Six of the 13 candidates in the Nov. 4 Miami mayoral race will face off on stage at the Hyatt Regency downtown for a real, bonafide debate starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
They are: Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, former Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez, Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell and former Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez, the first Cuban-born mayor of Miami in 1985, wanting a comeback 40 years later.
For those of us who are watching from home — it will be broadcast live on CBS News Miami — there’s something we can do to make it more, um, soportable. This is the first Political Cortadito-sanctioned drinking game and everyone is urged to be responsible and stay put. Don’t pull a Pepe Diaz and get arrested for DUI.
Read related: Miami mayoral hopefuls face off — but only the “top six” make debate cut
Since there are a few expected quips, zingers and BS lines to come out of the candidates’ mouths Tuesday night, why don’t we play along? The rules are real simple. Take a bottle of your choice of alcohol. And then follow these instructions, carefully.
Take a sip or a shot when:

Joe Carollo interrupts someone before they finish their sentence.
Alex Díaz de la Portilla blames the media, the feds, or “political enemies.”
Emilio González says “manager” or “efficient government.”
Eileen Higgins mentions transparency or accountability.
Ken Russell tries to play the peacemaker.
Xavier Suárez references his experience or calls back to the “old days.”

Take two sips or two shots when:

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No walk-ins, no exceptions, no joke
Oye, mi gente, don’t even think about just strolling into the mayoral debate at the Hyatt Regency Tuesday hosted by the Downtown Neighbors Alliance like it’s open mic night at Thank You Miami Cocina and Beer House. Security is going to be tighter than your tío’s guayabera after Nochebuena.
“We’re taking this very seriously,” DNA President James Torres told Political Cortadito. “Think TSA checkpoint.”
And he means it.
After the Ukrainian refugee killed on a public train in Charlotte and the shocking assassination of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk at a Utah university campus event, organizers aren’t taking any chances. No walk-ins. No maybe-I-can-slip-in-with-a-smile.
“This is a ticketed event,” said Torres, adding that a private security firm has been hired to work with Miami Police and hotel security staff. “For the safety of everybody, constituents and candidates, as well.”
Everyone who wants in has to be pre-registered, credentialed, and ready to have their bags searched like you’re trying to sneak rum into Ultra. And it’s already sold out after more than 350 people RSVPd on Eventbrite.
Expect metal detectors, wrist bands, bag checks, and a serious security presence. The goal? To keep the sparks flying on stage, not in the audience.
Read related: Miami mayoral hopefuls face off — but only the “top six” make debate cut
“I have no choice,” Torres said about the safety enhancements. “We know there will be some heckling. But if it gets out of line, people will be escorted out, because it’s a live telecast.”
So if you were planning on showing up last-minute to cheer for your favorite candidate, sorry. You’ll have to watch the fireworks broadcast live on CBS News Miami or the CBS News app, safe and sound on your couch — where the only pat-down is from your dog jumping on you during commercial breaks.
The debate starts at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
The post Security will be tight at Miami mayoral debate post political violence across U.S. appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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The hottest ticket in Miami Tuesday seems to be the circus, er, Miami mayoral debate hosted by the Downtown Neighbors Alliance. The show is sold out. All 350 seats at the Hyatt Regency venue have been reserved. Walk-ins are not allowed due to “security reasons,” (more on that later). So it’s an exclusive gig.
And this show — broadcast live on CBS News Miami — promises more drama than a telenovela marathon.
But don’t expect to see all 13 candidates on stage. Nope. The Downtown Neighbors Alliance (DNA) and CBS Miami decided to whittle the field down to the six who hit at least 5% in a poll of likely voters. So only the “frontrunners” made the cut. Nobody really needed a poll for this, but the debate stage is set for:

Joe Carollo – Known as “Crazy Joe,” or “Loco Pollo Carollo,” the master of vendettas and late-night commission meltdowns will be the first to watch. He talks slow, so it might be difficult for him to get his thoughts out in 30-second shifts. Expect him to bellow. He loves the sound of his own voice.
Alex Díaz de la Portilla – Let’s call him “Cara Dura.” Suspended from office by the guv after he was arrested in September 2023 on 14 felonies, including money laundering and bribery — charges that were dropped late last year —  than election wins in the last decade. He’s still betting Miami voters have short memories. Expect him to blame the radical left and their agenda for his arrest and persecution.
Emilio González – The former city manager is the one who went to court and got the election back on the ballot after city commissioners moved the election and basically cancelled the Nov. 4 mayoral race. He’s been aggressive on the campaign and has a platform of policy that sounds like it should be delivered in PowerPoint. Expect him to focus on efficiency and rooting out corruption and he’ll try to sound like the only adult in the room.
Eileen Higgins – Known as “La Gringa,” mostly because she carved out her county district base in Little Havana, she will try to sound like the smartest person in the room. She has to convince Miamians she’s got citywide appeal and will probably throw in some Spanish because she can.
Ken Russell – You probably know him from TikTok. Mr. Nice Guy, who’s been running for something nonstop since he discovered politics, is going to try to keep things cool and collected. But he also has an impeccable memory of Miami’s reality and could be the only one who brings us back there from time to time.
Xavier Suárez – Miami’s first Cuban mayor and the original “Commissioner Loco,” who now everyone considers their professor, now in comeback mode, trying to look like the elder statesman instead of the throwback candidate, despite the fact that he is the father of current Mayor Francis Suarez. When they talk about dynasty politics, this is a classic case.

All candidates are confirmed, said DNA President James Torres, who told Political Cortadito that this is not a typical kumbaya forum. “This is a real debate. This is not softball,” Torres said. “We are going to be asking the questions the voters want to ask.”
The candidates will each draw a number out of a basket to get a seat and then have a minute to introduce themselves before CBS Miami anchor and moderator Eliott Rodriguez starts the questions. They’ll have one minute to answer and 30 seconds to rebut if their name is said by another candidate. They will also be allowed a two minute conclusion, which Ladra thinks is a mistake. The last time Carollo got two minutes at a Downtown Development Authority meeting, he took six.
This beautiful opportunity presents us with a bunch of possible fireworks displays and other exciting would-be scenarios and, yes, Ladra is salivating.
Carollo and Díaz de la Portilla on the same stage? The DNA should have charged admission to raise funds to fight the DDA (more on that later). Because people would pay to see that. Ladra wonders if Crazy Joe will call ADLP “the mamey king,” as he’s done on his morning radio show, because Alex keeps handing the fruit out as he knocks on doors.
Then there is the Higgins and Gonzalez dynamic. A poll when had those two in a runoff after the clusterbunch Nov. 4, and their respective camps have already attacked each other on a partisan level. It will be interesting (read: awkward) to see them standing together. Ladra hopes the draw numbers to stand side by side.
“I plan to not be part of any dysfunction,” Gonzalez told Ladra Monday.
Read related: Partisan divide is strong in Miami mayoral race, Gonzalez vs Higgins
Higgins is brave if she shows up. First, because she is likely thinking she doesn’t have to, as one of the two frontrunners in that poll, and secondly because this is not her audience. The DNA has been hard on Higgins inaction and lack of engagement on the issue of the Miami Downtown Development Authority, of which she is the vice chair, which has come under fire from the DNA.
Ladra hopes Suarez doesn’t look too lost and Russell doesn’t stay too nice.
All in all, it could be un arroz con mango. Because arroz con mamey just sounds gross.
There are seven other candidates left out in the cold, even though their names will still be on the ballot. Because apparently, democracy has a minimum entry fee now: 5% in somebody’s poll.
Ladra understands the limitation. You cannot have a serious debate with 13 people on the stage and there are some who aren’t serious contenders at all, so why give them the time and space that would be taken away from viable candidates?
The benched wannabes are:

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At least eight of the 13 people who want to be the next Miami mayor candidates will be on stage Saturday at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex on Saturday to talk about “the issues that matter most” to voters.
Or at least that’s the promise from the long list of progressive groups hosting it: Florida Student Power, Florida Rising, Engage Miami, Catalyst Miami, SAVE, Equality Florida, the Miami Workers Center, the CLEO Institute, and more.
That’s a lot of logos.
The event begins at 6 p.m., which is also the deadline for any lingering candidates to qualify. Confirmed are:

Laura Anderson – The Socialist Workers Party candidate who doesn’t have a single union endorsement.
Christian Cevallos – The former local zoning czar trying to break into the big leagues — think training wheels, but with campaign signs.
Alyssa Crocker – A GOP newcomer who’s still mostly an unknown outside her own circle, but hey, everybody has to start somewhere.
Ijamyn Gray – A young Democrat trying to tap into the “new generation” lane, but still has to prove he can hang with Miami’s political sharks.
Michael Hepburn – Perennial candidate with progressive cred who never seems to give up on running, no matter how many times the voters tell him “not yet.”
Eileen Higgins – The “petition queen,” who comes from County Hall and loves to remind everyone she qualified the old-fashioned way, clipboard and all.
Ken Russell – The paddleboard-and-yoga-mat commissioner trying to make another comeback after failing to surf his way to Congress.
Xavier Suárez – The comeback king, Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor, and dad of Francis — which is either a blessing or a curse, depending on who you ask.

