a banana republic-style scene straight out of Miami politics, complete with corruption and scandals.
It’s time for all good Republicans to regain their party by voting in the new Republican Executive Leadership during the August 20 primary elections. View the list of candidates endorsed by the Election Brigade.
When Can Republicans Vote For Miami, Florida GOP Executive Committee?
In the August 20 election, each registered Republican voter can elect two committeemen and two committeewomen to represent them in their district, including their surrounding neighborhoods of approximately 20,000 people.
As a side note, do you think the alphabet soup and furries are upset that there are only committeemen and committeewomen, proving that there are only two genders?
Complete List of Republican Executive Committee Miami, Florida GOP Candidates Supported By The Election Brigade of Miami-Dade County
The list includes notable candidates such as:
- Christi Reeves-Tasker won the Election Brigade member’s nomination for State Committeewoman for Miami Dade County GOP, the highest female office in the Republican Executive Committee. Christi is a Defend Florida advocate for election integrity. As an award-winning technologist, Mrs. Tasker became concerned about technology in elections when President Trump’s Executive Order 13848, released on September 12, 2018, Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election. Christi is the only America First candidate in the race. Christi also ran an anti-corruption campaign for the District 2 City Commission. Christi serves on the City of Miami Code Enforcement Board. Reeves-Tasker is running for her own District 17 committeewoman position too. Tasker is running to unseat Liliana Ros, the longest-running State Committeewoman in U.S. history. Watch Christi’s interview with The Miami Independent.
- Christopher Monzon is chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus and vice president of the Miami Springs Republican Club and the John Birch Society.
- Jesus Gabriel Navarro is a candidate for US Congress and has lived in his district all his life.
- Steve Starr is a Business owner & award-winning restaurateur.
- Jerry Joseph is a Sunny Isles Commissioner who self-funded his campaign using $170,000 of his own money. He won but still can’t get any support from the Miami GOP REC.
- Armando V. Parmour is a journalist from Sunny Isles.
- Fabiola Stuyvesant is a Sunny Isles Commissioner, and Fabiola leads the National League of Cities Council on Youth Education and Families. Fabiola is the parent of a 5-year-old, and she fights government tyranny and overreach. Recently, she was arrested and expressed dissatisfaction with how PTSA funds were being managed.
- Ben Batchelder – Ben is a Miami Beach resident, an author & publisher, and a columnist for Miami Independent.
- Douglas Ross is a US Naval Academy graduate of the Class of ‘81 and a naval aviator who lives in Miami Beach. His wife, Hayley Ross, runs for School Board throughout Miami Beach and parts of Brickell and Coconut Grove. (The EIB only endorsed REC candidates, but Mrs. Ross volunteers for the Election Brigade.)
- Diana Castillo is an incumbent Committeewoman, computer programmer, and activist in Reopen Florida 2020.
- Celia Guss is an actress & activist involved in Sunset Harbor Neighborhood Assoc. and the Miami Beach United organization.
- Ruamen DeLaRua, the only Miami Sheriff Candidate with Sheriff’s office experience, is running for his community’s District 31 Seat. After he announced his run for office, DeLaRua was sandwiched between two cars while serving Miami off-duty on a motorcade funeral possession. A woman was on her cell phone texting in the left lane. Delarua was in the center, and coincidently, there was a car broken down in the right lane, causing DeLaRua to be crushed between two vehicles. He survived with a mass injury to his right leg. Thanks to his wife, Michelle “Missy” DeLaRua, he’s continued fighting for the truth about the Miami Sheriff’s race.
- Missy DeLaRua, Ruamen’s wife, ran unopposed as a committeewoman, so she is not on the ballot but will be sworn in as a winner after the August 20 elections.
- Miami Young Republicans, including:
- Tony Figueroa – Leader of Miami Young Republicans.
- Miguel Granda is Chairman of NAFApac, District Aide for Florida House Representatives, and a Law Student
- Driena Sixto, Southeast Manager at Turning Point Action
- Jessica Fernandez – Govt. External Affairs Expert.
- Armando Ibarra – Miami Young Republicans Board of Director, Trusted advisor to executives, high-growth companies, and industry groups
- Henry Zarb of Coconut Grove, FL, Is a passionate constitutionalist. In his decades-long career, he has owned market research agencies advising significant multinationals and has been a manufacturer and publisher. Shocked by the events surrounding the 2020 election and its result, he joined the Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee to try to improve election integrity. Sadly, he found the REC unsupportive and remarkably unconcerned about Florida electoral law. He is standing again to continue his election integrity efforts within the REC.
