Beyoncé bucks: Donors pay to groove with Miami politicians in concert suites

When Beyoncé brought her concert to Miami Gardens this month, politicians were there to groove with reliable social companions: campaign donors.

Three elected officials played host in a trio of sky boxes for the sold-out concert at Hard Rock Stadium on Aug. 18, selling spaces to donors to cover the costs and generate extra cash for their political organizations.

The VIP concert options came from Democrats representing three levels of government: U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson, state Senator Shevrin Jones, and Oliver Gilbert, chair of the Miami-Dade County Commission.

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Jones, Gilbert and a Wilson representative confirmed the fundraisers, where donors received seats in suites purchased by the office holders’ political committees.

“It was an amazing concert,” Jones said. He said the concert was part of a multi-day gathering with donors who raised up to $10,000 each for his political committee, Florida Strong. He said about two dozen people were there for the Beyoncé event but not all were donors.

Gilbert declined to reveal how much donors paid to join him in a Hard Rock Stadium box rented by Common Voices, his political committee, a few day after his 51st birthday. Two people who spoke to him said some donors paid about $2,500 to attend, though contribution levels varied.

“Common Voices purchased a box and varying sponsorship levels were available to attend the concert,” Gilbert said in a text message. Donor amounts were not known for the Wilson event.

The mini Beyoncé donor bashes capture the social activities that frequently pair elected officials with the lobbyists, government vendors, developers and corporate executives who bankroll political campaigns.

Common practice among Florida politicians

Anthony Rodriguez, a Miami-Dade commissioner and a former Republican member of the Florida House, played host to donors and their families at a Central Florida ranch resort in 2021, people familiar with the event said. The getaway came months after he filed for the 2022 commission election that he won after raising more than $1 million.

His political committee, A Bolder Florida, paid about $27,000 in September 2021 to Westgate Resorts River Ranch & Rodeo, which boasts “Florida Glamping” and “luxe teepees” on its website.

When he was a Republican candidate for Miami-Dade commission, Bryan Avila held a donor getaway at the Hawks Cay Resort in Duck Key for his political committee, Fighting for Florida’s Families.

Campaign records show a $24,000 expenditure at the Keys resort in September 2021. Avila later left the commission race to run for the Florida Senate, where he’s serving his first term.

Florida Republicans regularly hold donor events in Pebble Beach, California, and reports for the Florida Senate Democrats campaign committee shows multiple California expenditures for vineyard tours and dinners.

For the Beyoncé concert, Gilbert wasn’t the only municipal office holder in the Common Voices box.

Fellow Miami-Dade Commissioner Kevin Cabrera was there and he said he paid $278, which Gilbert told him was the cost of a ticket. Miami Commissioners Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Chair Christine King both also confirmed attending but didn’t say if they paid for their tickets.

“I am a big Oliver Gilbert fan, and it’s an honor to help him continue to serve his community,” Diaz de la Portilla said in a text message. “I don’t attach a cost to friendship.”

People involved in political fundraising events emphasized that the more lavish outings like concert boxes, retreats and cross-country donor trips are common practices across Florida.

When he was a Democrat in the Florida Senate, lobbyist Oscar Braynon II branded donor weekends on Miami Beach as the “Oscar Braynon Experience.”

Donors rented their own rooms at the Fontainebleau, but the political committees Braynon raised money for as a Democratic leader provided bottle service at the LIV nightclub, morning-after IV hydration treatments and a bus trip to a night on the town in Miami.

Braynon, a partner at the Southern Group, said donors committed as much as $25,000 for the event and that he often had more people wanting to attend than he could accommodate for the popular getaway.

“Miami is fun,” he said.

This article was updated to correct a reference to Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Oliver Gilbert’s birthday.