5 May 15-21, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | PROTOCOL, SHMOTOCOL! Scrutiny surrounds Miami-Dade Commission appointee. BY THEO KARANTSALIS T he Miami-Dade County Commission voted on May 7 to appoint West Miami Vice Mayor Nata- lie Orbis, 38, to fill the vacant Dis- trict 6 seat, left open by newly sworn-in U.S. Ambassador Kevin Cabrera. The 9–3 vote ended weeks of speculation over who would take over the seat. According to Orbis’ résumé, obtained by New Times via a public records request, she is an experienced public administrator with nearly 20 years in legislative affairs, policy analysis, and community engagement within Miami-Dade County government. Her back- ground includes managing advisory boards, leading strategic initiatives, coordinating high-profile events, and cultivating relation- ships with elected officials and stakeholders. Orbis served as vice mayor of the City of West Miami, where she led the small city to become a certified Autism-Friendly City, en- suring first responders are trained to serve families with neurodivergent loved ones bet- ter, her candidate website says. “This vacancy is a head of our budget, it is a head of the solid waste and energy discussion coming up in June/July, and it is a head of many other important decisions we are going to be seeing before this year’s conclusion,” board chair and District 10 Commissioner An- thony Rodriguez said at a Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday. “She [Orbis] is duly qualified and is the ex- act example of what we want on this dais,” Rodriguez said. Once sworn in, Or- bis will serve the re- mainder of Cabrera’s term and is eligible to run for election in 2026. District 6 in- cludes West Miami, Virginia Gardens, Mi- ami Springs, and por- tions of Miami, Hialeah, and Coral Gables. Rodriguez empha- sized that the ap- pointment was necessary to ensure constituents are represented as the board tackles pending issues, but noted voters will ultimately decide the seat. “This election’s qualifications would take place in about 12 months,” Rodriguez said. “The people of District 6, residents and voters of this county, will have the opportunity to make a decision in just over 12 months as to who they want leading that district and rep- resenting them.” He said only two candidates submitted ap- plications. However, Juan Santana, a former Hialeah mayoral candidate, told New Times on Tues- day that he had also hoped to be considered for the District 6 appointment. Santana said the county indicated filings were due by noon on Monday, April 21, 2025, and that his Janu- ary 21 email to Commissioner Micky Stein- berg should have met the criteria. “I am writing to express my interest and offer my thoughts regarding the upcoming vacancy for the District 6 Commissioner seat,” Santana wrote in the email. It remains unclear why Santana was not considered. “They said nothing,” Santana told New Times. District 4 Commissioner Micky Steinberg, District 5 Commissioner Eileen Higgins, and District 13 Commissioner Rene Garcia op- posed the appointment, arguing that District 6 voters should have been given the chance to elect their next interim representative. “It’s not really on you [Orbis], it’s more on the process,” Higgins said at the meeting. “If there were any ‘no’ votes, it wasn’t a personal issue; it’s just that some of us believe in elections, and that’s it,” Garcia said. Of the two candidates Rodriguez referred to, and reflected in the county record, former Miami Springs Mayor Maria Puente Mitchell abruptly withdrew from consideration last week without explanation. “One of those persons [Mitchell], for rea- sons beyond my knowledge, decided to with- draw and rescind their application,” Rodriguez said. “So, we are left with one [can- didate].” Mitchell did not return a text message from New Times on Tuesday about why she bailed. On her District 6 seat application, Mitchell included a video and claimed she has experi- ence in public administration, having served as a county risk manager and transit safety engineer. This isn’t the first time Mitchell has made a U-turn that left constituents and county of- ficials scratching their heads. A few years ago, Mitchell lobbied the county for a $2 million pedestrian bridge project connecting Miami Springs to the Metrorail in Hialeah. The plan gained funding and reached the design phase. After a New Times story revealed that a large homeless camp was situated near the site, Mitchell quickly voted to “postpone” build- ing the bridge over the Miami River. Mitchell’s about-face — with no explana- tion — has since left students, seniors, and disabled persons schlepping nearly a mile through Medley and Hialeah to reach the Metrorail station. With Mitchell out, county leaders looked to Orbis. Her husband, Manny Orbis, was Ca- brera’s chief of staff. He now works for Mi- ami-Dade Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez, along with former Cabrera media contact Gianfranco Puppio Pérez. “Commissioner [Natalie] Orbis, congratu- lations!” Rodriguez said following the vote. “You have some housekeeping to do,” he said, “and once that’s completed and you are sworn in, please join us on this dais.” As of Tuesday afternoon, Orbis’ bio on her City of West Miami bio page had gone ‘404.’ Orbis’s first county commission meeting will be on Tuesday, May 20, at 111 NW 1st St. [email protected] West Miami Vice Mayor Natalie Orbis has been appointed to the Miami-Dade Commission’s District 6 seat, replacing U.S. Ambassador Kevin Cabrera. Photo by Natalie Orbis | METRO | ONCE SWORN IN, ORBIS WILL SERVE THE REMAINDER OF CABRERA’S TERM AND IS ELIGIBLE TO RUN FOR ELECTION IN 2026. If At First ‘Latinas for Trump’ cofounder is running for office — again. BY ALEX DELUCA D enise Galvez Turros, a Cuban- American PR professional and co- founder of Latinas for Trump, is again seeking local office despite her checkered past. As first reported by Political Cortadito blogger Elaine de Valle, Galvez Turros — who lost a previous bid for a seat on the Miami City Commission in 2017 — has offi- cially filed paperwork to run for the City of Miami’s District 3 seat. The seat is cur- rently held by Commissioner Joe Carollo, who is considering a mayoral run in No- vember. Galvez Turros will face off against Car- ollo’s brother, former commissioner Frank Carollo, and Brenda Betancourt, president of the Calle Ocho Inter-American Chamber of Commerce and a frequent speaker at commission meetings. The Miami native says her campaign will focus on public safety, government ef- ficiency, clean streets, better public trans- portation, and historic preservation, according to a recent Instagram post. “After years of pushing for meaningful change from the outside as an activist, Galvez Turros is now stepping forward to deliver results from within City Hall,” reads a press release announcing her candidacy. “Her campaign focuses on enhancing pub- lic safety and public transportation, revital- izing neighborhoods, preserving Miami’s historic character and tree canopy, and cut- ting government waste and corruption.” That said, aspects of her past have raised some questions. She was previously arrested twice — once in 1994 for credit card theft, and again in 2010 for driving under the influ- ence. In 1994, Galvez Turros (then known as Denise Victoria Galvez) was arrested on a felony charge of credit card theft of more than $300, along with a misdemeanor charge of illegal card signing. State court records show that the charges were later downgraded to misdemeanors and even- tually dismissed. The county database shows that the criminal records have been destroyed. In December 2010, she was charged with driving under the influence and disor- derly intoxication. County records note that the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s of- fice never prosecuted the charges, and the case was dropped in March 2011. Mugshot photos unearthed by | MIAMI | >> p6
