As Emilio González heads to a runoff for Miami Mayor, he’ll enjoy support from ex-Mayor Xavier Suarez, one of 12 others who sought the job in the Nov. 4 contest.
González and former Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins earned the most votes in the city’s Nov. 4 election, but neither secured a large enough share to win outright. That has prompted a runoff election.
Suarez, an independent who previously served alongside Higgins on the County Commission, said he wants González to win next month, citing his former opponent’s record of government service.
González brought a robust government background into the Mayor’s race. He served in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of colonel, and later served under President George W. Bush as Director of Citizenship and Immigration Services at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Between 2013 and 2017, González worked as CEO of Miami International Airport. Then he worked from 2017 to 2020 and Miami’s City Manager under its current Mayor — and Suarez’s son — Francis Suarez, who faces term limits this year.
In all cases, the elder Suarez said in an Oct. 9 letter, González acted with “empathy,” and “integrity and professionalism,” attributes he said “were tested in both his city and county service, as he opposed political actors who sought to bend the rules for their own benefit.”
“Emilio has shown he is a courageous reformer, when he raised private funds to challenge legislation by the commission that would have extended their terms unconstitutionally,” Suarez said, referring to a lawsuit González successfully filed to stop city officials from delaying this year’s election to 2026 without voter approval.
“In short, Emilio is a true reformer and a proven public servant. I endorse him wholeheartedly.”
Suarez’s endorsement of González joins others from Gov. Ron DeSantis, U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and Rick Scott, 11 former police officials, former Miami Director of Human Services Milton Vickers, mixed martial arts star Jorge Masvidal, and Emmy award-winning reporter Michael Putney.
MIA workers union AFSCME Local 1542, construction trade group Associated Builders and Contractors, Miami Young Republicans and the Log Cabin Republicans of Miami, among others, have also backed him.
González and Higgins, a former Peace Corps Director who served as a foreign service officer under President Barack Obama before winning a County Commission seat in 2018, are competing in a Dec. 9 runoff for Miami Mayor.
Higgins took 36% of the vote while González had 19.5% of ballots cast in his favor to outpace 11 others, including Suarez, who ran for the job.
To avoid a runoff, a candidate had to earn more than half the total vote.
