Jesse Scheckner
An upcoming vote by the Miami Commission could result in the city’s five current elected officials getting one more year in office.
That would be more than inconvenient — and arguably unfair — to the 17 candidates already running for elected posts this year, critics of the yet-to-be filed proposal say.
An argument for the change, meanwhile, is that it would line up the city’s elections with state and federal races, cutting costs and boosting turnout.
Miami’s elections today run on odd years, with the city’s next General Election set for Nov. 4.
However, according to a report by the Miami Herald, City Commissioners Joe Carollo, Christine King, Miguel Gabela, and Damian Pardo are considering switching city elections to even years, which would give them and Mayor Francis Suarez an extra 12 months at City Hall.
Suarez is due to term out this November, when Carollo and King’s seats are also up for grabs. If the change, which wouldn’t require voter approval, is made, they’d stay in office until November 2026.
Gabela and Pardo, meanwhile, would stay in office until November 2028 rather than November 2027.
Alongside that proposal is another Pardo is backing to establish stricter term limits on Miami officials. Today, city officials can serve for an indeterminate amount of time, provided they take a break from office every eight years before coming back for another stint. Under Pardo’s measure, a person could only serve eight years as a Commissioner and/or eight years as Mayor. After that, they’d be barred from seeking a Miami office for the rest of their lives.
In an X post on May 14, Pardo said both changes would make Miami “more accountable, transparent, and responsive to residents through voter engagement and improving the election process.”
He also told the Herald he was willing to sponsor both measures.
Gabela firmly opposed moving elections to even years on Thursday, believing it would be tied to a term limits plan that also postpones this November’s election to 2026. Switching elections from odd to even years makes it harder for grassroots candidates to raise money, he said, because of the competition with national politics.
The outlet’s editorial board said the changes would “do the right thing” by helping to improve voter participation that has historically hovered around 16% while putting an end to career politicking by long-standing figures like Carollo, a former Mayor now in his third stint and 25th year in office.
It would also provide a potential boon to Suarez, who briefly ran for President in 2023 and has repeatedly flirted with a 2026 bid for Governor, as it would keep him in the spotlight should he pursue the job of Florida’s top elected executive.
The op-ed notes that City Commissioners would be deciding “to move elections and extend terms via ordinance instead of sending the questions to voters.” The City Attorney told Commissioners that state law allows them to do so without a referendum. Still, former Commissioner Ken Russell, who’s running for mayor in November, called it a “power grab” and would “explore” suing the city if the Commissioners move his race to 2026.
An initial vote on Pardo’s term limits item is expected on June 12. By then, Miami will have a new Commissioner — either Jose Regalado or Ralph Rosado, who are competing for the vacant District 4 seat on the five-member panel.
Polling shows they’re in a dead heat for the post Manolo Reyes held between 2017 and his death last month, with 46% of voters still undecided.
Voters will choose between them on Tuesday.
