Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid's future goals may include county office

Government By Linda Trischitta, Editor Thursday, March 2, 2023

Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid is term-limited and will leave office in November 2024, when he hopes to have won election to a county office.

Cid shared his future goals with the Miami Herald Wednesday in a story about possible Republican challengers to Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a first-term Democrat who declared Wednesday she is running again.

“We’re definitely 100% in for a countywide race,” Cid told the Herald. “For the mayoral race, I think my skill set and what we’ve done in Miami Lakes will play well across the county.”

Reporter Douglas Hanks writes that Cid has “been open about his interest in running for office countywide, and that could include mayor or one of the county offices being elected for the first time under a new Florida constitutional amendment, including tax collector and elections supervisor.”

Cid, 39, told The Miami Laker on Thursday, “We’re looking at all options. There are seven offices: Mayor, sheriff, elections supervisor, tax collector, property appraiser, clerk of courts and commissioner. It’s very early in the process.”

Cid said he will open a campaign account when he declares for a specific office.

“I also look forward to making history if I’m elected, of being one of the first, if not the first, working-class county official,” Cid said.

Cid is a co-owner of the Mayor’s CafĂ© in town, where he sometimes cooks and cleans tables. He said he is also a guest lecturer for a speech and debate class and a cryptocurrency class at Horeb Christian School in Hialeah, where he also coaches boys basketball.

As for whether he could campaign for county office and still serve his constituents, Cid said, “I’ve been the master of multitasking. Ensuring our residents are taken care of is the number one priority, before any future aspirations.”

He said he is researching whether he would have to step down under the state’s resign to run law.

The statute says no elected or appointed official may qualify as a candidate for public office if the terms run concurrently with each other, which these would not.

If he runs for county mayor, Cid could face more seasoned competitors.

Contenders could include Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo, a former county commissioner who was defeated by Levine Cava for mayor; County Commissioner Rene Garcia, who represents District 13 which includes Miami Lakes, and U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a former county mayor, according to the Herald story. None of those men ruled out a run for mayor in their comments to the newspaper.

“Talent and work ethic always rise to the top,” Cid said.

Miami Lakes has a council-manager form of government, with Town Manager Edward Pidermann serving as chief administrative officer.

Cid will have served the town for a dozen years when his four-year term ends. He was elected to the council in Nov. 2012 and won his first mayoral term four years later.  

“One of my goals as mayor, which was important, is to ensure we leave the town in better hands when my term ends,” Cid said.