Who is: Stanley Price?

When wealthy landowners like Lowell Dunn or major developers like Armando Codina need a zoning variance for a big project, they rely on the services of attorney Stanley Price, a name partner with the Miami firm Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod. A transplanted New Yorker who sharpened his skills as an assistant county attorney in the Seventies, Price is considered one of the preeminent land-use and zoning lawyers in town. Prior to joining Bilzin Sumberg in 1998, Price practiced with the now-defunct Fort Lauderdale office of Pennsylvania-based Eckert Seamans.

The NYU and Syracuse graduate is also a frequent contributor to political campaigns. He gave $1750 to Democratic presidential candidates John Kerry and Joe Lieberman. He also gave $500 each to Alex Penelas's senatorial run and to the Republican National Committee. Last year state Rep. Ralph Arza (R-Hialeah) drew no opponents in his re-election bid, but Price still kicked in a $500 campaign contribution. Also last year he donated $250 each, the maximum allowed by law, to county Commissioners Barbara Carey-Shuler, Carlos Gimenez, and Natacha Seijas, as well as to mayoral hopefuls José Cancela and Jimmy Morales.

The 60-year-old Price has been the lead attorney/lobbyist on several controversial projects in Miami-Dade County. In one of those, he represented the owners of the Peerless Dade landfill in Miami Lakes, who were unsuccessful in their efforts to increase the height of their dump site from 12 feet to more than 90 feet. In January 2003, Price publicly apologized on behalf of himself and his client to the Miami Lakes Town Council after Peerless again attempted to increase the height of its landfill -- without a public hearing.