Manolo Reyes, Miami City Commissioner, passes away at age 80

Miami City Commissioner Manolo Reyes died, according to his family. He was 80 years old.

"With profound sadness we announce the passing of City Commissioner Manolo Reyes," the city commissioner's family posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday morning.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez called Reyes "a devoted family man, fearless advocate, and true fighter," in a post on X. "His warmth, laughter, and unwavering dedication to our community will never be forgotten. Rest in peace, Manolo. You will be deeply missed."

"Commissioner Manolo Reyes was a true patriot and an exemplary public servant," said U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez on X. "This is a huge loss. We will all miss Manolo dearly. May his memory be a blessing."

Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez, also on X, said he was "deeply saddened by the passing of my friend and City of Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes."

"He was a devoted public servant and an advocate for his community," Rodriguez added. "My thoughts are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time."

Miami city commissioner Damian Pardo issued the following statement: "Manolo Reyes was a friend, a colleague, but most importantly, an exceptional role model."

"I will never forget his kindness and warmth, his welcoming hug to the dais during my first days as commissioner, and his welcoming smile," Pardo said. "I will remember him for his intellect, passion, humility, strength, love of community, family, and service."

Last November, Manolo Reyes won a decisive electoral battle against his longshot challenger, Andres 'Andy' Vallina, with 86% of the vote. Reyes told the Miami Herald at the time that he was being treated for leukemia. He was first elected in 2017 at age 73.

As a city commissioner, Reyes was outspoken about his principles, summed up in part with what he told WLRN in 2019: “I’m a Jeffersonian … I believe that the best government is the one that govern the less.”

His principled stances often left him standing alone on controversial votes, including voting against a 2019 no-bid deal for allowing developers to build a soccer stadium for Inter Miami on a city-owned golf course.

More recently, in 2024, he was the only commissioner that voted against allowing an advertising company to keep operating a digital billboard in downtown Miami that residents staunchly opposed. Reyes sided with resident groups, calling on the billboard to come down.“My vote is a protest,” Reyes said.

Reyes is originally from Victoria de Las Tunas, Cuba, and migrated to the United States with his parents in 1959 seeking political refuge from Fidel Castro’s regime, according to a bio on his campaign website.

He earned an undergraduate degree and post-graduate degree in economics at the University of Florida.

In the 1980s he launched his career as a budget and finance administrator for the City of Miami, where he served as the principal economic analyst for the Overtown Park West Redevelopment Project.

He later was principal budget analyst for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and served on the City of Miami Code Enforcement Board and the City of Miami’s Homeland Security and Neighborhood Improvement Bond Issue Oversight Board. He also taught economics at Miami Dade College and taught math and economics at Westland Hialeah Senior High School.

In an interview with the Miami Herald last May, Reyes told the newspaper that he considered his work as a public servant to be a “vocation.”

“If you get into government, you get power to serve, and many people forget about this,” Reyes told the Herald. “You don’t obtain power to serve yourself. The people give you power to serve them.”