Miguel Díaz de la Portilla (born January 30, 1963) is a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

attorney and politician from

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. A Republican, he served in the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

from 2010 to 2016, representing parts of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Coral Gables Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Cora ...

, and the surrounding area. Prior to that, he was a member of the Miami-Dade County Commission from 1993 to 2000.

Early life and education

Díaz de la Portilla's great-grandfather served in the Cuban Senate, while two of his great-uncles served simultaneously in the Cuban House of Representatives. A graduate of Miami's

Belen Jesuit Preparatory School Belen Jesuit Preparatory School ( Spanish: ''Colegio Preparatorio Jesuita Belén'') is a private, Catholic, all-male, preparatory school run by the Antilles Province of the Society of Jesus in Tamiami, Page 1anPage 2/ref> unincorporated Mi ...

, Díaz de la Portilla went on to earn his bachelor's and law degrees at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. He is one of the four children of

Cuban exile A Cuban exile is a person who has been exiled from Cuba. Many Cuban exiles have various differing experiences as emigrants depending on when they emigrated from Cuba, and why they emigrated. The exile of Cubans has been a dominating factor in C ...

s Miguel Díaz Isalgué and Fabiola Pura de la Portilla García. Díaz de la Portilla's two brothers,

Alex Alex is a given name. Similar names are Alexander, Alexandra, Alexey or Alexis. People Multiple * Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Cook (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Forsyth (disambiguation), multiple people * Al ...

and Renier, are also Miami-Dade politicians. Alex preceded Miguel in the Florida Senate (2000–2010), and previously served in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

(1993–2000). Renier served two stints on the Miami-Dade County School Board (1996–1998 and 2006–2012), and one term in the Florida House (2000–2002). Díaz de la Portilla has two sons and one daughter from his first marriage to María Feito. He lives in Coral Gables, Florida, with his wife Elinette Ruiz-Díaz de la Portilla, also a Land Use and Zoning Attorney, and the couple's two daughters. He has a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Miami-Dade County Commission

Díaz de la Portilla's career in public service began in 1993 when he was elected to the Miami-Dade County Commission from a new Hispanic-majority district. The district was created after a federal court ruled in 1992 that the county's system of electing its nine commissioners at-large violated the

Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movem ...

, and ordered special elections to elect a new, 13-member commission elected from

single-member district A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders. In some countries, such as Australia and India ...

s. On the County Commission, Díaz de la Portilla chaired the transportation committee, and also served as the commission's chair. Among his legislative initiatives were the creation of the county's Office of the Inspector General, the establishment of the Miami-Dade County Expressway Authority, and reforms to land use policy and the zoning process. In 2000, Díaz de la Portilla opted to run for Miami-Dade County Mayor rather than re-election. He lost to incumbent Mayor Alex Penelas in the first-round nonpartisan primary, 51.6 to 20.9%.

Florida Senate

In 2010, Díaz de la Portilla was elected to the Florida Senate from the 36th district, which encompassed parts of

, and the surrounding area, without general election opposition. Decennial redistricting renumbered his seat the 37th, and he was re-elected unopposed in 2012 and 2014. When the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission signed off on controversial limits for toxic compounds that can go into Florida's surface waters, Díaz de la Portilla called on Governor Scott to do a do-over and reconsider their position. In 2014, Díaz de la Portilla was downgraded to a "F rating" by the

National Rifle Association of America The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

. On February 19, 2016, USF Executive Director and NRA Past President Marion P. Hammer sent a "Florida Alert!" to USF & NRA Members and Friends regarding de la Portilla's actions. Portilla rejected several key gun bills including HB4001, HB163, and SB68. When dealing with campus carry, Díaz de la Portilla took meetings with university presidents, college police chiefs, faculty members, and students from around the state. All of them voiced their opposition to the bill. It's not clear whether the bills would have passed had Díaz de la Portilla allowed them to come up for vote, but there were 26 Republicans and 14 Democrats in the Senate, and approval for either measure would have required only a simple majority. In an interview with Sun Sentinel reporter Dan Sweeney, Díaz de la Portilla stated, "I don't think I'm an anti-gun guy. I'm a pro-common sense guy." In April 2016, Díaz de la Portilla was recognized nationally by the American Psychiatric Association for championing efforts to address the need to improve mental health services in the Criminal Justice system in the state of Florida. Court-ordered redistricting in 2015 significantly altered the 37th district, making it more Democratic. Díaz de la Portilla lost re-election in 2016 to Democratic state Representative José Javier Rodríguez in the 2016 general election, 48.9 to 45.6%.

Electoral history

County elections, 1993-2004

Florida Senate, 2010–2016

References

External links

* http://www.flsheriffs.org/newsroom/entry/florida-sheriffs-association-announces-2016-legislator-of-the-year-and-legi
Florida State Senate - Miguel Díaz de la Portilla
* http://wlrn.org/post/guns-and-mental-health * http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-nra-gun-bills-20160225-story.html
Miguel Díaz de la Portilla for State Senate
* ttp://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/florida-politics-blog/fl-guns-wasserman-schultz-20160121-story.html/ Two gun bills shot down in Florida Legislature*
Florida Senator Pushes Open-Carry Bill, Kills Guns On Campus Debate
* ttp://votesmart.org/candidate/political-courage-test/117079/miguel-diaz-de-la-portilla/#.VsYRypMrKEI/ Political Courage Test , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz de la Portilla, Miguel 1963 births Living people People from Coral Gables, Florida University of Miami School of Law alumni Florida lawyers County commissioners in Florida Republican Party Florida state senators American politicians of Cuban descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature