Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor, Xavier Suarez, wants his old job back — again

Part of a series of profiles about the Miami mayoral candidates
Because apparently once, twice, and a full eight years on the Miami-Dade Commission weren’t enough, Xavier L. Suarez — Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor and, yes, the father of our current one — is running again to “fix” the city he’s already run. Twice.
At 76, Suarez says he’s not done serving. He’s pitching experience, fiscal discipline, and fairness — and maybe a little vindication. “I know how to run this city,” he says in that Harvard-polished but Calle Ocho-tested tone. “I did it before, and I can do it again.”
Suarez’s campaign message is simple and familiar: he’s the neighborhoods guy. The “pothole mayor.” The one who cares more about Coconut Grove’s flooding and Little Havana’s rent hikes than another luxury tower downtown. He promises to expand free trolleys and the Metromover, cut property taxes for homeowners, and push Tallahassee to take over catastrophic insurance for affordable housing.
He’s even got a catchy slogan this time on his website: “A mayor for all the neighborhoods.” Which sounds good, especially after years of downtown giveaways and developer sweetheart deals.
Read related: Former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez to file for crowded city mayoral race
But Ladra remembers when Suarez was “the mayor for all the headlines.” Back in the ’90s, when his second term got voided by a judge because of absentee-ballot fraud. It wasn’t his fault, technically — but it was his election. But before he left, he got nicknamed “Mayor Loco,” for some bizarre behavior that included warring with the media, trying to fire the police chief without the proper authority and visiting constituents at their home late at night in a bata de casa.
To be fair, Suarez did some good. He paved streets, built about 1,500 affordable homes, and kept City Hall’s finances in line. He was accessible and hyperlocal before that was a campaign strategy. And as a county commissioner later, he actually worked — focusing on transit, neighborhood revitalization, and fiscal prudence.
In the 2020 mayoral race, he came in fourth place, with almost 11% of the vote, behind Daniella Levine Cava and Esteban “Steve” Bovo — who went on to the runoff — and former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas.
Read related: For Miami-Dade mayor, Xavier Suarez offers real change, no strings attached
The elder Suarez’s campaign feels like déjà vu — but maybe that’s the point. While others are promising “change,” he’s offering comfort. Familiarity. A return to when Miami wasn’t just a playground for the rich.
Opening speeches and debates with quotes from the likes of Winston Churchill and other dead people, Suarez — who is also known as Professor X — loves to educate whoever is listening. But some think he should be giving university lectures, not running for mayor in a city that has changed a lot since the film Back to the Future was first released. Because his campaign is a blast of the past.
He keeps brining up 1985, when he was first elected mayor, and 1997, when he got caught up in that absentee voter fraud thing, and 2002, when voters enacted the half-penny sales tax to fund transit improvements. But voters don’t really want to go back to the past. And Miami can’t. The city is bigger, messier, more global — and less patient. Younger voters may not remember the first Suarez era, or care. Some might just see him as another recycled politician from Miami’s greatest-hits album.
Others might see Suarez as the veteran general walking onto the field again, helmet dusted off, saying: “I’ve run this city. I can run it again.” He offers solidity and recognition, an old-hand’s promise to steady the ship. But for voters craving fresh energy or bold new direction, the question is whether steady is enough — or whether they’ll look for someone whose story starts now, not 40 years ago.
He’s been polling high enough to make it onto the debate stages, where he has not been as sharp as he used to be. But he’s been funny. And polite. And statesmanlike. But the financial support is not there, according to campaign finance reports, as Suarez has only raised $119,000 between his campaign account and his political action committee, Imagine Miami, as of Sept. 30.
Curiously, there has not been a lot of financial — or even emotional support — from his son, the current mayor. When he ran for mayor in 2020, Xavier Suarez tied himself to his son’s presidential dreams. But this year, Baby X brilla por su ausencia. Mayor Francis Suarez spent more than $1 million to elect District 4 Commissioner Ralph Rosado but, apparently, nothing on his dad’s effort to become his successor. There was a $26,000 expense to consultant Jesse Manzano for “research and data” in July, which could be for papi. Or it could have been on his effort to push the election off and extend his last term for a year.
Read related: Xavier Suarez leans on son Francis Suarez’s surging support in campaign
Still, the senior Suarez is a strong contender, especially among voters who value legacy, neighborhood focus, tax relief and “growth for all.” We can’t count him out. He’s smart and polished — though maybe not as quick on his feet, as seen on the debate stage. And with a famous last name, he automatically starts with attention — though this time he’ll have to convince people he’s not just the prequel to his son’s Netflix spinoff.
And he’ll need to persuade younger, newer voters that his “experience” isn’t just more of the same, and he’ll have to show a vision for Miami’s future that isn’t stuck in the past.
Ladra thinks there’s a kind of poetic symmetry in seeing Xavier Suarez try to reclaim his old title just as the city wrestles with corruption fatigue and runaway development. But the question remains: can he bring Miami forward by looking backward?
Or is this one more comeback tour nobody really asked for?
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