There’s a plan to bring back Miami-Dade’s ousted housing director in split with mayor

Weeks after being dismissed as Miami-Dade’s housing director, Michael Liu may be back in county government if a commissioner’s plan to create a new position for him is approved.

Legislation by Commissioner Eileen Higgins would launch the Office of Strategic Housing Development, with a $750,000 budget. The office would report to the commission chair and oversee housing projects assigned to it by the board, bypassing the current system of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava overseeing all county-funded development.

READ MORE: Miami-Dade’s housing director is leaving his job after nine years

Higgins said she’s spoken to Liu about the position and thinks he would be interested. He resigned his post last month after a break with Levine Cava after nine years as Miami-Dade’s senior housing administrator, overseeing public housing complexes and the county’s spending of local and state dollars on private-sector affordable housing projects.

“The departure of Director Liu leaves a huge gap in our affordable housing infrastructure,” Higgins said. “His experience is unparalleled. He is the perfect person to lead this office.”

Liu and a representative for Levine Cava were not immediately available for comment.

Liu oversaw the redevelopment of Miami-Dade’s oldest public housing complex, Liberty Square, which reopened in 2019, as well as multiple rebuilding efforts of other complexes run by Miami-Dade but dependent on federal funding for operations and maintenance. A former HUD administrator, Liu submitted a resignation letter to Levine Cava “as requested” on Feb. 10. He was first appointed by Levine Cava’s predecessor, Carlos Gimenez, in 2014.

Levine Cava hasn’t publicly addressed why she asked for Liu’s resignation as the director of Public Housing and Community Development Department.

Now starting her third full year in office after the 2020 election, Levine Cava has replaced several of Gimenez’s senior department directors, including at Aviation, Regulatory and Economic Resources and Water and Sewer. The commissioners have only sought to retain one, creating a board budget office for Jennifer Moon, a deputy mayor under Gimenez whom Levine Cava demoted to budget director shortly after her term began.

A Liu deputy, Clarence Brown, is the acting head of Public Housing and Community Development while Levine Cava considers a new director.

While proposed, the Higgins legislation isn’t yet on an agenda for a vote. She said she hoped Oliver Gilbert, the board chair, would allow for a vote at Tuesday’s meeting. “I feel that every day we are without [Liu] is a day we are delaying affordable housing,” she said.

This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 2:24 PM.