Noticeably missing? Former City Manager Emilio González, the retired colonel who sued the city to get the election back on and has been polling in the top tier ever since. He told Ladra he got the invitation three days before the forum and had already committed to two other events. But, really, this is not his ambiente, anyway.
Read related: Miami election surprise: A Ron DeSantis relative files to run for mayor
At least he got an invite. June Savage, a real estate agent, says she’s going to crash the party. Ladra hopes they let her in — this isn’t middle school, and the more voices, the better.
“I didn’t get an email, but I plan on attending,” Savage told Political Cortadito. “Leaving me out is not letting people know what their options are.”
Savage has run for office twice before — once for the special election in Miami’s District 2 and once for Miami Beach Mayor against Dan Gelber, and was also left out of a lot of events, she said. “So this political game is nothing new for me.”
And it is a shame that former Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla — suspended from office in 2023 after an arrest on public corruption charges that were dismissed a year later — isn’t going, because that would have made it súper entertaining.
The forum will be moderated by former Democrat State Sen. Dwight Bullard, a progressive veteran with Florida Rising, and Michi Ceard of Florida Student Power. While it’s a non-partisan race, Republicans on that stage might feel as comfortable as vegans at a churrasqueria.
Organizers say the goal is to “center the voices of residents from all generations and backgrounds.” Translation: the candidates are going to get questions that don’t usually make it into City Hall’s echo chamber.
The Downtown Neighbors Association has scheduled a forum or debate for Sept. 30 (more on that later), but there are not going to be a lot more of these opportunities for voters to size these wannabes up side by side.
Expect some olive branches, some awkward dodges, and maybe even a jab or two — because, come on, it’s Miami.
This mayoral candidate forum begins at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, 212 NE 59th Terrace.

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On the same day that Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo filed the initial paperwork to run in the Miami mayoral race, the X account of former City Manager Emilio González, who is also running for mayor, was temporarily suspended. That can’t be a coincidence.
Gonzalez is the number one enemy on Carollo’s morning radio show. On Friday, the retired colonel — who sued the city after they cancelled the November elections — called it “cancel culture,” but Ladra would call it campaign interference.
According to González, the takedown wasn’t because of anything he or his staff actually posted — no, señor — but because “political rivals” supposedly coordinated mass complaints to trick the platform into flagging his content.
Read related: In Miami mayoral bid, Emilio Gonzalez goes for the law and order vote
“This comes straight out of the socialist playbook,” González huffed in a statement, hitting that tired old tactic almost better than Carollo does. “First, they tried to cancel this year’s election to deny Miami voters their voice. Now, they’re leaning on big tech censorship and dirty tricks to suppress our Miami First movement.”
“They will not succeed.”
He’s used to challenging the haters. Gonzalez filed a lawsuit against the city after commissioners voted in May to move municipal elections from odd- to even-numbered years to align with state and national elections. The court sided with him, saying the ordinance — which effectively cancelled this year’s election for mayor and commissioner in districts 3 and 5 — was a violation of the city and county charter. An appeals court upheld that decision and refused to hear the case a second time.
Many political observers watching the race say he’s leading because of that — the move to change the elections without voter approval was seen as a power grab and voters didn’t like it. They sort of see him as a hero, a badge he’s going to wear out front as long as he can.
There are potentially 14 candidates in the clusterbunch mayoral race Nov. 4. Nine of them qualified as of Friday afternoon. They include, most notably, Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell, former Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez. Another five have until 6 p.m. Saturday to qualify. They include, most notably, Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and former Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, who was suspended from office in 2023 after his arrest on public corruption charges that were dropped late last year.
A recent poll has Gonzalez heading into a runoff with Higgins, with Russell in third place.
Read related: Poll has Eileen Higgins in Miami mayoral runoff with Emilio Gonzalez
The Gonzalez campaign insists its “message of reform, accountability, affordability, and putting Miami residents first” is catching fire — so much so that enemies are pulling dirty tricks to try to shut down his social media.
“We will not be intimidated,” González added, vowing to get the account restored and keep hammering away at “the elites, the insiders, and certainly not big tech executives doing the bidding of rival campaigns.”
Of course, no evidence was offered that any of that actually happened. But why waste a perfectly good conspiracy theory when you can blame “corrupt insiders” and “big tech” in the same breath?
The González camp says it’s working with X to get the @emilioformiami campaign account back up. Meanwhile, his posts can be seen at @emiliotgonzalez, where he already posted Friday about his meeting with the local Log Cabin Republicans.

