Donna Shalala secretly lobbied Miami’s Mayor for MLS the last time they asked for land
Major League Soccer is applying for a massive land concession from the City of Miami today
Their subsidiary is the applicant, Miami Beckham United LLC, who deploys an army of lobbyists in pursuit of their goals, including the Aunt of Miami District 2 Commissioner Keon Hardemon who presided over last Thursday’s hearing without disclosing that fact on the dais.
Three years ago, the soccer league did the same thing hitting up the City of Miami for public land to build a soccer stadium, with a secret twist.
The MLS deployed at least one very high-profile individual as an illegally unregistered lobbyist to break down the doors at Miami City Hall, and setup a crucial meeting with the Mayor of Miami, which did lead quickly to a stadium deal for MLS in just three months without much public input.
Former University of Miami President Donna Shalala acted as a secret lobbyist for MLS to obtain a soccer stadium which would theoretically belong to the university and house the Miami Hurricanes according to contemporaneous reports in the Miami Herald and Associated Press.
She lobbied former Mayor Tomas Regalado in May 2015, setting up and attending meetings with he and other public officials at City Hall for the purpose of obtaining a municipal decision for MLS, triggering the requirement by law to register.
It worked.
MLS announced a deal in July 2015.
But it fell apart.
For Shalala’s service as a US Soccer Independent Director, Shalala received free travel, airfare, gala tickets, stadium experiences and participated in the Copa America Centenario, LLC host committee seeking to host international soccer matches in America and possibly Miami, but with unknown compensation.
Anyone who is compensated for their activities to get a public decision and meets with public officials has to register as a lobbyist, so the public knows who is influencing decisions about their resources.
A soccer stadium would advance all of the above organizations’ interests with a city decision in favor of its lobby. Yet, Donna Shalala did not register as a lobbyist with the City of Miami for any of those organizations, while she wore all three hats simultaneously.
Don Garber is the President of MLS, and represents the other 19 of 20 owners in the Beckham/Mas ownership group.
Donna Shalala knows him well from her decade as an Independent Director on the Board of the United States Soccer Federation from 2008–2018.
That’s because Garber is also Board member of US Soccer and he runs their joint television operations in a sports marketing arrangement that delivers the bulk of $170 million in annual revenue to the New York state non-profit US Soccer sports governing body.
The MLS Commissioner’s interventions at Miami City Hall may or may not have triggered a lobbying registration, but the financial interests to require him to file a lobbying registration as a principal could be applicable.
Mayor Regalado’s calendar from 2015 has been lawfully destroyed already according to a completed public records request, but the City of Miami refuses to respond whatsoever to a follow up request to provide copies of the sign in sheets from the Mayor’s office from key periods during Donna Shalala’s secretive lobbying on behalf of MLS and US Soccer.
Shalala too arranged a meeting with Garber and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez at University of Miami, along with others, but neither is registered as a lobbyist with the county, though I cannot report with authority on the requirement to do so.
Miami’s public land is a frequent target for private business ventures, but this story indicates that residents really have no clue how the MLS venture uses the rich, powerful and those suspected to be beyond reproach to act as secretive and undisclosed lobbyists to get decisions from City Hall.
The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust evaluates all violations of lobbying laws including the failure to register when required and can issue decisions, fines and even make referrals for criminal prosecution when warranted.
Just as they did in 2015, the MLS group began lobbying the City of Miami in May of this year — but unlike that very public attempt to acquire public land for Jorge Mas, Beckham and their 19 partners — there was an information embargo that kept the Miami Herald and the public in the dark until yesterday’s 3-page plan was finally divulged.
This year, MLS wants to execute a billion dollar deal with no-bids, and they’re seeking a referendum that would grease the skids for a short negotiation with the City of Miami over Melreese Golf Course — its largest asset — and one that local stakeholders are terrified will be gone and lost forever without even knowing what will replace it.
But the last time around, MLS turned the head of a local university into a secret weapon against city hall, and now, Shalala turned around and is running for Congress in Florida’s 27th District.
Donna Shalala’s Congressional campaign refuses all requests for a radio interview and for comment.
Last month, I tried to ask Shalala at a Politico Elections event about another personal lawsuit filed againd her for her time on the United Health Group Board of Directors where she headed the Risk, Audit and Compliance committee just like she did for US Soccer, she fled the room without answering my questions.
Miami’s Commission plans to vote on this year’s MLS plan today, without the benefit of public comment.
Here are my two original reports on the federal anti-trust lawsuit and personal lawsuit against Don Garber, Donna Shalala and US Soccer’s Board of Directors:
