Miami doubles down on proposal to delay election, teeing up battle with the state
Miami officials are moving forward with a controversial proposal that would push the November election back to 2026 and give the city's current elected officials an extra year in office, defying a written opinion from the Florida attorney general and a public rebuke from Gov. Ron DeSantis, both of whom say the change requires voter approval.
Miami City Attorney George Wysong authored an opinion Thursday stating that the City Commission has the authority to move the election, rather than the change going to voters in a ballot referendum. Wysong's opinion landed the day after Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an opinion stating that such a change must be approved through a ballot referendum. City Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela had quietly asked the state to weigh in with a legal opinion.
Wysong's opinion positions the city for a potential battle with the state, as the governor has also taken interest in the matter. In a Thursday social media post, DeSantis concurred with Uthmeier, saying 'city of Miami politicians do not have the authority to cancel this year's elections and extend their terms in office without voter approval.'
READ MORE: Miami mayor is lobbying behind the scenes for proposal to skip November election
Wysong issued his opinion in response to a request from City Commissioner Damian Pardo, who is sponsoring legislation that would delay the upcoming November election. Pardo is seeking to move the city to even-year elections where voter turnout is higher. Aligning with the state and national election cycle can also save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in election costs.
The City Commission is slated to take its first of two votes on Pardo's proposal on Tuesday.
While Uthmeier's opinion threatened to thwart Pardo's effort, Wysong's response could provide the city commissioners enough reassurance to push forward anyway.
Wysong cited three Florida statutes that he argues give the city the green light.
One of those statutes states that the governing body of a city can 'by ordinance, change the dates for qualifying and for the election of members of the governing body of the municipality and provide for the orderly transition of office resulting from such date changes.'
Changes to the city charter require voter approval, and the provision stating that Miami elections take place in odd years is enshrined in the city charter.
But in his opinion, Wysong cited a Florida statute that says, regardless of the provisions in a municipal charter, the governing body of a city can 'move the date of any municipal election to a date concurrent with any statewide or countywide election' by ordinance.
'Even if the City Charter conflicts with the statutes, the statutes control,' Wysong wrote.
Uthmeier, on the other hand, pointed to the Miami-Dade County Home Rule Charter, arguing that 'the electorate of the City of Miami, by way of the County's provisions in the County Charter, has a direct role in amending its charter' and that 'ignoring this procedure would render meaningless' certain provisions in the Florida Constitution.
'The charter specifies that the electors of municipalities must decide directly, by way of referenda, whether to amend their charter,' Uthmeier said. He added that 'a decision in which the municipality's governing body alone purports to amend unilaterally the municipality's charter simply contradicts the county's charter.'
'The fact that the result of the charter amendment might achieve a specific objective stated in a general law is of no consequence,' Uthmeier said.
Pardo needs support from at least two of his colleagues on the five-member City Commission to move the proposal forward. Commissioners Joe Carollo and Gabela have stated they are opposed to the proposal and will be voting no. That leaves Commissioners Christine King and Ralph Rosado — who was elected in a special election last week — as Pardo's potential allies. King declined to share her thoughts about moving the election before Tuesday's commission meeting.
Pardo has also gotten assistance from Mayor Francis Suarez, who has been lobbying behind the scenes to whip up commission support for Pardo's proposal.
If the change passes, Suarez — who is term-limited as mayor — would get a ninth consecutive year as mayor and a 17th consecutive year in City Hall. Suarez was previously a city commissioner from 2009 to 2017.
Carollo, who is also reaching the end of his term limits, would get a ninth consecutive year as the District 3 commissioner.
The other four elected officials — Pardo, Gabela, King and Rosado — would get an extra year in office as well. That means Tuesday's meeting puts Rosado in a position to vote to give himself an extra year in office at his first City Commission meeting.
Rosado has previously said he's in favor of moving to even-year elections, but he has not committed publicly to voting for or against Pardo's proposal.
While the attorney general's opinion gave him some pause, Rosado told the Miami Herald that 'I trust our city attorney and the way he's guiding us.'
'George [Wysong] is adamant that the commission does, in fact, have the right to vote on this on Tuesday,' Rosado said.
Asked if he thinks it would disenfranchise voters to extend or shorten city commissioners' terms without voter input, Rosado said, 'I'm gonna have to think about that.'
The newly minted District 4 commissioner noted that many people have been reaching out to him about the proposal.
'Folks feel strongly one way or the other,' Rosado said. 'I don't think there's a solution that is somehow perfect, that makes everybody happy.'
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