- Eduardo “Ed” Vidal is a world-renowned corporate law attorney listed in Euromoney’s “Expert Guide to the World’s Leading Capital Markets Lawyers” and in Chambers as a leading lawyer in Latin America corporate finance. Until 2020, he was a frequent guest commentator on CNN en Español and co-author of U.S. Securities Regulation: A Guidebook for International Companies, published by Globe Law and Business, London, in May 2011. Mr. Vidal is a Republican National Association of Attorneys, and he serves as a roving attorney during elections and the General Counsel and Vice President of the Election Brigade of Miami-Dade County. Mr. Vidal writes articles for the Miami Independent. In true Miami-Dade style, Mr. Vidal was the elderly Cuban man who was arrested after confronting the Miami GOP Vice Chair. Later, the Miami GOP Vice-Chair requested $10,000 to settle the scuffle. Needless to say, the
- Katrina Vidal is an avid poll worker and volunteer for Trump and other grassroots local election campaigns. She’s also the former Chairwoman of the Scarsdale Republican Committee in New York.
- Ronald Schiffino is part of the Club47USA Security team, United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Florida State Guard-Maritime Squadron Specialist, and member of class 51 with the Miami-Dade Police Citizens Academy.
- Pamela Davis-Reeves – is the daughter of President JFK Army Attaché. Ms. Davis-Reeves has lived on and off in Miami since the 1960s. Her Army family moved overseas to countries such as Turkey, Mexico, and Thailand, where she graduated from high school at the International School of Bangkok, Thailand, in 1974. She’s been a full-time Brickell resident since 2020 when she was forced to return to the US from serving as an internationally renowned travel blogger. She is also the mother of Christi Reeves-Tasker.
- John Paul Arcia is a real estate attorney and business owner.
- Frank Polo – Business owner in the telecommunications field, ran for U.S. House to represent Florida’s 27th Congressional District but was disqualified.
- Maria Magdelena Estupiñán is a retired real estate and land developer who concentrates on raising awareness about the dangers of Agenda 21 and Agenda 2030.
- Chris Barcenas is a Miami area real estate consultant and contractor.
- Miguel L. Del Portillo is a U.S. Veteran and Special Forces Green Beret with a never-back-down attitude.
- Beatrix “Betty” Lara is the Executive Director at Glory House of Miami, an organization that reaches, rescues, and restores human trafficking survivors.
- Eneida Rodriguez is a retired retail and real estate professional; it took her and her family seven years to come to America from Cuba.
- Alex Rodriguez runs for District 29 of the REC.
- Maria Rubi is a network engineer who learned the value of hard work and never surrendering.
- Henry Pedroso Jr. is a South Florida real estate expert with Berkshire Hathaway. He has solid Cuban conservative values and ethics. He also serves as Sargent of Arms for the Election Brigade meetings.
- Francisco Rodriguez is an IT Analyst and former candidate for Florida State Rep..District 118
- Rita Alsina is a retiree from the State of Illinois who is an adjudicator in the Unemployment Compensation Dept.
- Marlene Del Valle is a regulatory Affairs professional in the MedTech environment, a Cuban refugee, and a lifelong Republican.
- Angela “Angie” Vazquez is the founder & past president of the Women’s Republican Club of Miami, Federated, Past Chairman & councilwoman of Miami Dade Community Council Area 12, Past Chairman of Florida Federation of Young Republicans, Past treasurer of Hidden Oaks Homeowners Association.
- Beatrix Del Portillo is a REC member since 2022, focused on election integrity, conservative America First grassroots activist, God, Family, and Country
- Lourdes Cosio is a vice president for client development and a poll-watching coordinator for the Election Brigade.
- Dorcas Giovanna Piegari is the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO of Greater at the Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and the events coordinator for the Election Brigade.
- Betty Vasquez serves on the planning and zoning board for the Sweetwater community.
- Cristen Lameira
Comments From The Miami, Florida GOP Candidates
Banana Republic News asked some candidates why they ran for the Republican Executive Committee. Here’s why they said:
“The Miami GOP has failed Republicans by excluding hard-working, active Republicans and even members of the Miami Young Republicans group that formed because of alienation within the GOP. Voters are often misinformed about the size of the Republican Party. Miami Dade is NOT red! And the number of registered republican voters has not drastically increased in the County in decades. Instead, the GOP leadership misinforms citizens that Miami-Dade is red because Governor Ron DeSantis won Miami-Dade.” Says Election Brigade General Counsel and Vice-President Eduardo Vidal.
“Republicans in leadership roles have a fiduciary responsibility to support and campaign for other candidates within the party. Unprecedented, Miami’s elected officials have gone public with their votes for democrats such as Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden, and others; locally, they campaign for Democrat candidates instead of qualified Republicans in the race. For this alone, they should change their party registration,” says Christi Reeves-Tasker, a candidate for State Committeewoman running against the longest-running committeewoman in United States History.
What is the Republican Party of Florida (FLGOP)?
