Guess Who Pitbull is Supporting in the Upcoming Miami Election?

Above: Pitbull posing with Miami City Commission candidate Beba Mann Sardinas (right) and her daughter, Sofia De Cardenas.

We’re less than a week away from deciding who will be the next mayor of Miami and as usual, most people don’t give a damn.

After all, if history has taught us anything, it is that no matter who winds up in office, they will end up mired in scandal and controversy and leave a trail of broken promises behind them.

History has also taught that us that the only people who care enough local politics are “los viejitos”, those Cuban exile senior citizens who may not have learned much English since arriving in Miami 50 years ago, but they sure have learned to exercise their voting rights.

However, there is one younger Cuban-American who has shown a special interest in Tuesday’s election. Mr. 305 himself. The rapper who calls himself Pitbull.

But who can blame him considering he was recently awarded the key to the city by Miami city commissioner and mayoral candidate Tomas Regalado?

Pitbull, whose real name is Armando Perez, has not publicly endorsed anybody. But he has donated $500 to the campaign of Maria “Beba” Sardinas Mann, a newcomer who is running for District 3 City Commission slot.

Sardinas Mann has also been endorsed by The Miami Herald, expanding her base from the handful of people who still read the newspaper to the throngs of younger Miamians who love Pitbull.

That is, if they bother to read this article because nobody else has reported his support for Sardinas Mann.

Or if they bother to search through Sardinas Mann’s financial disclosure forms, which are posted on the City of Miami’s website. Page 10 to be exact.

Sardinas Mann said she met Pitbull through her daughter, Sofia De Cardenas.

“He vetted me a couple of times before he wrote me the check,” she said. “He wanted to make sure I was dedicated to the community as he was.”

The district she is running for encompasses Little Havana, which is where Pitbull grew up.

Pitbull, who is currently on tour, was not available for comment, but he might get back to us within the next few days.

We believe Pitbull should be more open about the candidate he is supporting because he has a lot of sway among younger voters, whom we all know are apathetic towards local elections.

He proved that you can be arrested for DUI twice, admit to having dealt drugs and rap about “forever thuggin” and still be handed the keys to the city by the more conservative mayoral candidate.

Hell, on that note, he is qualified to run for mayor (in full disclosure, I’m the last person to criticize anybody for getting arrested).

He was also acquitted of the two DUI arrests.

“How many young people have made mistakes, regretted it and turned their experiences into a positive note?” Sardinas Mann asked.

But even after receiving the key to the city, it doesn’t appear that he repaid that favor by donating to Regalado’s campaign. Perhaps I missed it in the hundreds of pages of financial disclosure forms.

But we do know he is probably not a Joe Sanchez fan, the city commissioner who is running against Regalado in the mayoral election.

Sanchez, who tries to come across as the younger, hipper candidate and who supposedly has more sway with those voters under the age of 40, proved to be a bit of a tightwad when he criticized Regalado for giving Pitbull the key to the city.

“This musician is not someone I would call a positive role model. His music devalues women and talks about drugs and sex,” Sanchez told WPLG in August.

The truth is, we like Pitbull. He has done loads of charity work for local organizations, has done a good job of bringing Miami’s some times segregated cultures together and has maintained a down-to-earth persona. Just ask anyone who has run into him on the streets.

We just regret he has not been more outspoken in this election because as it is right now, it is putting us all to sleep.

Related Links: • Nasty campaigning in Miami Beach • 2008 Politics and Voting Recap • The Mayoral Mess of 1997 Related Categories: Miami: Local News, Miscellaneous, Carlos Miller is a featured writer at Miami Beach 411. He also operates Photography is Not a Crime, a blog about photographer rights, New Media and First Amendment issues. See more articles by Carlos Miller. See more articles by Carlos Miller Was This Post Helpful? Please Share It With Others! Tweet

2 Comments on

"Guess Who Pitbull is Supporting in the Upcoming Miami Election?"

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

Discuss the surrounding area in our hugely popular Miami forum.