Six of the 13 candidates running for Miami mayor faced off in a heated debate Monday evening at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Miami.
The forum, hosted by CBS News Miami, highlighted sharp disagreements over traffic, flooding, homelessness, affordable housing and corruption—as well as personal attacks over leadership and past records.
Affordable housing and city management
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins criticized the city’s permitting process for worsening the housing crisis.
“The city’s broken permitting system slows down construction of affordable housing. It can take over two years. That is bad management. That has to change,” Higgins said.
Former City Commissioner Ken Russell proposed a funding solution, pledging to prioritize homelessness if elected.
“As mayor of the city Miami I would veto any downtown development authority budget that does not 20 percent on the homeless. Twenty-five percent of that 20 million dollars could go a long way,” he said.
Former City Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla dismissed Russell’s proposal. “Great sound bite. Throw more money at the problem and don’t find the solution,” he said.
Personal attacks and sharp exchanges
The debate grew fiery as candidates turned on each other. At one point, former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez accused Commissioner Joe Carollo of corruption.
“You have a PAC with millions of dollar and I guarantee you people aren’t giving you money because they agree with your Judeo-Christian values,” Gonzalez said. Moments later, he added, “You’ve been shaking people down for 40 years.”
Carollo shot back, saying, “Wait a minute. This is a democracy. You let me speak. These are the people that want to support this guy. Is this how he’s going to run City Hall?”
He challenged Gonzalez’s claim directly: “Let him show one person that he claims that I shook down for a penny. He knows that’s a lie.”
Candidates challenge each other’s records
Russell and Diaz de la Portilla also sparred over political careers. Russell pledged to restore integrity, saying, “I’m coming back to run this commission as it is written in the charter.”
Diaz de la Portilla fired back: “You ran for three different offices when you were a commissioner. You left early. You have a little hissy fit.”
Russell defended his decision while taking aim at Diaz de la Portilla’s past. “I did leave early on a 10-month term. But I didn’t leave in handcuffs like you,” Russell said, drawing cheers and boos from the crowd.
Leadership at stake
Despite the attacks, candidates sought to prove they were the best choice to lead Miami through pressing challenges.
“What we need is an adult in the room and we haven’t had that,” Russell said earlier in the debate.
With Election Day ahead, the six contenders — Carollo, Russell, Diaz de la Portilla, Higgins, former Mayor Xavier Suarez and former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez — underscored not only their policy priorities but also the deep divisions within Miami politics.
