Former Miami Beach Mayor backs Ashley Litwin Diego for HD 106

Lawyer Ashley Litwin Diego’s campaign to flip House District 106 back to blue just landed an endorsement from a former federal prosecutor, state lawmaker and Mayor of Miami Beach.

Dan Gelber, who led Miami Beach from 2017 to 2023 after serving in both chambers of the Legislature, said he’s getting behind Litwin Diego because “Tallahassee has fully lost sight of the issues that matter to us.”

“Families here are being squeezed by rising insurance costs, crushing condo assessments, affordability challenges, and real concerns about climate and public safety. Ashley understands these issues firsthand and has the legal skill and practical mindset to deliver real solutions,” he said in a statement.

“Ashley Litwin Diego brings the experience, integrity, and determination our community needs in the Florida House.”

The nod from Gelber is the first high-profile endorsement Litwin Diego has notched since launching her campaign last year. In her first quarter of fundraising, she raised more than $100,000.

Litwin Diego — a seasoned white-collar criminal defense lawyer, breast cancer survivor and Vice President of the nonprofit Transition Inc., which provides job training and placement services to ex-offenders — is a partner at Seitles & Litwin.

Litwin Diego has tried cases for nearly two decades. Her work earned her recognition among the National Trial Lawyers’ “Top 40 Under 40” and a finalist spot for the Daily Business Review’s “Most Effective Criminal Lawyer.”

She is running on a promise to address affordability issues in HD 106, strengthen public safety through gun and boating reforms, safeguard waterways and coastal resilience, defend women’s health, fight antisemitism and protect access to quality education.

She said she’s honored to add support from Gelber “as we work to bring common sense, compassion, and serious problem-solving back to Tallahassee.”

“For almost 20 years, my family has called Miami Beach home,” she said in a statement. “Mayor Gelber has always fought to protect what makes our community special: our neighborhoods, our environment, and our shared sense of responsibility to one another.”

Litwin Diego is competing against former Miami-Dade County School Board member Lucia Báez-Geller in a Democratic Primary, the winner of which will face twice-elected Republican Rep. Fabián Basabe.

HD 106 covers a coastal strip of Miami-Dade between Miami Beach and Aventura.

The Primary is Aug. 18, followed by the General Election on Nov. 3.