Alex Díaz de la Portilla

Alejandro Díaz de la Portilla (born August 25, 1964) is an American politician from Florida. As of November 2019, Díaz de la Portilla is a City of Miami Commissioner for District 1, ^[2] A Republican, he was a member of the Florida Senate from 2000 to 2010, representing parts of Miami-Dade County. Previously, he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1994 until his election to the Senate.^[3]

Alex Díaz de la Portilla
Member of the Miami City Commission from the 1st district
In office January 7, 2020 – September 15, 2023
Preceded by	Willy Gort
Succeeded by	Vacant
Majority Leader of the Florida Senate
In office November 2008 – November 2010
Preceded by	Daniel Webster
Succeeded by	Andy Gardiner
Member of the Florida Senate
In office January 25, 2000 – November 2, 2010
Preceded by	Alberto Gutman
Succeeded by	Miguel Díaz de la Portilla
Constituency	34th district (2000–2002) 36th district (2002–2010)
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 115th district
In office November 8, 1994 – January 25, 2000
Preceded by	Carlos A. Manrique
Succeeded by	Renier Díaz de la Portilla
Personal details
Born	(1964-08-25) August 25, 1964 (age 59) Miami, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Claudia Davant (divorced) ^[1]
Relations	Miguel Díaz de la Portilla (brother) Renier Díaz de la Portilla (brother)
Profession	Political Consultant

Early life and career

Díaz de la Portilla was born and raised in the Little Havana community of Miami.^[4] His career in politics began in 1990, when he ran for the Florida House of Representatives. He lost the Republican primary, and lost again to Carlos Manrique when he ran for another House seat in 1992. Two years later, he challenged Manrique, and was successful.

Díaz de la Portilla served in the Florida House from 1994 until 2000, when he was elected to the Florida Senate in a special election.^[5] He was reelected to the Senate three times. He served as president pro tempore from 2002 to 2004.

Later political career

Díaz de la Portilla ran for the Florida House of Representatives in the 112th district in 2012, but lost to Democrat José Javier Rodríguez, 53.7 to 46.3%.^[6]

In 2017, Díaz de la Portilla ran in a special election for a Florida Senate seat left vacant when Senator Frank Artiles resigned. He lost the Republican primary to Jose Felix Diaz, who lost to Democrat Annette Taddeo in the general election.

Díaz de la Portilla was a candidate for a May 2018 special election for the Miami-Dade County Commission.^[7] No candidate secured more than 50% of the vote and the runoff that followed saw Eileen Higgins become the new County Commissioner of District 5.^[8]

In 2019, Diaz de la Portilla was one of seven candidates running to represent Miami’s District 1. The seat was being vacated by Commissioner Wifredo “Willy” Gort, who was term-limited.

On election day, Diaz de la Portilla netted 39 percent of the votes, followed by former Miami Planning and Zoning Board Member Miguel Angel Gabela with 21 percent support. The former state senator won a runoff election with 60% of the votes, beating Miguel Angel Gabela.

Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla serves as the City of Miami Commissioner for District One, representing Flagami, Allapattah, and parts of Little Havana.

In September 2023, Diaz de la Portilla was arrested on charges of money laundering, bribery, criminal conspiracy, and illegal compensation for official acts.^[9] He left office on September 15, 2023, after Governor Ron DeSantis suspended him from serving.^[10]

Family

Díaz is one of the four children of Cuban exiles Miguel Ángel Díaz Pardo and Fabiola Pura de la Portilla García. His paternal great-grandfather served in the Cuban Senate, while two of his sons served simultaneously in the Cuban House of Representatives. His maternal great-grandfather served as Cuban Minister of Justice.

His brothers have also held elected office:

• Miguel Díaz de la Portilla served as a member of the Miami-Dade County Commission from 1993 to 2000 and succeeded Alex in the Florida Senate, serving from 2010 to 2016.
• Renier Díaz de la Portilla served two stints on the Miami-Dade County School Board (1996–1998 and 2006–2012). He also succeeded Alex in the House of Representatives, serving one term from 2000 to 2002.

