Former city commissioner, state Rep. Michael Grieco is running for Miami Beach mayor
Michael Grieco is running for mayor of Miami Beach.
The former Miami Beach commissioner and Democratic state representative filed paperwork Wednesday to try to succeed Mayor Dan Gelber, who is term-limited in November after serving three two-year terms.
Grieco, 47, becomes the first high-profile challenger of former city commissioner Michael Góngora, who has been a mayoral candidate since September 2021 after a judge ruled he couldn’t seek a third term on the City Commission.
In a statement, Grieco said he is “ready to get to work on the issues that matter to all of us: keeping our community safe, giving residents a voice in city hall, promoting resiliency, and more.”
“As a proud husband, father and longtime member of our community, I’ve spent the past decade serving the people of Miami Beach,” he said.
Grieco has a long and tumultuous history in Miami Beach politics.
The former state prosecutor was first elected to the City Commission in 2013 and ran for mayor in 2017, when he was popular among residents and battled against Gelber for the seat.
But his campaign imploded when it was revealed that he had knowingly accepted an illegal donation from a foreign national to a secretive political committee. He resigned from the commission and pleaded no contest to a criminal charge, accepting one year of probation during which he couldn’t run for elected office.
He quickly bounced back. A judge reduced his probation term to six months, and Grieco ran a successful campaign for state representative in 2018 for Florida House District 113, which includes all of Miami Beach and downtown Miami. He ran unopposed to keep the seat two years later.
In 2021, Grieco filed to run for state Senate against incumbent Republican Ileana Garcia, but dropped the bid last summer, citing a lack of financial support from the Democratic Party.
Grieco says his record of public service and political success should be enough to earn voters’ support.
“I am running for mayor with the strong support of residents who want a city hall outsider to get things done and focus on meaningful solutions to our challenges,” he said.
Still, the fallout from the 2017 incident has stretched on for years. In late 2020, the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust found Grieco had violated the Citizens’ Bill of Rights by lying about his involvement with a PAC. And last month, a judge investigating Grieco’s conduct as part of a Florida Bar case recommended a 90-day suspension of his law license. The state Supreme Court will have the final say.
In the Legislature, Grieco presented himself as a moderate Democrat. And as a Miami Beach commissioner, he was known as a leader in constituent services, posting constantly on social media to address residents’ concerns. One former commissioner, John Elizabeth Alemán, referred to him in 2017 as the “Energizer bunny.”
The Miami Beach mayor’s seat is nonpartisan.
“We’ve heard enough political lip service about our traffic problems and the need to take on overdevelopment, but I am actually ready to do something about them because that is who I am at my core — a problem-solver who thrives on delivering results for residents like us,” Grieco said.
In a political twist, Grieco’s mayoral campaign will be led by consultant Christian Ulvert, who in 2017 worked for Gelber in a nasty campaign against Grieco.
Grieco worked in 2017 with consultant David Custin, who is now working for Góngora’s campaign.
Only one candidate other than Grieco and Góngora, David Hundley, has filed to run for mayor. He has not reported any campaign spending or fundraising.
There has been speculation about others possibly entering the race. A text message poll sent anonymously to voters in December named Commissioner Steven Meiner, along with Grieco and Góngora, as a potential candidate.
Góngora has already reported almost $275,000 in contributions, most of which was transferred from his commission campaign after he was ruled ineligible for another term.
He recently announced endorsements from City Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez — a political rival of Gelber — and Commissioners Alex Fernandez and Laura Dominguez.
This story was originally published February 1, 2023 at 3:43 PM.
