Miami Commissioner Christine King is sworn in, returned to her throne

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Miami District 5 Commissioner Christine King, who cruised to re-election with a North-Korea-level 84% of the vote, was sworn in last week at City Hall surrounded by supporters, staff, church folks, youth groups, neighborhood leaders, and of course, the ever-present political padrino Keon Hardemon, whose fingerprints are still all over D5 like pastelito crumbs on a guayabera.

But there was someone missing — her father, who recently passed away. And when King talked about him, that’s when her voice cracked. Even Ladra’s cold little political heart moved a bit. (Just a bit.)

Her mother beamed with the kind of pride only a Caribbean mom can radiate — the kind that can warm a room and intimidate half the dais at the same time. You know who you are.

King, raised in Miami since the age of five, is the first Guyanese American ever elected to the Miami City Commission and the first woman to serve as chair. She talked about the “honor” of representing District 5 — and for once, it didn’t sound like boilerplate politician talk. Between the grief and the gratitude, she let the audience see the human behind the title. Rare for the 305, where over-polished speeches are practically an Olympic sport.

“This was a thank you campaign,” she said, thanking everyone for “allowing me the privilege and honor to serve. I do not take that responsibility lightly.”

Next to her mother, she broke into tears talking about her dad. “I lost my dad this year and that was really hard and it is still really hard. Which is why I’m tearing up now. Because he’s not here. But he is here.”

She said she lived “a fairy tale” life and thanked her family, her staff, her constituents and her mentors, including Billy Hardemon and former State Rep. Roy Hardemon, who died last week but was mentioned a few times.

“This life that I’ve been gifted by God is so full and my cup runneth over. I get to do things to improve the lives of families in District 5 and that’s what this job is about.

“Being able to work with commissioner Hardemon together to serve our community has been transformative for our community.”

Termed-out Mayor Francis Suarez was exuberant in his remarks.

“She is someone who has a tremendous fighting spirit,” Suarez said. “She has a fighter’s spirit, but she does it with a mother’s touch and with a soft hand. I remember when she was first elected and my chair had left our city, that I said I need someone who can keep the guys under control.

Read related: No runoffs in Miami as incumbents and Christine King score big election wins

“She said no at first. She literally told me no. She said, ‘No, I’m not ready. I just got here.’ I said, “No, no, no no, you are ready. You are made for this. Your personality is perfectly balanced to manage the people who are up here.”

Later, Commissioner Miguel Gabela said what everyone was thinking: “You’ve had a hard time working with us, you know, keeping us straight at times here. We’ve had a little bit of trouble on and off,” Gabela said. Ladra wonders if he means the time he got up and almost punched Joe Carollo.

Said Damian Pardo: “You do an amazing job of keeping the boys in line.”

During her words, King said “irrespective of what you all may hear, these are great guys. And I love them all… they are part of my fairy tale.”

Yeah, they’re all there: the big bad wolf, the tricky troll, the evil stepfather.

Suarez said King has a calming voice — which has been useful and has been useless at some meetings — and credited her with “making sure the agenda happens.” Suarez called her “a loyal friend… a loyal ally,” good, transparent, honest — and Ladra doesn’t know how those things can coexist.

Hardemon also had nothing but good things to say about his “number one partner” in the community, who he bonded with before either was elected. But he couldn’t help but take a few digs at the former county commissioner without naming her (Audrey Edmonson).

“To see these four years pass by so quickly, it’s like a blink of an eye,” he said, talking about the prrogress she’s made working with the county and the state. “I’m proud of the progress that you made. You made women in this town look good. I hope my daughters grow up to be somebody just like you, who can do something and say I can do it as a lady and look good doing it.”

Um, what? Cringe.

Read related: Miami-Dade Commissioners silence voters, appoint District 5 replacement

Even newly-appointed Miami-Dade Commissioner Vicki Lopez, less than 24 hours after her own swearing in, had some words of encouragement and support, calling King her sister and her “partner in crime.” Whoops. Hopefully, Lopez doesn’t mean the bribery charge she was slapped with when she was a Lee County commissioner in the 1990s.

“The thing that impressed me the most about her is that she led with her heart. She has cared deeply not only about her district but about the entire city,” Lopez said, adding that she had worked with King as a state rep on some projects and issues. “Some in her district and some not in her district. She never wavered in her commitment to the city.”

Still, this is Miami, and nobody gets a coronation without a bit of context.

There was never really a contest in D5. Marion Brown, a construction executive, and Frederick Bryant, a retired teacher and community activist really wasted their time running against her.

King — who previously served as Chief of Constituent Services for Miami-Dade County and later as president and CEO of the MLK Economic Development Corporation — has been the hand-picked successor to Hardemon, who went on to the Miami-Dade Commission, since before the commission slapped him in the face and appointed Commissioner Jeffrey “Who” Watson, who sorta promised, but not really, not to run for real and then got stomped in 2021 when Christine took 65% of the vote.

The chairwoman has some first-term wins: affordable-housing action, rental assistance, millions secured for Overtown, youth and workforce investments, homelessness programs, climate initiatives, beautification projects, and her signature “Constituent Tuesdays,” where anyone can show up and bend her ear without an appointment.

She promised more of the same in Term Two — more affordable housing, more youth programs, more senior support, more mental health access, more homelessness strategies, more resilience projects, and more neighborhood partnerships. All good things. All needed. All ambitious in the little four-year window Miami politicians get before redistricting, chaos, or FBI raids disrupt everything.

Read related: Rolando Escalona picks up two anti-Carollo endorsements in Miami D3 race

The only person beaming harder than King and her mom was Hardemon — the man who helped launch King into office back in 2021. The political godfather. The one person whose nod means more in District 5 than most outside it realize.

This wasn’t just a swearing-in; it was a reaffirmation of the District 5 political lineage. A continuation. A passing of the torch that never actually left the family.

But to King’s credit, she has grown into the role on her own terms. And on Thursday, as she promised to keep fighting for residents being pushed out of the neighborhoods they helped build, it felt… genuine. Emotional, yes. But, also, earned.

District 5 has seen its share of political turnover, drama, and reinvention. But for the next four years, it looks like Christine King isn’t going anywhere.

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  Christine King, Francis Suarez, Keon Hardemon