Help Ladra cover the increasingly strange Miami city elections this year. Make a contribution to Political Cortadito today. Thank you for supporting independent, grassroots watchdog journalism.

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Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins made it official at City Hall this week, dropping off her final paperwork and dropping a shiny new campaign video at the same time. The spot, called “Clear Plan,” is full of feel-good promises about safe neighborhoods, affordable housing, clean parks, and a government that people can actually trust — you know, all the things Miami hasn’t had in years.
“I’m Eileen Higgins and I’m running to serve as your next Miami mayor, but with a clear plan,” Higgins says in the 30 second spot, before rattling off her checklist: housing people can afford, cops on the beat, clean parks for families, and — wait for it — transparency at City Hall.
The ad is all positive vibes. No shade thrown. No names named. Which is almost cute, really. Because in Miami politics, that kind of kumbaya never lasts.
Read related: Eileen Higgins officially resigns Miami-Dade seat to run for Miami mayor
In a statement, Higgins said she’ll bring the same focus she’s had for seven years on the county dais — affordable housing, public safety, small business initiatives — to the mayor’s office on Dinner Key.
“I’m running to serve as your next Miami mayor, but with a clear plan,” she says in the video, which has already racked up more than 5,000 views in three days. “As your mayor, we’ll get things done. Miami, this is our time.”
Higgins also scored a bragging right that none of her opponents can claim: she’s the only one to qualify by petition. That means volunteers actually went out and got more than 2,048 valid voters to sign her onto the ballot. Those same folks will be the first targets for votes come November.
“Qualifying by petition takes people — volunteers, neighbors, and supporters across Miami — who believe in our vision and are willing to act on it,” she said, touting the campaign as a “movement of residents determined to restore trust, deliver results, and make Miami work for all of us.”
That “restore trust” line isn’t an accident. The stench of corruption and dysfunction hanging over City Hall is going to be front and center in this race. Higgins knows it. And so does everybody else.
She already has some practice taking on the city’s political dinosaurs. Higgins won her District 5 commission seat in 2018 after beating both former Sen. Alex Díaz de la Portilla and Zoraida Barreiro, the wife of her predecessor Bruno. In 2020, she trounced ADLP’s brother Renier. And she coasted to reelection last year without an opponent.
Read related: Commisioner Joe Carollo files initial paperwork to run for Miami mayor
In this race, a recent poll shows Higgins and former Miami City Manager Emilio González leading the pack, with the rest of the field fighting for scraps. That field includes former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell, former Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez (Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor, back for another lap), Community Council Member Christian Cevallos, Socialist Workers candidate Laura Anderson, Alyssa Crocker, Michael Hepburn and June Savage. They’ve all qualified.
On the sidelines — for now — are Ijamyn Joseph Gray, Elijah John Bowdre, Kenneth James DeSantis (yes, a cousin of that DeSantis), and ADLP himself, who’s huddling in the dugout with termed-out Commissioner Joe Carollo, who just filed the initial paperwork Friday. They’ve got until 6 p.m. Saturday to get in the game.
And then there’s software millionaire and tech bro Fred Voccola, who’s spent a fortune spamming voters with texts, a slick website, and digital ads. Problem is, he hasn’t even bothered to open a campaign bank account. No paperwork. No nothing. Big talk, no walk.
If Díaz de la Portilla does decide to jump in before the deadline, it could set up a spicy rematch with Higgins. And let’s be honest — in this circus of a city, Ladra is here for it.

Help Ladra cover the Miami city election for mayor and two city commissioners. Make a contribution to Political Cortadito today. Thank you for supporting independent, grassroots watchdog journalism.

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