Which consultant donated the most to Miami-Dade County politicians this summer?

A consultant with family ties to a Miami-Dade commissioner gave the most to county incumbents this summer, according to a Miami Herald analysis of campaign-finance reports from June and July.

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Barbara Hardemon, president of a Broward County consulting firm involved in campaigns and government affairs across South Florida, was linked to $85,000 in contributions in the Herald analysis.

The Herald analyzed $1.8 million in donations to political committees and campaign accounts supporting Miami-Dade’s 13 county commissioners and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. The analysis covered the two months since the Herald’s last update on political contributions to county incumbents. Three commissioners are on the primary ballot Tuesday: Marleine Bastien, Danielle Cohen Higgins and Vicki Lopez.

Hardemon is president of B&B Professional Consultants in the city of West Park. B&B made the $85,000 in donations to entities backing two Miami-Dade commissioners: Bastien and Keon Hardemon, who is Barbara Hardemon’s nephew.

Keon Hardemon was reelected in 2024 and must leave office in 2028 under county term limit rules. When he was a commissioner in the city of Miami, the Herald reported in a 2019 article that companies needing City Commission votes hired Barbara Hardemon to help with their projects. Barbara Hardemon and Commissioner Hardemon were not available for comment Thursday on the B&B donations.

Of the $85,000 donated by B&B in June and July, $65,000 went to All Miami-Dade, a political committee backed by Commissioner Hardemon. The remaining $20,000 went to support Bastien through her campaign and the political committee backing her, Moving Forward Together.

Other highlights from the Herald analysis include:

Two big developers gave big this summer

Companies and individuals tied to developer Michael Swerdlow gave $74,000 to Miami-Dade incumbents in June and July. Swerdlow, head of the Swerdlow Group in Coconut Grove, specializes in developments on government-provided land and has multiple deals underway with Miami-Dade. Bastien got the most backing from Swerdlow, with $25,000 going to her political committee and campaign.

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With Swerdlow taking the second-place slot on the Herald’s tally of summer donors, a suburban townhouse developer called Bluenest finished fifth, with $40,000 in donations. Of that, $25,000 went to Our Democracy, Levine Cava’s political committee. Bluenest relies on county approvals for many of its projects.

A major tenant at the county’s airport is also a major donor

Duty Free Americas, which operates 21 stores catering to international travelers at Miami International Airport, took the third slot in the Herald’s analysis of summer donors, with $51,000 in donations.

Commissioner Oliver Gilbert got the most backing from Duty Free, with $21,000 given to his congressional campaign as the Democrat seeks to replace Rep. Frederica Wilson in Florida’s 24th District. Miami-Dade’s government serves as the landlord at MIA, deciding which retailers get to rent coveted locations at the airport.

An active lobbying firm is active on the donor circuit

The Southern Group has a big presence in County Hall, where firm lobbyists work for companies seeking Miami-Dade contracts and approvals. The Southern Group is also a regular donor to the county office holders who make those decisions. The firm gave $45,000 in June and July, with $25,000 going to Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez’s political committee, A Bolder Florida. That makes it the fourth-highest donor to incumbents during those months.

Miami-Dade’s tourism bureau was almost a top five county donor

Miami-Dade’s tax-funded tourism office, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) fell just short of fifth place in the Herald’s summer tally of donors with a donation of free premium World Cup tickets to Rodriguez’s PAC.

As the Herald reported last month, the GMCVB said Rodriguez requested World Cup tickets from the nonprofit that’s set to receive roughly $37 million in county funding this year. The tourism bureau donated to A Bolder Florida 11 skybox tickets valued at $38,500 in all. That put the GMCVB in sixth place behind Bluenest in the Herald’s summer tally of top donors to county incumbents.

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