Mayor visits MLEC

Mayor Manny Cid visited Miami Lakes Educational Center (MLEC) on January 31 to discuss politics, town initiatives and his own career with The Harbinger staff.

A lot has changed in the last 20 years. Here, in Miami Lakes, those changes include more parks, recreational facilities and more opportunities for community involvement, said Cid who fittingly is one of the youngest mayors of one of the youngest cities in Miami-Dade County. Cid was only 29 when he became vice mayor. “I was told not to question the status quo,” he said, “but, you have one opportunity to change the culture and the ways of city hall, and I took the risk to try and do that.”

The mayor brought town hall meetings into people’s homes, streaming them live on social media and even having residents submit questions. He has worked to improve and renovate parks throughout the town as well as empowering residents, including local teenagers, to get involved with the town and make their home better.

Before his election to the town council, Cid worked as a legislative aide in Tallahassee. There, he gained experience, not just with laws, but with people, lobbyists and the political machine. “I wrote laws and had the opportunity to debate those laws in committee,” he said. It is where the future mayor learned how few elected politicians actually know policy. Which is dangerous “because that provides lobbyists and special interests with more power.” It is why Cid resolved to learn all aspects of lawmaking, to know policy and have all the information at hand when presenting voters, residents and fellow lawmakers with options.

The self-described “municipal nerd,” immerses himself in city, town and municipal business. Because, he says, local government makes the greatest impact on people’s day to day lives. “It’s not as exciting as national politics,” but far more impacting on our everyday lives – affecting our roads, drinking water and schools, just to name a few local issues.