Ethics Commission finds Doral councilwoman exploited her position to benefit side gig
A Doral councilwoman used her position to encourage business owners in the city to join a chamber of commerce where she was employed while discrediting a competitor, the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust concluded earlier this month.
According to a complaint filed on Feb. 5, Councilwoman Digna Cabral, who was vice mayor when the alleged incident occurred two years ago, used the city of Doral seal and city staff time and office supplies to discredit the Doral Chamber of Commerce, a competitor of CAMACOL Doral, where she served as chief executive officer. Cabral, 47, served as CEO of CAMACOL Doral from June 2022 to November 2023 on a voluntary, unpaid basis while also serving as a Doral council member.
El Nuevo Herald requested an interview with Cabral and sent questions via email last week, but her chief of staff stated that Cabral had COVID and ruled out the possibility of her responding. However, Cabral was seen at the Venezuelan Heritage Celebration at loanDepot Park in Miami over the weekend.
Doral Chamber of Commerce CEO Emmanuel “Manny” Sarmiento, who filed the complaint, told el Nuevo Herald that Cabral tried to damage his reputation and his chamber by claiming it wasn’t a legitimate chamber of commerce in Doral. He said Cabral’s actions not only harmed its reputation but also had economic impacts.
“We founded this chamber 16 years ago with the sole intent to help the community, but they are trying to damage us,” he said. “I don’t know why.”
The Ethics Commission investigation suggested that Cabral on at least one occasion called a business, identified herself as “vice mayor” and discredited CAMACOL’s competitor. The investigation explained that the letters sent by Cabral contained a direct endorsement of the entity for which she served as CEO by stating, “The City of Doral has a partnership with the only community chamber that meets the proper requirements, CAMACOL-DORAL.”
According to the Doral city clerk, the city does not have an official chamber of commerce, nor is there any ordinance or resolution supporting the claims Cabral made two years ago.
In a sworn statement to the Ethics Commission, Cabral stated that there were no resolutions or laws passed by the City Council to determine what the proper requirements were for a chamber of commerce, but she said, “The City Council felt compelled to act and make sure businesses knew that CAMACOL was the only true chamber of commerce in the City of Doral.”
At the time, then-City Attorney Luis Figueredo wrote a June 2022 legal opinion memorandum to Cabral regarding her employment with CAMACOL, specifically stating, “You may not use City time, resources, or staff in furtherance of your outside employment.”
However, in her sworn statement, Cabral confirmed that she had contacted the city’s director of business development each month to obtain new information on businesses in the area.
“After receiving the information from the City’s Director of Business Development, she then used City computers and printers to prepare letters to private businesses and mailed the letters using the City meter room for postage,” the Ethics Commission found.
The Ethics Commission concluded Cabral “used her position and City resources to benefit an entity for which she served as CEO, contrary to the Ethics Code.” Cabral’s motion to dismiss the complaint was denied, though the final order and stipulation are pending the signature of the Ethics Commission chair. She has 21 days to request a public hearing.
Cabral played a key role in ousting City Manager Barbara “Barbie” Hernandez earlier this year, proposing Hernandez’s termination over allegations of her own conflict of interest. From January until June, the city had two interim city managers before hiring Rey Valdes, a retired major from the Miami-Dade Police Department, who served in Doral from 2018 to 2022 under Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez.
Cabral is among the council members challenging Mayor Christi Fraga after the city revoked lifetime pensions approved under Bermudez’s government. The move resulted in a lawsuit from the four officials affected by the pension changes, including Bermudez, now a Miami-Dade commissioner. Fraga has called the pensions “immoral.”
READ MORE: Former Doral officials sue city for revoking their lifetime pensions. The mayor responds
In the ethics case involving Cabral, Fraga told el Nuevo Herald that she believes the tactics of attacking businesses are similar to those used by Commissioner Joe Carollo in the city of Miami and “are not welcome in our city.” Fraga emphasized the desire for a transparent city, with order and equal opportunities for everyone to work without dirty political strategies.
“If elected officials believe they are above the law, it sets a dangerous precedent,” she said.
