Just days before Miami’s Nov. 4 election, a legal fight over where one City Commission candidate truly lives has cast doubt over a race for the panel’s District 3 seat.
Commission hopeful Denise Galvez Turros sued opponent Rolando Escalona, alleging his claimed residence inside the district’s bounds is a “sham” that should disqualify him from the ballot.
Both are competing to succeed term-limited Commissioner Joe Carollo; Carollo’s brother, Frank Carollo, is also in the running.
Galvez Turros is seeking Escalona’s disqualification. A trial is set for Oct. 29, less than a week before Election Day, according to the Miami Herald, which first reported[1] on the legal challenge Wednesday.
At issue is a year-old charter amendment[2] requiring Commission candidates to have lived continuously within their district for at least a year before qualifying.
Escalona swore in an affidavit that he has rented and lived in an apartment in District 3 since June 2024, which is three months beyond the required period. Galvez Turros, a fellow Republican and the co-founder of “Latinas for Trump,” contends records show he actually lives in a duplex he owns in neighboring District 4, where he and his wife signed a mortgage refinance in February listing that address as their residence.
In her court filing, she argued Escalona “cannot simultaneously swear to his bank that his primary residence is outside the district while swearing to the city clerk that his continuous residence is within it.”
Escalona, a restaurant manager and real estate broker, called the suit an “eleventh-hour” political hit job and insisted to the Herald that he meets all residency rules. He’s said previously that he moved after redistricting pushed his property outside of District 3.
A Florida Politics analysis[3] of all Miami candidates’ residency records found Escalona is among the newest arrivals to the city. He previously lived in North Miami and the unincorporated West Little River neighborhood.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Beatrice Butchko Sanchez zeroed in on another red flag: a homestead exemption Escalona’s wife claimed on the District 4 property.
“If you’re claiming a homestead exemption for one property, then that’s your … homestead,” she said. “Unless somebody’s willing to admit that’s fraudulent and that they really live in the district.”
Political Cortadito previously questioned the homestead exemption issue[4]. Escalona denied committing mortgage fraud.
Election officials told the court that ballots are already printed, so his name cannot be removed. The Judge could, however, order notices at polling sites if she rules he’s ineligible.
References
- ^ first reported (www.miamiherald.com)
- ^ year-old charter amendment (www.miamiherald.com)
- ^ Florida Politics analysis (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ questioned the homestead exemption issue (www.politicalcortadito.com)