Jesse Scheckner
As it did during her re-election effort last year, Florida’s largest state-level political committee for LGBTQ advocacy is getting behind Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins as she runs to become Miami’s first woman Mayor.
In an effusive endorsement, Equality Florida Action PAC cited Higgins’ leadership in supporting LGBTQ residents, including her sponsorship of legislation that established the county’s first LGBTQ Advisory Board.
Higgins also sponsored measures designating October as Miami-Dade’s LGBTQ History Monty and declaring that March 31, 2024, was a countywide Transgender Day of Visibility.
“Commissioner Higgins has built an exemplary record of advocacy for and engagement with LGBTQ residents in her time in elected office,” Equality Florida Senior Political Director Joe Saunders, who made history as one of Florida’s first openly gay lawmakers, said in a statement.
“For years she has joined (Miami-Dade) Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in raising the pride flag at County Hall and has supported funding critical research on the gaps in social services for our LGBTQ community. There is rarely an LGBTQ event that Commissioner Higgins is not attending or supporting. For these reasons and more in 2024 Commissioner Higgins was awarded Equality Florida’s Voice for Equality Award, our highest honor. This year’s election is a critical opportunity to elect a Mayor who is the strongest champion for LGBTQ rights Miami has ever had. We will meet this moment.”
The nod from Equality Florida Action PAC joins others from progressive groups EMILY’s List and Ruth’s List Florida.
Higgins said Wednesday that she’s honored to have support from Equality Florida Action PAC, which “has done so much to advance equality and protect LGBTQ Floridians.”
“Miami has long been a place where people from every background can come to live, work, and thrive,” she said. “As Mayor, I’ll continue working every day to ensure our city is safe, inclusive, and affordable for everyone who calls it home.”
Higgins is the Miami-Dade County Commission’s longest-serving current member, a former Director of the Peace Corps in Belize and an ex-foreign services officer for the U.S. Department of State.
She has represented District 5, which includes Miami, since June 2018. She confirmed Monday that she filed paperwork to resign from the County Commission, win or lose, the day after Miami’s Nov. 4 election.
She entered the Miami Mayor’s race in April, vowing to tackle vital issues like affordable housing, transportation, flood mitigation and public safety. As of this week, she is one of 11 active mayoral candidates.
Others running for Mayor include Laura Anderson, Christian Cevallos, Alyssa Crocker, Ijamyn Gray, Emilio González, Michael Hepburn, Max Martinez, Ken Russell, June Savage and Xavier Suarez.
González is a former Miami City Manager, former Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and ex-CEO of Miami International Airport. Last month, he successfully sued the city to stop officials from delaying the election to 2026 without voter approval.
Russell is a former Miami Commissioner.
Suarez is a former Miami Mayor, Miami-Dade Commissioner and the father of outgoing Mayor Francis Suarez, whom Martinez placed second against in 2021.
Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and former Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla have mulled running, but have not filed to do so yet.
Miami’s elections are technically nonpartisan.
