Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert resigns to run for Wilson’s seat

Miami-Dade School Board member Steve Gallon, Miami Gardens Councilwoman Linda Julienhe to run for Gilbert’s seat

FILE PHOTO (Local 10 News)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, a former two-term Miami Gardens mayor, is running for U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson’s seat.

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Gilbert, 53, plans to officially announce his run for the 24th Congressional District on Sunday at the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Miami Gardens and livestream it on his new site.

“I grew up here. I went to school here. I served here. And every step of that journey is the reason I’m running,” Gilbert said in a statement on his site.

Oliver, who was elected to the commission in 2020 and served as the commission chair from 2022 to 2024, announced he was resigning from his commission seat effective Jan. 3.

Miami-Dade School Board member Steve Gallon III and Miami Gardens Councilwoman Linda Julienhe announced they are running for Gilbert’s commission seat.

The list of candidates running for Wilson’s seat also includes former Miami-Dade Commissioner Jean Monestime, Dr. Rudy Moise, and Christine Sanon-Jules, an entrepreneur.

Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones asked his supporters on Thursday to meet him on Tuesday at the Koinonia Worship Center in Hollywood.

Jones, 42, announced on May 27 that he was not going to seek reelection for Florida Senate District 34, which he had represented since 2022.

“I also told you that when I was ready to share what comes next, you would hear directly from me,” Jones said in a video released on X.

After Wilson announced her retirement on May 29, Florida Rep. Ashley Gantt announced her campaign for Jones’s seat and released a statement saying Jones was seeking Wilson’s seat.

“As Congresswoman Wilson passes the torch and Senator Shevrin Jones announces his campaign for Congressional District 24, this moment also creates an opening, and I believe I am ready to fill it,” Gantt said in the statement.

Florida Democrats faced conflict after a Republican majority passed a redistricting map on April 29 and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law on May 4.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced on May 22 that she had decided not to run for reelection in the 25th Congressional District, but instead run in the 20th District. She faced backlash from Black Democrats.

On Tuesday, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters that he had not decided whether or not to endorse Wasserman Schultz, whom he praised for her “strong” track record.

“I think we all recognize the sensitivities of the moment in terms of an unprecedented Jim Crow-like assault on Black political representation that has been unleashed by the Supreme Court’s outrageous decision to gut the Voting Rights Act, and it’s an environment that all of us need to be sensitive to,” Jeffries said.

The primary election is on Aug. 28, and the midterm election is Nov. 3. For more information about key election dates in Florida, visit this page.

VOTER GUIDE: Here is how to prepare for Florida’s Aug. 18 primary election

Read Gilbert’s resignation letter

Oliver Gilbert's resignation letter, page 1
Oliver Gilbert's resignation letter, page 2

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About The Author
Andrea Torres

Andrea Torres

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.