Marlins Pitch In To Help Alvarez In Recall Fight

MIAMI (CBS4) - Marlins Pitch In To Help Alvarez In Recall Fight Norman Braman, angry over Miami-Dade county raises funded by tax hikes, has collected roughly 100,000 signed petitions behind him to recall Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

Now, the mayor is firing back depositing big checks to defend against his ousting.

"If Mr. Braman thinks that he was going to threaten elected officials and they were going to roll over and play dead that's just not going to be the case." said Alvarez Thursday afternoon.

The mayor has collected $200,000 so far through a political action committee. Who's donating though is raising eyebrows. From the firms building the new Marlins stadium for $5,000 to the actual Marlins baseball team that kicked in $20,000.

Marlins president, David Samson, even cut a personal check for another $10,000. One could see that as a conflict since the mayor pushed the stadium deal through.

Norman Braman thumbed through the list today and put it bluntly, "Kind of stupid."

The list goes on and on including stadium contractors as well as lobbyists and lawyers who have done plenty of business with the county.

"I'm surprised at the audacity of it and the lack of smarts because it's so obviously a payoff." said Braman. "Every single one of the contributors including the Marlins has received something substantial from the county."

The mayor didn't deny that today.

At an informal news conference Thursday afternoon Alvarez fired back at Braman saying, "He's making it sound like I'm the only person that accepts checks from people who have anything to do with the county."

The mayor says the checks just came. "I certainly didn't ask for it, but I am thankful for it," Alvarez said.

The Florida Marlins declined to comment on their donation, but Hunt Moss, the firm building the new stadium sent us a statement saying: "We think as a matter of policy, a recall is a bad idea. Mayor Alvarez has done a good job and we support his efforts that have created much needed jobs in South Florida."

Alvarez says he has yet to even schedule a fundraiser for his political fight, but he intends to raise a lot more money.

"If Mr. Braman or his supporters want to contribute to the PAC I'm more than willing to accept their checks." said Alvarez.

The drama continues Friday when Braman submits roughly a hundred thousand signatures to recall the mayor.

To see who has contributed, how much, and how much has been paid to Carlos Alvarez's PAC, click here.