Eileen Higgins qualifies for Miami mayoral race, launches new video ad

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.

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