Miami commissioners could give themselves and the mayor an extra year in office

Yahoo

09-05-2025

As early as next month, Miami city commissioners could vote to give themselves and Mayor Francis Suarez an extra year in office.
The idea circulating Miami City Hall — to move city elections from odd years to even years, in line with national elections — could push the upcoming November 2025 election to 2026.
City Attorney George Wysong confirmed to the Miami Herald that the City Commission has the authority to move the election back one year, rather than ask voters for approval. The change would mean Suarez and Commissioners Christine King and Joe Carollo would stay in office until 2026. Commissioners Damian Pardo and Miguel Angel Gabela's terms would also extend one year, until 2028.
As it stands now, Suarez is term-limited and set to leave office at the end of the year, and a few high-profile candidates have already filed to replace him in the election planned for this fall. But if the city pushes the election to 2026, Suarez — a former city commissioner — will get a 17th consecutive year as an elected official in Miami.
The idea has not yet been placed on an upcoming meeting agenda, but Gabela told the Herald his understanding was that it would be linked to a separate proposal from Pardo to create lifetime term limits for elected officials. The term limits proposal, which would limit elected officials to two terms as mayor and two terms as commissioner during their lifetime, would ultimately need voter approval. The commission is expected to take an initial vote on it June 12.
While Pardo said there was no connection between his term limits proposal and moving the city's elections to even years, he expressed support for aligning with national elections.
In an interview Thursday, Pardo said moving elections to even years would increase voter turnout, which typically hovers around 10% to 15% in Miami. He also said aligning with the national election cycle could save the city money.
'Residents, if they can see the bigger picture, would understand that you're changing the landscape of a city going forward,' Pardo said. 'And there's always going to be a cost to that, whether it's [elected officials] losing a year, gaining a year.'
Pardo added that he wouldn't oppose shortening elected officials' terms rather than lengthening them in order to switch to even-year elections. However, doing so by 2026 could create a situation where the winners of the November 2025 election need to run again in just one year.
'What I'm looking at is the long-term impact on the city of Miami and changing the structures so that we would double our [voter] participation,' Pardo added.
Asked Thursday if he would be interested in having an extra year in office, Suarez did not give a direct answer. He did, however, bring up Pardo's proposal for term limits.
'I've enjoyed being the mayor, and I've been very blessed to have the confidence of my residents, who reelected me by close to 80%,' Suarez said in a short interview at City Hall.
However, he added that since there is not yet a formal agenda item related to moving the election to 2026, 'there's really nothing to speculate or comment about related to that.'
'There is a proposal, however, on the agenda, related to closing the term limit loophole,' Suarez said. 'So that, at the appropriate moment, if it gets to my desk, I'll weigh in on that. But other than that, I'm looking forward to my 188 days left of service.'
It is unclear what Suarez meant when he said he'll 'weigh in' on that proposal, and he declined to elaborate. The mayor does not have a vote on the commission, but he has veto power — something he's exercised sparingly during his tenure.
Suarez has previously supported the idea of moving elections to even years, saying so in his 2024 State of the City address to residents.
Gabela expressed staunch opposition on Thursday to the prospect of moving elections to even years. Gabela said his understanding is that the term limits proposal would be 'coupled' with the proposal of pushing the upcoming November election to 2026.
'I don't want the extra year, nor will I be voting for this,' Gabela said. He added that while he supports the term limits proposal, he won't vote for it if it contains something 'to give us an extra year.'
'There's a hitch there, you know, and I don't want to be associated with that hitch,' Gabela said. 'I want to be associated with the first original idea. That was term limits, period. End of story. That I will do.'
Gabela also said that switching elections from odd to even years will make it harder for grassroots candidates to raise money because they'd be competing with the noise of national politics.
Carollo, who is termed out of his District 3 seat in November under the city's current rules, said Thursday that he is not interested in adding an extra year onto his term.
Carollo is considering running for mayor, although he hasn't formally filed for the race yet.
King, the commission's chairwoman, is up for reelection as District 5 commissioner in November, although she hasn't officially filed for the race yet. A spokesperson for King did not respond to a request for comment Thursday about whether she supports the proposal and if she's interested in having an extra year added to her term.
King was a vocal opponent to Pardo's term limits proposal when the commission discussed it last month, saying lifetime term limits were 'too rigid' and 'too inflexible.'
'It takes away choice from my constituents,' King said at the meeting.