Latest news with #XavierSuarez
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Xavier Suarez, Miami's first Cuban-born mayor, plans to run for mayor again
Xavier Suarez, the first Cuban-born mayor of Miami and the father of the city's current mayor, announced Monday that he plans to file to run for mayor. Suarez's announcement landed hours after a judge ruled that it was unlawful for the city of Miami to postpone its November 2025 election to November 2026 without voter approval. The city quickly filed a notice of appeal. 'I'm energized,' Suarez said in a brief interview with the Miami Herald. He said he plans to file his candidate paperwork Tuesday morning. Suarez became the city's first Cuban-born mayor in 1985. He was reelected to a two-year term in 1987 and then to a four-year term in 1989. Suarez's announcement tees up a potential redo of the 1997 mayoral race, when Suarez and Joe Carollo went head-to-head. Carollo, now a city commissioner, has long been teasing a run for mayor in November. Carollo, the incumbent, initially lost to Suarez in 1997. But the election was overturned because of ballot fraud, and Carollo was declared the winner the following year, serving as mayor from 1998 to 2001. READ MORE: Dynasty city: How three Miami families may extend their decades of political power Suarez's son, Francis Suarez, was elected mayor in 2017 and is termed out of office at the end of the year. If Xavier Suarez is elected in November and serves the entirety of the four-year term, a Suarez will have occupied the position of Miami mayor for 12 consecutive years. Xavier Suarez said Monday that the city 'could use a serious reform.' That includes supporting ballot initiatives to move the city elections to even-numbered years and to expand the City Commission from five to nine members. Suarez said in a press release that he also plans to 'actively oppose' a proposal from Commissioner Damian Pardo to create lifetime term limits for elected officials. That ballot referendum is heading to voters in November. Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Miami's first Cuban-born Mayor Xavier Suarez plans 2025 run
Xavier Suarez, the first Cuban-born mayor of Miami and father of current Mayor Francis Suarez, told CBS News Miami Monday that he plans to file paperwork to run for mayor again in the upcoming 2025 election. "I'm energized," Suarez said in an interview with the Miami Herald, a news partner of CBS News Miami. Suarez, 76, said he intends to file his candidate paperwork at City Hall on Tuesday morning. His announcement came hours after a judge ruled it was unlawful for the city to postpone its November 2025 election to 2026 without voter approval. Suarez first made history in 1985 when he was elected as Miami's first Cuban-born mayor. He was reelected to a two-year term in 1987 and again to a four-year term in 1989. His son, Francis Suarez, is term-limited at the end of this year.
Miami Herald
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Xavier Suarez, Miami's first Cuban-born mayor, plans to run for mayor again
Xavier Suarez, the first Cuban-born mayor of Miami and the father of the city's current mayor, announced Monday that he plans to file to run for mayor. Suarez's announcement landed hours after a judge ruled that it was unlawful for the city of Miami to postpone its November 2025 election to November 2026 without voter approval. The city quickly filed a notice of appeal. 'I'm energized,' Suarez said in a brief interview with the Miami Herald. He said he plans to file his candidate paperwork Tuesday morning. Suarez became the city's first Cuban mayor in 1985. He was reelected to a two-year term in 1987 and then to a four-year term in 1989. Suarez's announcement tees up a potential redo of the 1997 mayoral race, when Suarez and Joe Carollo went head-to-head. Carollo, now a city commissioner, has long been teasing a run for mayor in November. Carollo, the incumbent, initially lost to Suarez in 1997. But the election was overturned because of ballot fraud, and Carollo was declared the winner the following year, serving as mayor from 1998 to 2001. READ MORE: Dynasty city: How three Miami families may extend their decades of political power Suarez's son, Francis Suarez, was elected mayor in 2017 and is termed out of office at the end of the year. If Xavier Suarez is elected in November and serves the entirety of the four-year term, a Suarez will have occupied the position of Miami mayor for 12 consecutive years. Xavier Suarez said Monday that the city 'could use a serious reform.' That includes supporting ballot initiatives to move the city elections to even-numbered years and to expand the City Commission from five to nine members. Suarez said in a press release that he also plans to 'actively oppose' a proposal from Commissioner Damian Pardo to create lifetime term limits for elected officials. That ballot referendum is heading to voters in November.
Miami Herald
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Miami commissioners gave themselves an extra year in office. It's time to do this next
Miami voters don't always get enough of a voice in how their own city is being run. Take the vote on elections last month, for example. City commissioners decided to move the election date from 2025 to 2026 — and extend their terms on the board by a year — in the name of moving elections to even-numbered years to increase voter participation — a seemingly good idea for which the Herald Editorial Board has advocated. The problem is the commission didn't ask for permission from the voters, many of whom were understandably outraged at the idea that elected officials could just decide to stay in their jobs for an extra year — and get another year of salary, courtesy of taxpayers. The power grab, as many characterized the decision, not surprisingly, spawned national headlines. One would-be 2025 candidate, whose plans were upended by the change, has already filed suit. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who benefits from the change, quickly signed the measure into law. But there's some better news for voters. Earlier this week, commissioners passed a proposal, 3-2, to allow voters to decide in November whether to impose a lifetime term limit on the city's elected officials — two four-year terms as mayor and two four-year terms as commissioner. There is a loophole in the proposal that should be noted, and it's one that could allow some legacy politicians a chance to run again. The wording of the proposal specifically excludes 'any time served as a result of having been elected to fill a vacancy.' That means Commissioner Joe Carollo, a highly controversial figure, could run for mayor again. He has already served two terms as mayor and multiple stints as city commissioner, dating back to 1979. But because he won his first term as mayor in a special election (to fill the vacancy created by the death of Mayor Stephen Clark in 1996), he would, under this new proposal, still be eligible to run for mayor one more time. Also potentially affected by the loophole: Xavier Suarez, another former mayor. Xavier Suarez — whose son is Miami mayor now — served three terms in the 1980s. But only one of those was a four-year term, opening the door to another run for him as well under the proposed term limits. Those are important caveats for voters to understand, since they are the ones who will be deciding the term-limit question in a special election this November. That the decision rests in the hands of voters is a very good thing. Term limits are a good idea that voters should approve, but there's another proposal for a change in the way Miami is governed that we think is more important: expanding the number of seats on the city commission. The Editorial Board has advocated for this for several years, including as part of our Miami Dysfunction series of editorials. The idea that Miami, a city of almost 450,000 people, has only five commissioners to represent its residents defies common sense. We believe Miami's City Commission must grow from five districts to seven or nine to put in on par with other cities of similar or even smaller populations. Tampa, for example, with a population of about 400,000, has seven city council members, four elected in districts and three at-large. The change is also needed because the current structure — five commissioners, each elected in a single district — isn't working. Anyone who has seen the temper tantrums and in-fighting on the dais — embarrassing displays by our leaders — knows that the frequent 3-2 votes on the commission mean one person can hold enormous power. Diluting the power with a bigger board would help. And if districts are smaller, Miami residents might get more responsive representation out of the deal, too. A local citizens' group, called Stronger Miami, has been gathering signatures on a petition in an attempt to get the question on the ballot in November. But it shouldn't take a petition drive for Miami commissioners to start taking this idea seriously. If they can vote themselves an extra year in office, surely they can entertain the idea of expanding the commission so it better represents the people. Click here to send the letter.
