When Shalala ran for the US Congress in 2018, her candidacy was opposed by local environmentalists for her part in the sale of the UM pine rocklands site. Cully Waggoner, VP of the Pine Rocklands Commission, stated, ""She can't be trusted, and now she is running for Congress. How much more damage can she inflict on Miami?" Al Sunshine, a former TV news reporter and member of the Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition, wrote, "we want to let her know what WE THINK of her actions to sell off the UM South Campus to be bulldozed for more urban sprawl...For years we tried reaching out to her on this issue. For years, she ignored us."