Electoral history

Florida House of Representatives, 1990-1998

1990 Republican Primary, Florida House District 114

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bruce Hoffman	2,270	52.9%
	Republican	Thomas "Tom" Borell	1,020	23.8%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	1,000	23.3%
Total votes			4,290

1992 Republican Primary, Florida House District 115

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	1,953	36.4%
	Republican	Carlos Manrique	1,250	23.3%
	Republican	Manuel Casas	671	12.5%
	Republican	Hugo D. Menendez	554	10.3%
	Republican	Luis Rodriguez	523	9.8%
	Republican	Raul Perez Sanz	410	7.6%
Total votes			5,361

1992 Republican Primary Runoff, Florida House District 115

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Carlos Manrique	1,612	53.8%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	1,386	46.2%
Total votes			2,998

1994 Republican Primary, Florida House District 115

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	6,787	70.7%
	Republican	Carlos Manrique	2,809	29.3%
Total votes			9,596

1994 General Election, Florida House District 115

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	Unopposed	–

1996 Republican Primary, Florida House District 115

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	8,968	87.8%
	Republican	Fred A. Naaman	1,249	12.2%
Total votes			10,217

1996 General Election, Florida House District 115

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	Unopposed	–

1998 Republican Primary, Florida House District 115

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	2,747	57.7%
	Republican	Bernie Navarro	2,016	42.3%
Total votes			4,763

1998 General Election, Florida House District 115

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	Unopposed	–

Florida Senate, 1999-2006

December 14, 1999 Special Republican Primary, Florida Senate District 34

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	6,545	57.7%
	Republican	Carlos L. Valdes	3,780	33.3%
	Republican	Charles Rousseau	596	5.3%
	Republican	Arthur Arnau	429	3.8%
Total votes			11,350

January 25, 2000 Special General Election, Florida Senate District 34

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	Unopposed	–

2000 General Election, Florida Senate District 34

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	Unopposed	–

2002 Republican Primary, Florida Senate District 36

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	15,439	49.2%
	Republican	Carlos Lacasa	13,186	42.0%
	Republican	Mike Gorrie	2,764	8.8%
Total votes			31,389

2002 General Election, Florida Senate District 36

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	66,945	100.0%
		write-ins	6	0.0%
Total votes			66,951

2006 General Election, Florida Senate District 36

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	50,879	99.9%
		write-ins	30	0.1%
Total votes			50,909

Post-Senate electoral career

2012 Republican Primary, Florida House District 112

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	4,396	58.8%
	Republican	Gustavo Barreiro	3,075	41.2%
Total votes			7,471

2012 General Election, Florida House District 112

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	José Javier Rodríguez	28,053	53.7%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	24,195	46.3%
Total votes			52,248

July 25, 2017 Special Republican Primary, Florida Senate District 40

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	José Félix Díaz	7,678	57.8%
	Republican	Alex Díaz de la Portilla	3,398	25.6%
	Republican	Lorenzo J. Palomares	2,217	16.7%
Total votes			13,293

References

1. https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2015/11/high-court-sides-with-diaz-de-la-portilla-in-divorce-case-027625^{[dead link]}
2. Flechas, Joey (27 October 2019). "With experience and baggage, Alex Diaz la Portilla runs for Miami's District 1 seat". Miami Herald.
3. https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/24364/alex-diaz-de-la-portilla
4. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article279331429.html
5. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=31819
6. Brill, Sanford. "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2017-05-04.
7. "Alex Diaz de la Portilla is right pick for Miami-Dade commission". Miami Herald. 2018-05-02. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
8. Hanks, Douglas (19 June 2018). "Eileen Higgins wins Miami-Dade commission seat in upset over Zoraida Barreiro". Miami Herald.
9. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/miami-commissioner-alex-diaz-de-la-portilla-arrested-on-money-laundering-bribery-charges/ar-AA1gJ6K6?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=29c14efbf6bd4b39be337a5a0862f51d&ei=13
10. Vazquez, Chris Gothner, Louis Aguirre, Christina (2023-09-15). "DeSantis suspends Alex Diaz de la Portilla from Miami commission following charges". WPLG. Retrieved 2023-10-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

• Florida Senate - Alex Díaz de la Portilla

Florida House of Representatives
Preceded by Carlos A. Manrique	Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 115th district 1994–2000	Succeeded by Renier Díaz de la Portilla
Florida Senate
Preceded by Alberto Gutman	Member of the Florida Senate from the 34th district 2000–2002	Succeeded by Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Preceded by Kendrick Meek	Member of the Florida Senate from the 36th district 2002–2010	Succeeded by Miguel Díaz de la Portilla
Preceded by Daniel Webster	Majority Leader of the Florida Senate 2008–2010	Succeeded by Andy Gardiner
Political offices
Preceded by Willy Gort	Member of the Miami City Commission from the 1st district 2020–2023