For the first time in a long time, Miami’s next mayor won’t be a member of a familial political dynasty.
On Tuesday, former Miami-Dade County commissioner Eileen Higgins and ex-Miami City Manager Emilio Gonzalez won first and second place, respectively, in Miami’s mayoral election. However, Higgins did not capture more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.
The race featured 13 candidates, but the real drama involved three contenders whose families have lorded over Miami politics since the 1980s. City commissioner Joe Carollo, who returned to city hall in 2017 after serving two terms as mayor from 1998 to 2001, mustered only 12 percent of the vote in his latest bid for Miami’s top elected post. Carollo raised nearly $1 million, with many big name real estate players financially backing him.
Xavier Suarez, another former Miami mayor and father of the current mayor, Francis Suarez; and Alex Diaz de la Portilla, an ex-city commissioner who was removed from office in 2023, each garnered 5 percent of the vote. Diaz de la Portilla is a former state legislator whose brothers Renier Diaz de la Portilla and Miguel Diaz de la Portilla also served stints as county and state elected officials.
Carollo’s political action committee, Miami First, relied heavily on real estate industry contributions, despite a federal jury slapping Carollo with a $63 million judgment after finding him guilty of violating the rights of Little Havana developers Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla. Entities controlled by JDS Development Group’s Michael Stern donated a combined $125,000 to Miami First. Stern’s firm is developing a Dolce & Gabbana-branded condo-hotel in Miami’s Brickell neighborhood.
Entities managed by Nuri Dorra, who is co-developing Essence Miami, a multifamily project with 88 affordable and workforce housing apartments in Little Havana, contributed a combined $120,000 to Miami First.
Diaz de la Portilla’s biggest support came from real estate investors David and Leila Centner. The Miami Beach power couple donated $100,000 to Diaz de la Portilla’s political action committee, Proven Leadership for Miami-Dade County. The contribution represented nearly half of the committee’s haul in the three months ended in June. The PAC reported zero contributions between July and September, the most recent campaign finance filing period.
Meanwhile, Vlad Doronin’s OKO Group and Blanca Commercial Real Estate each contributed $10,000 to Suarez’s Imagine Miami PAC.
Higgins resigned from her county commission seat less than a year after being reelected without opposition to run for Miami mayor. Her individual campaign and three political action committees supporting her collected five-figure donations from several prominent developers.
David Martin’s Coconut Grove-based Terra contributed a combined $67,500, and Related Group, also based in Coconut Grove and led by Jorge, Nick and Jon Paul Pérez, donated a combined $50,000. Swerdlow Group, led by Michael Swerdlow, Craig Robins’ Miami-based Dacra, and land use law firm Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes each gave $10,000 to committees backing Higgins. Arnaud Karsenti, managing principal of 13th Floor Investments, donated $2,500.
13th Floor Investments, Terra, Swerdlow Group and Bercow Radell also gave money to Carollo’s Miami First PAC. Swerdlow contributed $50,000, 13th Floor donated $25,000, Bercow and Radell kicked in $10,000 and Terra chipped in $2,500.
Gonzalez, who testified against Carollo in the civil case brought by Fuller and Pinilla, successfully sued the city of Miami to hold the election this year, alleging city leaders violated the city charter in approving a delay of the election until next year. Six entities tied to Fuller and Pinilla donated a combined $20,000 to Gonzalez’s Mission Miami PAC.
Ken Russell, a former city commissioner who was among the 13 mayoral candidates, placed third. His PAC, Breaking The Wheel, received a $10,000 donation from Miami-based CMC Group, led by Ugo Columbo.