Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff ain’t skeerd.

By Angie Hargot

Marc Sarnoff was controversial even before he was elected to the Miami City Commission’s District 2 seat.

As founder of The Grove First activist group, Sarnoff fought plans to construct a Home Depot in Coconut Grove. Then — after his 2006 election to then-suspended Commissioner Johnny Winton’s chair — Sarnoff criticized Miami Mayor Manny Diaz’s Miami 21 zoning plan, called for 35-foot height limits along Biscayne Boulevard, condemned the conduct of Miami Police Chief John Timoney and voted against the construction of three high-rises next to Mercy Hospital.

Those actions earned Sarnoff lots of fans — and lots of enemies. Yet, no one has challenged the activist-adored and developer-detested commissioner’s bid for a full four-year term. Yet.

The 15-day qualifying period for the Nov. 6 Miami municipal election begins Friday, and it would not be shocking to see a some challengers dare the incumbent to a few rounds of political fisticuffs.

Yet, Sarnoff — whose district stretches from Coconut Grove to the Upper Eastside and includes much of Brickell Avenue — is hardly concerned. In fact, in a recent interview, he sounded as confident as ever of his governing abilities and the chances of winning a bout with a would-be rival at the ballot box.

Although rumors once abounded that Jason M. Walker was going to run against Sarnoff, the now-city manager for the village of El Portal recently said he changed his mind. “I had talked about it previously, but there are some other people running who I’d like to support,” he said. Walker wouldn’t divulge their names.

“I can’t let that out until they announce that officially,” he said.

Walker, a Winton staff member for seven years, worked as the former commissioner’s senior staff assistant and public policy advisor until he allegedly scuffled with two cops at Miami International Airport and subsequently was suspended in May 2006. Then he went to work for Linda Haskins, the city’s chief financial officer and the interim commissioner appointed to fill Winton’s seat. Haskins lost out to Sarnoff last year after a particularly muddy election.

Nearly a year after the highly publicized altercation, Winton pleaded to reduced misdemeanor charges — two counts of battery and one count of disorderly intoxication — and was sentenced to two years of probation. Since he was not convicted of the original felony charges of assaulting two police officers, Winton’s lawyers figured he was entitled to get his seat back.

Gov. Charlie Crist disagreed. Crist permanently removed Winton from office June 20. “The people have chosen Marc Sarnoff to complete the remainder of Mr. Winton’s term, and the will of the people should prevail,” Crist wrote in his decision.

Winton, though, isn’t giving up. He filed a lawsuit seeking his reinstatement to the District 2 seat on grounds that Crist's decision that he is ineligible to return to office is moot in light of his plea to reduced charges. His argument: He wasn’t convicted of a felony and public officials aren’t often removed from office for misdemeanors.

Fresh from dodging a sentence that wouldn’t allow the former commissioner the right to vote, his lawyer, Gainesville attorney and former gubernatorial candidate Rod Smith, has told the media that Winton is fighting for reinstatement on principle, not his pension.

“It’s sad,” Sarnoff said. “It’s demonstrating exactly who he is. He’s looking after his own pocketbook” and seeking to retain his $38,800 annual pension and health benefits.

Still, Winton has been mentioned as a possible contender. Before Crist’s decision, Winton said he just wanted to finish the last year of his term. After Crist’s decision, Winton told the SunPost he might run against Sarnoff. “It’s an option, so I’m definitely going to think about it,” Winton said in June.

“I don’t know if he’s going to run or not, but if he does — just put his credentials and background up against mine,” Sarnoff said last week.

Repeated calls to Winton at several locales yielded no response. Smith, his lawyer, could not be reached for comment.

Haskins is another possible contender, though she did not return calls for comment.

Still, the best water-cooler anecdotes so far, according to Sarnoff, is that professional campaign manager, political consultant and lobbyist Armando Gutierrez has been offered $1.2 million to engineer a campaign against Sarnoff.

Again, no answer from the Gutierrez camp, but that dollar figure is hard to ignore.

“I think that would be a new record,” Sarnoff said. “I’ve heard of a lot of groups [vying for campaigns] against me. “A lot of developers … [members of] the DDA [Downtown Development Authority]. It doesn’t mean it’s true.”

In the meantime, Sarnoff continues fortifying his war chest just in case. He already raised $49,935 and spent $7,884. Most of those contributions came from attorneys, according to Sarnoff’s campaign treasury reports. His campaign manager, Wilbur Jackson, said that’s not surprising considering his background.

“The meat and potatoes come from the residents — general folks and attorneys, since Commissioner Sarnoff is himself an attorney,” Jackson said. He said Sarnoff planned three fundraising events in September, the next of which is scheduled for mid-month.

Jackson also commented on the amount of funding Sarnoff received from the grass roots elite. “A lot of activists — the commissioner is popular with the activists because he listens to them, and he was himself an activist,” Jackson said.

Said Sarnoff, “All I’ve tried to do is keep my promises. I listen to the evidence and do all of the research I can on the issues, and I vote based on what’s in front of me.”

Comments? E-mail angie@miamisunpost.com.