Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins has chosen a man familiar to Miami-Dade County voters to run the city’s day-to-day operations.
She’s tapping Miami-Dade Chief of Public Safety James Reyes to serve as Miami’s City Manager.
If confirmed to the post — a decision Higgins is asking the City Commission to make Jan. 8 — it would mark Reyes’ fourth, and arguably loftiest, job title in as many years.
Higgins said in a statement Monday that Reyes is more than up to the task, citing Reyes’ swift work — within just 11 months — bringing the Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department under federal compliance for the first time in more than a decade.
“James Reyes brings the executive leadership skills essential to municipal management: fiscal accountability, process improvement, strategic planning, and the ability to develop high-performing teams,” she said.
“His servant leadership approach emphasizes transparency and empowering others to succeed. He shares my commitment to serving all Miami residents with respect and dignity.”
Reyes said he is “honored” and “grateful for the trust” Higgins is giving him.
“My career in public service has been guided by a commitment to listening to our community, leading with integrity, and delivering results that make a real difference in people’s daily lives,” he said. “I look forward to working with the City Commission through the confirmation process and helping deliver results for residents while restoring trust in City Hall through transparent, accountable leadership.”
Miami Herald reporter Tess Riski was first to report on Reyes’ pending appointment Monday morning. The outlet’s County Hall reporter, Doug Hanks, first flagged Higgins’ memo shortly thereafter.
A longtime jail warden in Broward County, Reyes — whose legal first name is Jems — joined Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s administration in January 2022 as Director of the county’s Corrections and Rehabilitation Department. He previously spent 22 years with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, where he rose to the rank of colonel and joint posts as Executive Director of the Department of Administration and Department of Detention.
In November 2023, less than two months after then-Police Director Freddy Ramirez dropped out of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s race following a failed suicide attempt, Levine Cava — who supported Ramirez — promoted Reyes to a newly created Chief of Public Safety position. In that role, Reyes oversaw the county’s Police, Fire Rescue and Corrections Departments.
Two and a half months later, Reyes entered the county Sheriff’s race and notched a Levine Cava endorsement the month after.
Higgins, Levine Cava and Reyes are all Democrats. All have long enlisted the services of influential political consultant Christian Ulvert and his Miami-based firm, EDGE Communications.
Reyes ultimately placed second in the Sheriff’s contest behind Donald Trump-endorsed Rosie Cordero-Stutz.
He has since kept his Chief of Public Safety title, which pays nearly $358,000 per year. But Miami-Dade’s law enforcement responsibilities are no longer under his purview, and each of the six Departments that still are — Fire Rescue, Corrections, Emergency Management, Animal Services, Community Services and the Medical Examiner’s Office — have their own Directors who earn six-figure salaries.
“Chief Reyes is also the County’s liaison to the Sheriff’s office given the ongoing close coordination between County departments and the Sheriff on public safety initiatives,” a spokesperson from Levine Cava’s administration told Florida Politics in October.
“He also worked hand in hand with Corrections leadership to spearhead the department’s transformative work to come into full compliance with federal standards — resulting in the termination of the federal consent decree in November 2024 after 13 years, a major milestone in the County’s long-term reform efforts to improve jail conditions.”
Levine Cava’s Office added that Reyes’ salary “was reduced by 3%” in the county’s Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget, “like others in executive leadership in the Mayor’s office.” Reyes’ reported 2023 salary, per his candidate qualifying paperwork, was $331,301.
In a Monday memo to City Commissioners, Higgins touted the executive management abilities Reyes has honed in top Broward and Miami-Dade posts, including most recently overseeing operations of Departments that jointly serve nearly 3 million residents and a budget exceeding $1.2 billion.
“Our residents have made clear what they expect: faster permitting to help homeowners and businesses, streamlined processes that put customer services first, and a city government that works efficiently for everyone,” she wrote. “James Reyes has proven he can modernize operations, accelerate service delivery, and build cultures of excellence. His track record directly aligns with our vision for responsive, efficient city services.”
Levine Cava said in a memo that Reyes has tentatively accepted the City Manager job. She wished him well and congratulated Miami, which she said is “gaining a proven leader whose executive experience continued to develop at Miami-Dade County.”
Reyes, a Hialeah High School graduate who joined the Broward Sheriff’s Office as a detention deputy cadet in November 2000, earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor’s degree in criminology from Barry University.
He also completed an executive leadership program at Nova Southeastern University and an officer’s development course at the University of Louisville.
Reyes, if confirmed, will replace City Manager Art Noriega.
