Miami Herald – NBC 6 South Florida
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez is expected to surrender to authorities early this week and is facing a charge related to a financial issue, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC 6 sister station Telemundo 51.
Although Martinez, did not respond to requests for comment to NBC 5, the Miami Herald reports he was privately telling people close to him that he is expecting to be charged in a criminal case and is lining up support and preparing his next steps.
“He said he’s expecting something from the States Attorney’s Office next week that may involve an arrest,” Steadman Stahl, president of Miami-Dade County’s Police Benevolent Association, a police union told the Miami Herald. “He said the State Attorney’s Office is looking at him for something that is involving his office that he is innocent of. He wanted to know if we would support him. And I said yes.”
If Martinez faces a criminal charge, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis could name a temporary replacement on the county board.
“Normally there is a complaint or reason that an investigation begins, many times to the Inspector General of Miami -Dade, other times to the Miami-Dade Police Department. We will see this week according to reports,” Mike Hernandez, political analyst for Telemundo 51 said.
The possibility of Martinez’s facing a charge was first reported Sunday on the Political Cortadito blog.
Martinez, 64, served as chairman of the commission twice before. He first held the District 11 seat in 2000 and opted not to run for reelection in 2012 before winning the post again in 2016.
According to the Herald, Martinez’s preparations for a possible criminal charge caused a stir over the weekend as leaders and lobbyists in the county government prepare for a Florida governor to exercise his authority and suspend a county commissioner for the first time since 2002.
Even though Miami-Dade’s charter allows commissioners to appoint replacements for permanent vacancies, in Florida’s Constitution a governor is the one who selects a temporary commissioner to serve during a suspension.
