For the first time in six decades, there's a new sheriff-elect in Miami-Dade County: Rosie Cordero-Stutz.
Cordero-Stutz, a Republican, defeated Democrat James Reyes by a convincing 55% to 44% margin Tuesday night, according to the latest results. She will take office on January 7, 2025, in charge of policing for all of Miami-Dade County.
Her win marks the first time since the early 1960s that Miami-Dade has an elected sheriff. For the past six decades, the county's law enforcement chief has been an appointed police director. But a 2018 state ballot initiative mandated that all Florida counties now elect sheriffs as well as several other government posts.
As Sheriff, Cordero-Stutz will also be a significantly more powerful and autonomous law enforcement boss than Miami-Dade's police directors, who have been under the oversight of county commissioners.
At her campaign victory party at the EB Hotel in Miami Springs, Cordero-Stutz told supporters:
"To all the citizens of Miami-Dade, the message is clear: When it comes to the importance of law and order, Miami-Dade stands strong…make no mistake. My commitment is exclusively to the city and the protection of the residents of Miami-Dade County."
READ MORE: How will Miami-Dade County’s new sheriff serve unincorporated areas?
Cordero-Stutz has served in the Miami-Dade police department for nearly 30 years. She is currently the Miami-Dade Police Department's assistant director and the chair of the Sheriff Internal Transition Team.
Her campaign received endorsements from several big-name Florida Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis. She’s also got the backing of 27 current county sheriffs in the state.
She thanked those supporters, as well as other Florida Republicans like U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, during her watch party.
"Thank you for your faith and thank you for your trust in me," she said. "Like I said before, I never expected to run for any political position. And let's just say that my political contacts were limited when I started this campaign. But I'm profoundly grateful for many of the politicians that stepped up to back me."
Before the election, Cordero-Stutz discussed her top priorities as sheriff with WLRN. She listed community mental health, increasing police presence and traffic enforcement among the concerns she’d like to address.
“Additionally is the expansion of a corruption unit,” she said. “Not just your traditional political corruption as most people know the term, but the fraud that's associated with homeowners associations.”
Reyes is Miami-Dade’s current chief of public safety. Previously, he spent a year as director of the county’s Corrections and Rehabilitation and 22 years serving in a variety of leadership roles in the Broward Sheriff’s office.
“Obviously I’ll still be chief of public safety and I’m gonna help in any way I can to ensure a successful transition," he told WLRN Tuesday afternoon at a polling station in Overtown.
He'll be working with Cordero-Stutz in her new role come 2025.
"Public safety’s been something that’s near and dear to my heart for twenty five years and I’m gonna stay committed to it: committed to this community, and and committed to helping her any way that I can.”
His main ally in this race has been current Miami-Dade mayor Daniella Levine Cava, whose landslide win in the August primaries earned her another term leading the county.
He also received endorsements from several county commissioners and the South Florida Police Benevolent Association.
Miami-Dade's new sheriff will have control over the county police department’s budget, providing police services to unincorporated parts of the county and municipalities that choose to contract with the office.
A corruption scandal in 1966 led to the dismantling of the sheriff’s department, after it was discovered that the office was taking bribes, protecting illegal gambling operations and engaging in extortion.
In the summer of 2023, it seemed all but likely that then-Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez III was a shoo-in for the job with an endorsement from Mayor Levine Cava.
His bid for sheriff ended after he attempted to take his own life in July of 2023. He survived, and returned to Miami-Dade Police as a senior advisor, guiding the transition to a sheriff’s office.
His absence created a vacuum, with well over a dozen candidates lined up for primaries.
With no incumbent, primaries were tricky – while Reyes beat other Democrats by a sizable 46%, Cordero-Stutz ran against ten other Republican candidates, winning with just under 25% of the votes.
