After touting transparency, Miami mayor declines to discuss side jobs, alleged conflicts
After touting government transparency and public office as a public trust during his State of the City address Tuesday morning, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez refused to answer questions from Miami Herald reporters — despite giving one-on-one interviews to every other media outlet present.
The snub came just hours after the Herald published an investigation into how Suarez advocated for a no-bid city contract for a startup that was actively negotiating a partnership with one of the mayor’s private employers. The employer was paying Suarez $20,000 per-month at the time.
Suarez’s outside work is the subject of both state and federal investigations. But the mayor did not mention his legal woes when he addressed the crowd gathered in the courtyard of Camillus House for his State of the City address.
“Public office is a public trust,” Suarez said near the end of his 30-minute speech. “We demonstrate that trust by regular disclosures and dedicated hard work.”
As he stepped down from the stage, he was approached by Herald reporters asking him about his outside work. Suarez walked away without answering.
He left the public gathering and sequestered himself in a room with his sergeant-at-arms posted at the door. One by one, TV crews were escorted in for exclusive interviews. The Herald reporters waited their turn.
Stephanie Severino, the mayor’s communications director, said initially that the Herald would get an interview. But then she said the mayor had run out of time. He left the event without acknowledging the reporters or their questions.
When pressed for a reason for the rebuff, Severino blamed the Herald’s recent reporting, which she said was unfair and misleading.
“At this point, I don’t believe that [the mayor] is going to want to sit down with the Herald,” Severino said.
The Tuesday story detailed how Suarez spent months last year championing a proposal from NZero, a little-known software company seeking a city contract to provide carbon emissions tracking services that were duplicative of the city’s in-house program.
At the time, NZero was finalizing a partnership with Redivider, a tiny investment fund where the mayor has served as a highly paid advisor since late 2021.
While Suarez was pushing NZero’s product at City Hall, emails show the mayor and his top aides were also discussing the planned partnership with executives of both companies.
Anything that increased Redivider’s value also benefited Suarez, recently disclosed a small ownership interest in the company in a financial disclosure filed when he unsuccessfully ran for president last year.
As Suarez gave his television interviews, his wife, Gloria Suarez, told Herald reporters that the numerous investigations into the mayor’s potential conflicts of interest and calls for her husband’s resignation have not affected the family.
“He has fully disclosed everything,” she said. “There’s nothing to be concerned about.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2024 at 6:02 PM.
