Raquel Regalado announces resignation from school board to run for Miami-Dade County mayor

Daughter of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado runs for office

MIAMI – The daughter of Miami's mayor is resigning from her position with the Miami-Dade County school board to run for county mayor.

Raquel Regalado filed a letter Friday with the county's supervisor of elections announcing her resignation so that she can qualify to challenge Mayor Carlos Gimenez for his job.

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Regalado's resignation is effective Nov. 21, which is the last day of Gimenez's current term. Gimenez, who took office in 2011, is seeking re-election.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to serve on the school board of Miami-Dade County," Regalado wrote in her letter to county elections supervisor Penelope Townsley and elections supervisor designee Christina White.

File: Raquel Regalado resignation letter

The lifelong Miami-Dade County resident graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School, attended Miami Dade College, received a bachelor's degree from Florida International University and earned a law degree from St. Thomas University.

Regalado was elected to the school board in 2010, a year after her father, Tomas Regalado, was elected mayor of Miami. She represents District 6, which includes Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Miami's Coconut Grove and Little Havana neighborhoods, and South Miami.

The mother of two, including an autistic child whose special needs propelled her to pursue public office, said she is satisfied with her work on the school board and is committed to improving the economy so that graduates of Miami-Dade County Public Schools can afford to return home after college.

"We need someone who is willing to put in the work and get the job done," she said in a statement. "From traffic to restoring our police force, we need someone who will take our residents' needs seriously, someone who won't break promises and make excuses. We did it at the school board. Now it's time to restore our community's trust in county government."

Voters will decide the next mayor Aug. 30.


About the Author:

Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.