Ethics commission: No evidence of improper lobbying on Coral Gables Wawa project

Miami-Dade County’s ethics commission on Wednesday dismissed a complaint that a veteran lobbyist communicated with Coral Gables officials on behalf of Wawa without registering as a lobbyist.

According to a press release, the agency determined that there was no probable cause to pursue the complaint, filed in April on behalf of the Gables Accountability Project, a group of Gables residents who sued the city in opposition to a planned Wawa gas station and convenience store.

The complaint alleged that lobbyist and former state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla and lobbyist Laura Russo failed to properly register to lobby on the project before they sent letters to the Gables city attorney and other officials regarding the removal of trees at the site of the future gas station.

Diaz de la Portilla told the Herald in a text message at the time that he has “always operated in a transparent manner in my relations with government and followed the rules in good faith, as I understand them.”

The complaint was largely based around a March 12 email from Diaz de la Portilla to City Attorney Miriam Ramos on behalf of Wawa’s director of Florida operations. An attached letter offered payment of $17,000 to a tree mitigation fund and the planting of two new 20-foot Oak trees in nearby parks.

Diaz de la Portilla cited the letter as evidence of Wawa’s “extraordinary commitment” to the tree fund and requested that they cancel a meeting with city officials to further discuss the issue. Ramos canceled the meeting three days later.

Diaz de la Portilla was not registered to lobby in Coral Gables or Miami-Dade County on behalf of Wawa, according to the city and county lobbyist database. Russo, who represents landowner Bahamian Village LLC, did not register until March 23, weeks after the correspondence with city officials.