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Miami, Florida – On Tuesday evening, the top six candidates in the nonpartisan election for Mayor of the City of Miami gathered for a debate at the downtown Hyatt Regency Hotel, broadcast by the local CBS affiliate. The Downtown Neighbors Association, which sponsored the debate, selected the participants because each polled at least 5% among likely voters:

1. Eileen Higgins – Progressive Democrat and Miami-Dade County Commissioner. When the City Commission voted to delay this year’s elections, she raised no objection, saying she would fare better next year. After the courts ordered the elections to proceed this year, she claimed that was her preference all along. She has led in public polls, but remains well short of a majority to avoid a runoff.
2. Emilio Gonzalez – Conservative Republican, retired U.S. Army officer, former City Manager, and former CEO of Miami International Airport. He was the only candidate with the courage and resourcefulness to take the City to court and won an order to keep the elections on schedule.
3. Ken Russell – Progressive Democrat, former City Commissioner, and perennial candidate for public office, including Congress. His family fortune comes from manufacturing toy yo-yos.
4. Joe Carollo – Establishment Republican, City Commissioner, and former Mayor. Two years ago he lost a civil case for extorting constituents’ businesses and owes a $63.5 million judgment. The City has already paid around $20 million in his legal fees.
5. Alex Diaz de la Portilla (ADLP) – Establishment Republican and former State Representative and Senator. He was removed from the City Commission by Governor DeSantis two years ago after being indicted for corruption, though the charges have since been dropped.
6. Xavier Suarez – Independent Democrat, another former Mayor first elected in 1985, and father of the current Republican Mayor, who attempted to delay the elections to extend his own term. Suarez is trying to revive dynasty politics, though he falls short of an elder statesman.
The election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 4. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff on Tuesday, December 9.

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This columnist has previously endorsed Emilio Gonzalez (link). Emilio has served as Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and on the National Security Council under President George W. Bush. Married since college, he and his wife have two grown daughters.

Emilio is endorsed by Governor DeSantis and supported by Veterans for America First. Recently named a Senior Fellow at the America First Policy Institute—closely tied to the Trump administration—he also served as a bilingual surrogate speaker for Donald Trump during last year’s presidential campaign (link).
Nicknamed “Miami’s MAGA Mayor,” Emilio has pledged to serve all residents of the city by fighting high taxes, reckless spending and the corruption that has plagued past administrations. He would welcome the Florida DOGE team to audit City Hall, and is focused on government efficiency and accountability. His leadership would complement the Trump Presidential Library, soon to be built in Miami.
Over the course of the two-hour debate, it became clear that—regardless of age—he was the adult in the room.

The Adult in the Room

Emilio distinguished himself from the other candidates in several ways:

1. He is the only candidate who is not a career politician. He is a veteran, a business executive, and a government administrator. He does not tolerate corruption or woke progressive ideology.
2. He was the only candidate to take legal action to keep the elections on schedule this year. His campaign fully funded the first-class legal team that won the case. None of the other candidates contributed—making them free-riders on the rule of law.
3. He is the only candidate with working relationships with both the Governor of Florida and the President of the United States. These connections will help Miami address its pressing issues.
4. He has the stature to represent Miami nationally and internationally without the stain of corruption, incompetence, or cronyism. Unlike most of his opponents, he has proven himself in leadership roles beyond Miami.
5. As a U.S. Army officer, including a teaching role at West Point, he modeled high character, integrity, and leadership—qualities he would bring to City Hall.

Woke Progressive Nonsense

The two progressive candidates, Higgins and Russell, repeated the usual progressive talking points:

1. Climate change – They blamed climate change for Miami’s flooding. A more practical explanation is the City’s failure to maintain existing drainage infrastructure, invest in new systems, and keep streets clean to prevent clogged drains.
2. Public housing – History shows public housing projects like Cabrini-Green in Chicago and Pruitt-Igoe in St. Louis have failed and been demolished. A better approach would be eliminating property taxes and streamlining permits for new housing construction.
3. Public transit – Nationwide, public transit carries less than 4% of commuters, mostly in cities built before the automobile era. The overwhelming majority of commuters rely on cars. Higgins, however, continues to push for expanded public transit in Miami-Dade.
Russell was the more energetic progressive on stage, repeatedly clashing with Carollo and ADLP over corruption, funding and accountability. He also pushed for City funding of cultural institutions, which could otherwise rely on private philanthropy.

Higgins, by contrast, appeared stiff and uninspiring. With an engineering and management background, she champions public transit despite its limited use. Her demeanor suggested a prim and proper schoolmarm, projecting no vision for rooting out corruption or promoting effective governance. Behind her technocratic façade lie woke progressive policies such as defunding the police, cashless bail and sanctuary city status. As County Commissioner, alongside County Mayor Levine Cava, she helped create this year’s $402 million county budget deficit.

By the debate’s end, most observers agreed that Higgins fell flat. Many speculated that Russell could overtake her and face Emilio in a runoff. The very next morning, Mayor Levine Cava rushed to endorse Higgins—proof that tax-and-spend progressives stick together.

Mexican Free-Style Wrestling

Much of the debate—especially between Carollo, ADLP and Russell—resembled a Mexican free-style wrestling match (lucha libre), with accusations of corruption, favoritism and incompetence flying back and forth.

Emilio recounted that, during his time as City Manager, Tallahassee legislators and lobbyists admitted they enjoyed watching livestreams of Miami City Commission meetings because they were so entertaining—perhaps a new revenue source for the City.

Miami is becoming a world-class city, in large part because competitors like Havana and New York have declined under progressive rule. Now is the time to take city government seriously and elect a Mayor who will lead Miami forward.