Miami voters could say no to political retreads or professional politicians by extending term limits this November.
City Commissioner Damian Pardo wants to put a charter amendment on the Nov. 4 ballot so that elected officials who have served on the commission or as mayor for two terms cannot come back and run for office after a break. Like zombie politicos.
Currently, term limits in Miami are only for consecutive terms. That’s why Commissioner Joe Carollo, who was mayor from 1996 to 2001, can run again this year. Mayor Francis Suarez could, technically, sit this term out and run again in 2027. Former Mayor Tomas Regalado could run again, though he won’t want to now he’s Miami-Dade Property Appraiser. Former Commissioners Willy Gort, Frank Carollo — who is widely rumored to be looking at another District 3 run to take over what is now the “Carollo seat” — and Marc Sarnoff (gasp!) could run for commission again.
But not if voters amend the city charter to establish that anyone who has already served two terms, at any time, is ineligible to run for the same office again, “during their lifetime.” Pardo is sponsoring a resolution a Tuesday’s meeting that would direct the city attorney’s office to prepare the amendment for the Nov. 4 ballot where alongside the mayoral race and contests for commission districts 3 and 5. And District 4 if Commissioner Manolo Reyes runs for mayor, as expected.
Read related: Long list of potential 2025 Miami mayoral candidates starts to take form
Neither Carollo nor Reyes have officially announced or filed any paperwork with the city clerk’s office. Yet.
Is Pardo targeting Carollo, who he has been butting heads with on the commission since he was elected in 2023? Carollo thinks so. But Pardo said it is absolutely not.
“Nobody knows what he’s going to do,” Pardo said. “He keeps saying he’s going to go to Shangri-La. He wanted an appointment with the Trump administration. This is not about Joe Carollo.”
Pardo said it is about opening the city up to new people and ideas and points at how term limits have changed the leadership in Miami-Dade. “We’re looking at a whole new set of commissioners that came in,” he told Political Cortadito. “It changes the entire dynamic.”
The city’s own commission could be an example of how non establishment electeds can shake things up with the change made since Pardo and Commissioner Miguel Gabela, neither of whom have been in office before now, were elected in 2023.
“Miami residents have waited long enough for real change in our city government,” Pardo said in a statement, adding that the legislation “limits the participation of career politicians entrenched in City politics.
“We are committed to a more representative government that advocates for its residents’ interests,” Pardo said. “Holding public office should be about public service, not self-interest or monied interests. This legislation guarantees that our government remains as dynamic, responsive, and accountable as possible. We are ushering in a new era of transformational leadership and democracy in the Magic City—one in which public service is a privilege, not an entitlement.
“We are proud to introduce this measure and look forward to residents making their voices heard in the November general election.”
Read related: 2025 Miami Commission contests could be battles between some known names
All it has to do is get three votes on the commission next week, or two other votes aside from Pardo. Ladra suspects that Gabela will be supportive. And Reyes might want a safety net to take Carollo out if he wins the mayor’s race. But is his vote a conflict of interest? King is out. Not just because she does Carollo’s bidding, but because she honestly thinks that elections are the true expression of term limits.
If they approve next week’s measure, the city attorney’s office will still have to come back within 120 days to get the ballot language approved by September 5 to make it onto the November ballot.
Ladra suspects that, if it gets on the ballot, the amendment will win with an overwhelming majority. Nearly 70% of Miami Beach voters passed a similar measure in 2014, creating “lifetime term limits” for their electeds. It’s why commissioner Michael Gongora was blocked by a judge from running for re-election in 2021.
The amendment, if passed would be retroactive, which means that Carollo, if elected, would be de facto ousted from office. Any Carollo, actually, because if the commissioner’s brother Frank decides to come back and wins, that election would also be invalidated. Pardo said the seat could go to whoever came in second in the race — but he doesn’t really know.
Ladra says there will be lawsuits.
Candidates would be made aware of this at the time they qualify and voters would also be made aware that there are candidates who might be invalidated if the amendment passes. Basically, that they risk throwing their vote away if they cast it for a Carollo.
That makes for a good campaign slogan.
Voters in Miami may get to strengthen term limits and ban political retreads added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →
