MIAMI — Elijah John Bowdre, who is among the 13 candidates running for Miami mayor on Nov. 4, said he is worried about people who are working two or three jobs and sleeping in their car.
The Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University graduate said he wants to change this through “the money power in tech” to “provide subsidies, rebates, stipends, bonuses, [and] discounts” for residents.
“I am running in order to help lower the prices, raise the standards, and move Miami forward,” Bowdre said. “My platform is based on enterprise efficiency and accountability for the public benefit.”
Bowdre, an Edgewater neighborhood resident, serves as the chairman of the Miami-Dade County Cryptocurrency Task Force and was the Overtown Community Oversight Board liaison.
“I regulated the Southeastern Overtown Parkway, [Community Redevelopment Agency] economic Miami World Center,” Bowdre said. " I lived in China for around eight years, and I came back to Miami of a $500 million investment from Hong Kong into Downtown."
Bowdre, who earned a study abroad certification from Shanghai University and speaks Mandarin, is the executive director of the Miami-Dade Digital Commission, a non-profit organization.
“My job mainly is as an educator, as a bridge builder,” said Bowdre, who speaks Spanish and also described himself as a “strong international global leader.”
Bowdre filed his statement of candidacy on Sept. 15 and his affidavit of candidacy on Sept. 19. For more information about Bowdre’s campaign, visit this site.
Related link: Campaign page
Related document: Affidavit of candidate (.PDF)
OTHER MAYORAL CANDIDATES
The other candidates in the nonpartisan race are Alex Díaz de la Portilla, Alyssa Crocker, Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, Elijah John Bowdre, Emilio González, Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, June Savage, Kenneth DeSantis, Ken Russell, Laura Anderson, Michael A. Hepburn, and Xavier L. Suarez.
Name recognition: Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is not related to newcomer Kenneth DeSantis, endorsed González, a retired U.S. Army Colonel and fellow Republican who served as Miami’s city manager from 2018 to 2020.
Suarez, who served as Miami mayor from 1985 to 1993 and from 1997 to 1998, is the father of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Legal trouble: De La Portilla is a former Miami commissioner who served from 2020 to 2023 when Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended him over a corruption case that prosecutors later dropped.
Carollo, who served as Miami mayor from 1996 to 1997 and from 1998 to 2001, also has an arrest record. In 2001, police officers arrested him for domestic violence, and he agreed to attend anger management classes.
Later in 2023, a federal jury in civil court sided with two businessmen who won $63.5 million in damages against Carollo for “weaponizing” code enforcement to violate their rights after they supported one of his political opponents.
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC
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