Carlos A. Giménez

Carlos A. Giménez (born January 17, 1954)[3] is a Cuban American (naturalized in January 1975) retired firefighter and Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, elected to office June 28, 2011 in a special election.[4] He previously served as a Miami-Dade County Commissioner from 2003 through 2011, and the Fire Chief of the City of Miami Fire Department. He is a member of the Republican Party, but his position of mayor of Miami-Dade County is a nonpartisan one.[5]

Carlos Giménez
7th Mayor of Miami-Dade County
Assumed office
July 1, 2011
Preceded byCarlos Álvarez
Member of the Miami-Dade County Commission
from the 7th district
In office
January 3, 2005 – April 12, 2011
Preceded byJimmy Morales[1]
Succeeded byXavier Suarez[2]
Personal details
Born (1954-01-17) January 17, 1954
Havana, Cuba
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Lourdes Portela
Children3
EducationBarry University (BPA)

In January 2020 he announced he was running for the Republican nomination in the 2020 U.S. House election for Florida's 26th congressional district. [6]


Background

Giménez was born in Havana, Cuba in 1954 to ranchers from the Oriente province. In 1960, his family immigrated to the United States in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, settling in what became Miami's Little Havana.[7]

Joining the City of Miami Fire Department as a firefighter in 1975,[8] he was appointed Fire Chief by City manager Cesar Odio in 1991, serving through 2000. While serving as Chief of Fire-Rescue, Giménez is credited with modernizing the City's Fire Department and overseeing one of the largest re-organizations in the department's history. He is a former member of the International City Managers Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Fire Protection Association, the Florida Fire Chiefs, and the Fire Officers Association of Miami-Dade. Commissioner Gimenez also served on the Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search and Rescue Advisory Committee and as the Chair of the Legal Issues Subcommittee.

Political career

City Manager and County Commissioner

From May 2000 to January 2003, he was city manager of Miami proper. As its chief administrative officer, he was responsible for an annual budget of $500 million, 4,000 employees and providing services to almost 400,000 residents. During his tenure as the City of Miami's top administrator, the city's bond rating went from "junk" to investment grade and the tax rate dropped to its lowest in 50 years. In 2004, he was elected as a Miami-Dade County Commissioner for the county's 7th district, serving Miami proper, Village of Key Biscayne, Coral Gables, South Miami, Kendall, and Pinecrest.

Mayorship

Giménez was elected mayor of the metropolitan government of Miami-Dade County, Florida on June 28, 2011 in the 2011 Miami-Dade County mayoral election. Incumbent mayor Carlos Alvarez had been recalled in one of the largest recall election's of a municipal official in United States history. [9] No candidate got over 50% of the popular vote in the first round so a runoff election was held. Gimenez won the runoff election with 51% of the vote against Julio Robaina's 49%.[10]

Gimenez won re-election in the 2012 Miami-Dade County mayoral election with 54% of the vote against multiple candidates. [11]

Gimenez won re-election in the 2016 Miami-Dade County mayoral election with 56% of the vote against School Board member Raquel Regalado.[12]

Giménez has been criticized by road safety advocates for his transportation policies. [13] After running on a platform of increasing transit, Giménez oversaw the decline of the Miami-Dade County Bus Transportation system. [14] He has supported the redirection of funds to a controversial expressway in the Everglades ("MDX") opposed by environmentalists, road safety experts, and several municipalities in the county. [15][16][17]

In the 2016 presidential election, Giménez endorsed Hillary Clinton.[18]

In 2017 President Trump signed an executive order targeting "sanctuary" jurisdictions that limited or refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, ordering a review of their access to federal funding. [19] Miami-Dade received a letter from the administration that the county had been flagged as a sanctuary jurisdiction. Giménez then ordered the director of his corrections department to begin honoring all requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Miami Dade County Board of Commissioners formally codified his order by a 9 to 3 vote.[20] [21] The Trump administration later confirmed the county was no longer flagged as a sanctuary jurisdiction. [22] In December 2018 the Florida Third District Court of Appeal dismissed a lawsuit filed in state court against the county policy. [23]

Congressional run

In January 2020 he announced he was running for the Republican nomination in the 2020 U.S. House election for Florida's 26th congressional district. [24]

Personal life

He is married to Lourdes Portela, and their children are Carlos, Julio and Lourdes. He is Roman Catholic and an alumnus of Christopher Columbus High School.

References
  1. "Miami-Dade County Commissioner 07 - Runoff Race - Nov 02, 2004". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  2. "Miami-Dade County Commissioner 07 Race - Aug 26, 2008". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  3. "The Miami Herald 2011 Miami-Dade Mayor Candidate Questionnaire" (PDF). The Miami Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  4. "Gimenez elected Miami-Dade mayor". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  5. http://miamidadecode.org/3.03/
  6. Batchelor, Amanda. "Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announces run for Congress". Local 10 Miami. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  7. Hiaasen, Scott (9 May 2011). "Gimenez seeks top Miami-Dade county job". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  8. Marquis Who's Who Biographies, OCLC 464397729
  9. Gray, Kevin. "Angry voters oust Miami-Dade mayor in special vote". Reuters. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  10. Munzenrieder, Kyle. "Carlos Gimenez Claims Victory in Miami-Dade Mayoral Election". Miami New TImes. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  11. "Dade - Election Results". results.enr.clarityelections.com.
  12. Sayre, Wilson; Padgett, Tim. "Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez Soundly Wins Another Four Years". WLRN. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  13. Schmitt, Angie. "Miami's Mindless Highway Addiction Gets the Mockery It Deserves – Streetsblog USA". Usa.streetsblog.org. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  14. Rachel Kaufman     June 6, 2018 (2018-06-06). "'Where's My Bus?' Series Analyzes Miami's Declining Bus System – Next City". Nextcity.org. Retrieved 2019-05-22.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. "Home | Kendall Parkway". Mdxway.com. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  16. "Will MDX's Kendall Parkway extension of the 836 fix traffic?". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  17. http://evergladeslaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Letter-Opposing-SR-836-Extension-1.pdf
  18. "Miami-Dade Republican mayor who backed Clinton to attend Trump inauguration". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  19. Gomez, Alan. "First 'sanctuary city' caves to Trump demands". USA Today. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  20. "Miami-Dade orders jails to comply with 'sanctuary' counties crackdown". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  21. Mazzei, Patricia; Hanks, Douglas. "Fearing Trump, commission drops Miami-Dade's 'sanctuary' protections". Miami Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  22. Reilly, Katie. "Miami Is No Longer a Sanctuary City — At Least According to the Trump Administration". TIME. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  23. Hanks, Douglas. "Court tosses ruling against Miami-Dade over Trump administration's immigration detentions". Miami Dade. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  24. Batchelor, Amanda. "Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announces run for Congress". Local 10 Miami. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
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