Florida Bar dismisses complaints against Miami mayor, former city attorney
The Florida Bar has dismissed a pair of complaints that former City Commissioner Ken Russell filed against Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and former City Attorney Victoria Méndez accusing them of 'misconduct' relating to legislation that the city passed in 2022 finalizing the billion-dollar Miami Freedom Park soccer stadium deal.
The crux of Russell's complaints involved a piece of legislation the mayor signed in 2022 after the City Commission voted to award a 99-year lease to David Beckham and businessmen Jorge and Jose Mas to develop Miami Freedom Park on the site of the former Melreese golf course. The stadium will become the home of the Inter Miami team.
The deal needed four-fifths approval from the City Commission, and Russell agreed to be the swing vote after his colleagues agreed to an amendment requiring half of the $20 million parks contribution from the Miami Freedom Park developers to be spent on parks throughout the city. The other half was to be spent on a 58-acre public park attached to the stadium site.
But the legislation that Suarez signed finalizing the commission vote did not include Russell's amendment. Méndez was the city attorney at the time of the 2022 vote. The City Attorney's Office oversees City Commission legislation.
The discrepancy came to a head last month when Suarez announced a proposal to ensure the entire $20 million parks contribution could be spent exclusively on the park attached to the stadium site.
Russell filed the complaints against Suarez and Méndez, who are both practicing lawyers, on Feb. 25. Nine days later, on March 6, an attorney for the Florida Bar wrote in letters addressed to Russell that the issues raised 'are political questions beyond The Florida Bar's jurisdiction and therefore not reviewable by the bar.'
'Appropriate remedies, if any, can be sought through the political process and/or the courts,' the letters stated.
The Bar attorney added that the contents of Russell's complaints 'do not constitute violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, and accordingly, your inquiry does not fall within the purview of the grievance system framework.'
On Tuesday, Russell filed official paperwork to run for mayor of Miami in the 2025 election. In a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday, Suarez — who will leave office later this year because of term limits — took aim at Russell's candidacy.
'As I predicted,' Suarez said, 'the Florida Bar dismissed the complaint almost as fast as Ken Russell could file to run for his next failed office.'
Reached by the Miami Herald, Suarez declined to comment beyond his public post.
In a statement, Méndez said: 'I obviously concur with the Florida Bar's finding that no violation of the Florida Rules of Professional conduct took place, and I am pleased with the result.'
Russell said in a statement that through its dismissal, the Florida Bar 'has decided that a lawyer preparing a misrepresentative legal document for another lawyer who signs that misrepresentative document is a political issue outside their purview. As usual, there is no accountability for unethical behavior in the City of Miami.'
'The greatest shame is that the Mayor's actions have defunded over 100 acres of desperately needed new park space in the city,' Russell added. 'This was no accident or oversight and it is inexcusable. Whether this decision was legal or political, it's wrong. I won't stop until those parks are properly funded and built.'
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