The Republican Party of Florida (FLGOP) is an independent organization from the Republican National Committee (RNC) and the legally recognized state entity for the Republican Party. It is made up of elected or appointed State Committee Members from each county.
That’s right! If you don’t elect your committeemen and women in the August 20 primaries, the FLGOP’s local members can simply appoint whoever they want.
Republicans – these positions are NOT on the General election ballot in November.
How are Republican Party maps configured?
The number of State Committee Members from each county is based on population. The county is then divided into REC districts, including district maps entirely different from congressional, house, or local municipality maps. Strangely enough, the lists of voters obtained by the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections do not contain a column for the REC districts.
Who recognizes the Miami-Dade Republican Executive Committee?
The Miami-Dade County Republican Executive Committee is the officially recognized legal county-level organization for the Florida GOP Republican Party. It comprises elected and sometimes appointed Precinct Committee Persons (PCP). Each precinct has two PCP. The Precinct Committee Persons elect the county Committee Chairman.
Does the Republican Executive Committee Endorse Candidates Running For Office?
The County Committee endorses candidates running for county-wide offices, the county’s state representatives/senators, and its congressional members. Many of the current Miami-Dade County Republican Party are the elected leaders themselves.
“The fox is guarding the henhouse! The elected officials are often voting to endorse themselves,” says Christi Reeves-Tasker.
What does a District Committeeman or Committeewoman do?
The elected Committeemen and Committeewomen should aim to engage voters in the party. Engagement includes inviting Republicans to volunteer opportunities, campaign events or to establish a like-minded community to grow the Republican Party.
Election Brigade President Henry Zarb says, “The Miami GOP has no interest in new volunteers or any real leadership. They cannot run a meeting according to Robert’s Rules of Order. According to the Office of Supervisor of Elections, the current leadership has difficulty finding emails to the SEO office to turn in their paperwork. It’s quite like a situation where the dog ate my homework, except this is a party in which Republicans are led to believe is working for them all while it’s working against them as Democrats control Miami Dade County. None of us know what the clean-up process will look like if voters decide to elect Election Brigade candidates.”
Who Elects The State Committee Chairman of the Republican Party?
The Members elect the State Committee Chairman. The Chair of each county committee is also a member of the State Committee, which endorses candidates running for statewide office.
Who Can Vote For The Republican GOP Leadership?
All Miami-Dade voters can register or change their parties by July 22 for the upcoming August 20 election to clear the 29-day requirements. Voters can also update their registration records at any time.
Since Florida is a closed primary election state, a party change for a primary election must be made by the registration deadline for that election. Only voters who are registered members of political parties may vote for respective party candidates or nominees for an office in a primary election, including a presidential preference primary election.
If the deadline has passed, you can still submit an online application at any time, which will be processed for future elections.
How many committeemen and committeewomen are permitted in Miami Dade County?
There are a total of 40 districts for the Republican Party of Miami Dade County’s Executive Committee. Each district includes 160 elected members representing 40 districts throughout the county. Each District is represented by two (2) Committeemen and two (2) Committeewomen, along with two (2) alternate Committeemen and two (2) Alternate Committeewomen. The purpose and responsibility of the Committee is to promote the Republican Party at a local level through community outreach efforts.
In the event, that no county committeeman or committeewoman is elected or a vacancy occurs for any other cause in the County Executive Committee, the vacancy shall be filled by a majority vote of those present at a regular or special meeting of the County Executive Committee at which due notice of the meeting has been given to all members and at which a quorum is present. Such vacancy shall be filled by a qualified member of the political party residing in the precinct where the vacancy occurred and for the unexpired portion of the term and shall not be deemed a member until the name has been duly recorded with the supervisor of elections by the Chairman of the County Executive Committee or his designee and the candidate oath has been filed as required under Article III Section 5 of the REC Model Constitution.
No candidate for a vacancy on the committee who meets the registration and residence requirements and follows the rules of procedure prescribed for filling a vacancy can be rejected for consideration by a membership committee, board, or officer of the County Executive Committee. The County Executive Committee must vote upon all such candidates.
What is the Election Brigade?
The Election Brigade of Miami-Dade County is a group of conservative citizens on both sides of the political aisle. The Election Brigade is a group of citizens throughout the United States. The group organizes and campaigns for free and fair elections in every state. The group also compares election laws with national security threats. Some candidates were expelled, banned, or never allowed entry into the REC. Other Republican activists and candidates for higher offices were blocked entry into the meetings.
Disclaimer: The Election Brigade is NOT affiliated with the Florida GOP. The Election Brigade has provided a list of candidates who were interviewed, spoken to, and vetted among those who qualified to run to be State Committeeman, State Committeewoman, or district Committeemen Committewomen. These candidates are running to be part of the Florida GOP to replace current leadership.
