MIAMI — Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins is among the 13 candidates running for Miami mayor on Nov. 4.
Higgins, a graduate of the University of New Mexico and Cornell University, has experience as an engineer and as a marketing executive. She also served in the Peace Corps and as a foreign service officer for the State Department.
In 2018, voters elected the registered Democrat who lives in Downtown Miami to serve as a county commissioner. She represents District 5, which includes Brickell, Downtown Miami, Little Havana, and the industrial Miami River area.
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, Christian E. Cevallos, Elijah John Bowdre, Emilio González, Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, June Savage, Kenneth DeSantis, Ken Russell, Laura Anderson, Michael A. Hepburn, and Xavier L. Suarez.
Campaign funding: The initial reports filed on campaign monetary contributions showed Higgins, the Miami-Dade County commissioner who represents District 5, was at the top with $88,325. Russell, a former Miami commissioner, followed with about $74,860, and González with $69,280.
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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