Long list of potential 2025 Miami mayoral candidates starts to take form

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Former Miam-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez — the first Cuban-American mayor of Miami and is the father of current and termed-out Mayor Francis “Baby X” Suarez — is rumored to be eyeing a run for his old seat in the city. But the senior Suarez, who left the District 7 commission office to run for county mayor unsuccessfully in 2020, told Political Cortadito Tuesday that he was not in next November’s race to succeed his son.

“I’m still under permanent injunction not to run for office and the only person who can waive that is Rita,” Commissioner Mayor Sir Suarez texted Ladra, referring to his wife, the boss. She knows best. This is going to be a circus worse than the special election for District 2.

Baby X may be indicted in connection to his dealings with developer Rishi Kapoor, who is being investigated– or he may be included in the Donald Trump administration as an ambassadorship in Saudi Arabia, a prize for stepping down after running for president for five minutes. The current mayor’s wife Gloria was actually floated as a possible successor in a telephone poll in June. But nobody takes that seriously and she has not been added to the already long list of confirmed, assumed or rumored candidates.

Those are:

• Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who has announced he would run but whose health issues could cause him to back down and stay in his District 4 commission seat, where he still has two years on his term. And the mayor doesn’t vote.
• Commissioner Joe Carollo, who is termed out and nobody believes he will just retire and fade away and give up the power he likes to abuse so much. Two questions: Will he risk the chance he’d lose a city-wide race? Or will the large field of candidates help him become the frontrunner?
• Former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez, who has been talking to would-be supporters (read: donors) about a possible run. If not for mayor, he could also run for District 3 to replace Carollo.
• Former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who told everyone he is running for mayor after the 11 felony public corruption charges against him were dropped in November, just a month before his trial would begin. Diaz de la Portilla, who lost his house in District 3 to foreclosure, may realize, however, that it’s going to be really hard for him to win a city-wide race and decide to run in District 4, instead. There’s no way he’d wait until 2027 to run in District 1 again. But it will be a real rain on his parade if he establishes residency in D4 and Reyes decides to stay in place. After all, he has not yet filed any paperwork and qualifying isn’t until September. Then again, Diaz de la Portilla may keep a “back up” residency in District 3, por si las moscas.
• Serial candidate Maxwell “Max” Martinez, a marketing professional who has reported loaning himself more than $122,000, or practically all his campaign funds, according to campaign finance records at the city clerk’s office. Martinez lost a mayoral bid in 2021, proudly coming in with 11% against “the most famous mayor in America.” He has a marketing agency and also ran against 14 other candidates in the special election to replace Sabina Covo.
• Serial candidate Michael Hepburn, who ran for commission in District 5 and for congress once as a Democrat, has filed paperwork with the city clerk.
• Serial candidate June Savage, a real estate professional who also ran for commission District 2 in the special election and once for mayor of Miami Beach, has filed paperwork with the city clerk.

We’re two short of a baseball team, but Ladra has also heard that people are prodding former Commissioner Joe Sanchez, and that he’s declined because, well, he is still licking his woulds after a rough Republican primary for the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s office. Another name batted about is former Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina. So, play ball!

Both Colina and Suarez are former cops. Is that what the city needs at the helm? Or a military-minded colonel like Gonzalez? Someone que ponga orden at City Hall?

On Tuesday, a loyal reader reported getting a telephone poll on the mayoral race. Among the questions was if the Miami voter was aware that charges against ADLP were dropped by the Broward State Attorney’s Office and whether that made the voter more likely or less likely to vote for him.

Read related: Public corruption charges dropped against Miami’s Alex Diaz de la Portilla

Diaz de la Portilla was arrested in September of last year for public corruption charges including bribery and money laundering, connected to a pay-for-play public park giveaway to a private school. Attorney William Riley, a lobbyist who represented the school’s owners and was accused of funneling more than $245,000 into ADLP’s multiple political action committees, was also arrested. Charges were dismissed against both men last month after prosecutors said — in a close out memo that reads like it was written by Diaz de la Portilla’s defense attorneys — they couldn’t make the case.

Other interesting questions on the poll were “Are you familiar with the media outlet Political Cortadito and do you find it trustworthy? Does Miami Herald’s employment of a self-professed socialist make you less trustworthy of the Herald?”

That totally sounds like Diaz de la Portilla to me.

The poll also asked for favorability ratings on Reyes, Carollo, Emilio Gonzalez, Miami Commissioners Miguel Gabela and Damian Pardo, Commission Chairwoman Christine King, and Miami-Dade Commissioners Keon Hardemon — who was on ADLP’s legal team — and Eileen Higgins, who he lost a race to in the special election in 2018. He didn’t even make the runoff.

Why do we only have old recycled electeds and officials to choose from? Where is the new blood?

There’s still time. Qualifying for the November election doesn’t even begin until September. And that might give time for the Senior Suarez to change Rita’s mind if he really wants to.