Ex-city manager files to run for Miami mayor: ‘The city is in peril'

Miami Herald

09-04-2025

Former city manager and retired U.S. Army colonel Emilio González has filed to run for mayor of Miami, joining a growing field of candidates in the November election.
González, 68, was the city's top administrator from 2018 to early 2020, when he resigned amid a political battle with the City Commission.
Before becoming city manager, González was appointed by former Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez to be director of Miami International Airport. He also served as the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under President George W. Bush. He is now a partner at a California-based asset management company.
González, who lives in The Roads neighborhood, said the city needs a mayor who values transparency, results and common sense above politics. He added that he was motivated to run because people have approached him saying that 'the city is in peril.'
'You need to run,' González said people have told him. 'You got to fix this. ... You know where the bodies are.'
'I go to Publix,' he added, 'and the guy that bags my groceries says, 'Colonel, are you running?''
González's tenure as city manager came to a halt in early 2020 as he faced accusations from Commissioner Joe Carollo that he had doctored documents to secure a permit for his home and used his position to fast-track the permit.
Carollo moved to fire González in late 2019. The commission voted 3-2 to terminate him, falling one vote short of the super-majority needed to oust a city manager. Commissioner Manolo Reyes and former Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla joined Carollo in voting to terminate González. Ken Russell, who is also running for mayor, was one of the two remaining commissioners to vote against his firing.
González was expecting to publicly address Carollo's allegations at a January 2020 meeting. But that meeting ended abruptly when an argument about the order of agenda items spiraled into a political spectacle. Díaz de la Portilla then moved to adjourn the meeting early.
READ MORE: Miami meltdown: Commission abruptly ends meeting, delays dozens of decisions
González submitted his resignation a week later, saying his main reason for stepping down was to spend time with his family and that his priority was being at home with his wife, who was ill.
In an interview this week, González took aim at what he called the city's 'political caste,' saying that politicians who are part of the 'status quo' impede the city's ability to tackle real issues, like traffic, flooding and housing affordability.
'They all have the same last name,' González said. 'They've been around for 35 years.'
While González served as city manager for two years, he said he doesn't consider himself to be a part of the establishment.
In fact, he said: 'It was the actual political establishment that tried to fire me.'
In November, González could face off against two of the commissioners he quarreled with: Carollo, who is rumored to run for mayor but has not publicly confirmed, and Díaz de la Portilla, who has stated that he intends to run but has not yet filed candidate paperwork.
González said the previous City Commission tried to fire him because he refused 'to be in a circus.'
'If you don't like the circus,' González added, 'stop voting for the clowns.'