Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid stood in front of the Miami-Dade County Building Department on Sept. 5, a department he would criticize when he launched his campaign for county mayor.
Cid, 39, is term-limited for the town office and his service will end in November, 2024. He is challenging incumbent Miami-Dade County Mayor Danielle Levine Cava, who is seeking a second term.
The county has a strong mayor form of government and Levine Cava oversees 30,000 employees who provide services for 2.7 million residents. She is responsible for departments that run an international port, international airport and county airports; police and fire services and last fiscal year had a $6.7 billion operating budget.
Miami Lakes has a $20.2 million operating budget overseen by the town manager; the mayor’s role is largely ceremonial. Cid listed several goals during and after his press conference:
--Hire the county’s first insurance commissioner. “We’re gonna make sure we utilize the county and our resources to work with the private sector to make sure that we mitigate those expenses for those young families here in our community,” Cid said.
--Move the mayor’s office from downtown Miami to “a more centralized location in our community” with a ground floor space to meet “working class” constituents on Saturdays.
--Have the county Building Department issue permits and other forms to residents on a faster schedule.
--“Reform” county environmental resources management and “follow federal and state regulations without burdening our businesses,” he said.
--Change the commission structure so that some commissioners serve residents in unincorporated areas. “A lot of people don’t know that Dade County has the largest city under control, which is a million people which is unincorporated Dade,” Cid said.
--Roll back taxes.
Other candidates in the race are small business owner Monique Barley-Mayo; Alexander Otaola, a conservative commenter who appears on YouTube, and Miguel “El Skipper” Quintero, entertainment producer.
The Primary Election is Aug. 20, Election Day is Nov. 5.