Miami-Dade mayor announces her pick for Miami International Airport director

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava chose an in-house candidate as the new director of Miami International Airport, promoting acting Director Ralph Cutié to the permanent spot as head of the county’s Aviation Department.

The pick of a Miami-Dade government veteran to run one of the most high-profile and politically volatile county departments ends a hiring process that began in June when Levine Cava asked for the resignation of Lester Sola, MIA’s director at the time. After a search that brought multiple outsiders into the contention spotlight — including consultant Tina Millan, Indianapolis Airport Authority Executive Director Mario Rodriguez (who didn’t apply for the job) and former MIA administrator Joseph Napoli — Levine Cava went with a candidate who has worked in county government for 30 years.

Airport contracts have brought Levine Cava most of her setbacks before county commissioners, who scrutinize MIA spending and the heavily lobbied contracting decisions that stem from an airport with a nearly $1 billion budget.

In Cutié, Levine Cava has a veteran MIA administrator considered popular among commissioners and someone who has already dealt with many of the private-sector vendors and lobbyists active in the airport contracting arena.

“I think he’s a very safe bet,” said Emilio González, who served as MIA director between 2013 and 2017 and clashed with airport tenants, commissioners and his boss, then-Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “He’s not controversial. He’s a known entity.”

González appointed Cutié to the position of assistant director of facilities management in March 2017 following a kickback scandal at that division. Cutié wasn’t involved, and his predecessor was transferred to a different county department after another MIA employee was arrested. As facilities director, Cutié managed 450 employees and a budget of $180 million. He started his county career in 1990 at Miami-Dade’s transit department, and worked his way up through that agency and the Internal Services department before joining Aviation in 2013.

“He’s very competent,” said González, a former Miami city manager. “And very professional.”

Levine Cava’s office did not provide compensation on Cutié’s new position. As interim director, he was earning $255,000 a year. Sola, now an assistant city manager in Miami Beach, made $406,000 in 2020. Asked Monday afternoon what compensation he was accepting, Cutié said through a spokesperson that “the salary hasn’t been finalized yet.”

In a Monday memo to commissioners, Levine Cava said Cutié’s three-month tenure as interim director demonstrated “his great expertise and professionalism, and his clear qualifications to serve in this important role.”

This article was updated to point out that Mario Rodriguez did not apply for the position of Miami-Dade County Aviation Director.

This story was originally published September 13, 2021 at 12:51 PM.