Primetime politics: Local 10 News puts Miami mayoral hopefuls in the hot seat

Grab your remote and your cafecito, mi gente — WPLG Local 10 is about to make your 9 p.m. a lot more interesting.
Starting tonight, Local 10 News will roll out a full series of live interviews with the candidates running for Miami mayor — 12 of the 13, anyway. You can probably guess which one hasn’t confirmed yet. Yes, that one. Commissioner Joe Carollo — who likes to keep everyone guessing — is still a maybe.
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The station, which recently launched its new 9 p.m. newscast, is using the slot to give voters a closer look at the crowded field of contenders who want to run City Hall. Each will get their own night to pitch themselves, dodge questions, or — if we’re lucky — slip and tell us what they really think.
Here’s the line-up:

Oct. 6: Elijah John Bowdre, a newcomer with a preacher’s cadence and a reformer’s zeal — but in Miami politics, idealists tend to get eaten for breakfast.
Oct. 7: Former Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, who was suspended after his 2023 arrest on 14 felonies, including bribery and money laundering. Charges were dropped last year.What can Ladra say that a judge or an ethics report hasn’t already? The comeback kid is still trying to convince voters he’s not yesterday’s scandal. Maybe. As of Monday afternoon, he either didn’t know anything about it, or he pretended not to.
Oct. 8: Former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell, the paddleboard progressive who always sounds ready to lead a TED Talk — if only he could convince voters he’s not still running for Congress.
Oct. 9: Former Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suárez, the first Cuban-born mayor of Miami and the actual mayor’s father, living in the past, still convinced the city needs one more dose of Suárez. Spoiler: Not everyone agrees.
Oct. 10: Perennial candidate Michael Hepburn, a onetime congressional contender who is earnest, energetic, and probably the only one in the field who’s actually read the city budget cover to cover. Too bad he doesn’t stand a chance.
Oct. 13: Former Community Council Member Christian E. Cevallos is young, ambitious, and running like Miami’s future depends on it — even if most voters are still figuring out who he is.
Oct. 14: Former Miami City Manager Emilio González, the bureaucrat’s bureaucrat who knows exactly how City Hall works — and where the bodies are buried.
Oct. 15: James Kenneth DeSantis, who calls the guv “Uncle Ron,” but is not that that close. In fact, Ron DeSantis has endorsed Gonzalez. That’s gotta make Thanksgiving uncomfortable. But “JK” will sill get some votes because of his name — or out of protest.
Oct. 16: Alyssa Crocker, the community advocate with fire and focus — but breaking through this pack of politicos will take more than good intentions.
Oct. 20: June Savage, a repeat contender with plenty to say and zero fear of saying it — whether or not anyone’s listening.
Oct. 21: Laura Anderson, running under the Socialist Workers banner — which might play better in Portland than in the 305, where revolución is a dirty word.
Oct. 27: Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, the polished political veteran and only candidate to qualify by petition, who’s betting that experience — and name ID — can overcome the city’s “anyone-but-an-incumbent” mood.

Each one will get a chance to talk priorities, problems, and promises — and maybe prove they’ve actually been paying attention to what’s going on in the city they want to lead.
Ladra thinks it’s could be a smart move by Local 10, which has been upping its game with deeper local coverage and that shiny new 9 p.m. broadcast. The timing couldn’t be better, either: Voters are tuning in, campaign cash is flowing, and the mudslinging is about to get messy. Absentee ballots will start arriving in mailboxes in a matter of days.
How long are the interviews going to be? And who is doing them? If it’s not Glenna Milberg, then it might be filler fluff.
But Ladra is going to be watching anyway — to see who flops, who flies, and who pulls a full Carollo and ghosts the whole thing.
Ladra should get combat pay for watching these interviews so you don’t have to. Support independent watchdog journalism and continued coverage of the Miami mayoral election with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Thank you!
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