Former Miami City Commissioner Ken Russell could not have picked a worse pole position for the start of last Tuesday's mayoral debate in downtown Miami.
Russell was sandwiched between two former commission adversaries — Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla. All three are running to become Miami’s next mayor. The election is Nov. 4.
The lineup — randomly assigned — made for some tense moments during Tuesday night’s debate.
Carollo and Diaz de la Portilla didn’t hide their contempt for Russell, a resident of Coconut Grove. But Russell gave as good as he got.
When Diaz de la Portilla, who was arrested on corruption charges and removed from office two years ago, criticized Russell for leaving his District 2 commission seat before his term was up, Russell delivered one of the more memorable lines of the night.
“I did leave 10 months early on an eight-year term, but I didn’t leave in handcuffs, like you,” Russell said.
Diaz de la Portilla cried foul, noting that the charges against him were later dropped. “I was cleared of everything,” he said.
The gloves were off
But Russell had made his point — the gloves were off.
Other memorable moments from the two-hour debate:
Emilio Gonzalez, the former city manager, said he would work with Gov. Ron DeSantis to deliver tax relief. “I want to abolish all real estate taxes and it can be done.”
Carollo pledged to forgo outside employment, if elected. “As mayor, I will only have the job of mayor,” he said.
The current mayor, Francis Suarez, has been criticized for, among other things, accepting $10,000 monthly consulting payments from a developer doing business with the city.
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins pledged to give up one year of her four-year term as mayor, if elected, so the next election could be held in 2028 — the date of the next presidential election — to boost voter turnout.
Former Mayor Xavier Suarez (the father of the current mayor) said he would seek to lower property taxes for homeowners by increasing the homestead exemption to $500,000. “The issue of making Miami more affordable begins with increasing the homestead exemption,” he said.
Russell promised, as mayor, to chair City Commission meetings and put an end to the shouting matches and personal attacks that have become common in recent years.
And Diaz de la Portilla pushed back against the notion that his family or the Carollo clan have established political dynasties in Miami.
“People go and vote,” he said. “That’s not a dynasty. That’s an election. It’s a democracy. That’s what’s beautiful about it. Anyone can run.”
SUNDAY, OCT. 5: DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL CANDIDATE FORUM IN COCONUT GROVE
The Miami-Dade Democratic Party and the Coconut Grove Democratic Club are holding a Democratic Candidate Mayoral Forum featuring four Democratic mayoral candidates: Elijah John Bowdre, Michael Hepburn, Eileen Higgins, and Ken Russell. It will be moderated by Don Finefrock of the Coconut Grove Spotlight. Learn more here.
Moderating shouting matches
The debate moderator, Eliott Rodriguez of CBS News Miami, asked the candidates about affordable housing, flooding, traffic, and homelessness, among other issues.
But the debate didn’t ignite until he asked Carollo about the frequent shouting matches that he and Miami Commissioner Miguel Gabela have engaged in during commission meetings, including one explosive exchange when the two nearly came to blows.
“Do you condone this type of behavior during commission meetings?” Rodriguez asked Carollo. “What would you do to control your behavior?”
Carollo responded by criticizing Rodriguez and the media, saying reporters had failed to accurately portray Gabela as the aggressor.
“He launched at me, coming at me. What did you expect me to do? Stay sitting there so I could be pushed down from my chair. No, I had to get up,” Carollo said.
That gave Russell and Higgins an opening.
“What we need is an adult in the room, and we haven’t had that,” Russell said.
“I do not need to yell to be heard,” Higgins added, promising later that with her as mayor, “there will be no yelling, there will be no drama.”
Many candidates, one mayoral race
There are 13 candidates running for mayor, but only six made the debate stage.
The event organizer — the Downtown Neighbors Alliance — said it conducted an independent poll to gauge the strength of the field. Candidates who earned the support of 5% or more of poll respondents were invited to participate, the DNA said.
But Rodriguez had trouble keeping order, even with just six of the candidates.
As the discussion heated up and accusations began to fly, the candidates frequently pressed Rodriguez to let them deliver a rebuttal.
In one instance, Diaz de la Portilla asked to rebut Higgins, even though she hadn’t mentioned him by name. That’s when Russell found another opportunity to connect Diaz de la Portilla with Miami’s reputation for corruption.
“It seems if you say the word corruption, he gets a rebuttal,” Russell said.
This story was originally published in the Coconut Grove Spotlight, a WLRN News partner.
