David Richardson says he will resign from Miami Beach Commission for State House run
Miami Beach Commissioner David Richardson says he plans to resign from his position to run for the Florida House this November.
Richardson, a Democrat who served in the House for six years before being elected to the City Commission in 2019, announced Tuesday on Facebook that he will run in the newly redrawn House District 106, which includes Miami Beach and other coastal communities in Miami-Dade County. His commission term ends in 2023.
Richardson would need to resign from the commission by Nov. 8 to comply with Florida’s resign-to-run law, according to City Attorney Rafael Paz. Richardson would need to submit a resignation letter before qualifying in June for the House seat, though it would not have to go into effect until November, Paz said.
After the resignation letter is submitted, the City Commission has the option to either appoint a new commissioner or call for an election to fill the vacancy. Richardson, a retired forensic accountant who refers to himself as the “Budget Guy” on the City Commission, said in an interview Tuesday he hopes the city does not appoint his replacement and calls for an election in November.
He said he has enjoyed serving on the commission but believes he can make a greater impact in the Legislature, where he said he has good working relationships with the incoming House speaker and Senate president from his time in Tallahassee.
“When I was there before, I think I did a really good job working across the aisle,” he said. “I think I can replicate that dynamic.”
Richardson, who served in the House from 2012 to 2018, ran for Congress in 2018 but came in second place in the Democratic primary to Rep. Donna Shalala.
District 106, which would include Miami Beach and run north to Aventura, was included as part of redistricting maps the House approved earlier this month. District 106 would also include parts of North Miami and seven coastal municipalities from Fisher Island to Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles Beach.
Richardson said he did not plan to run for the House seat until he visited Tallahassee two weeks ago to request state funding for local projects along with a contingent of other city commissioners for Miami-Dade County Days. Some lawmakers asked him if he would come back, he said.
Bay Harbor Islands Council member Jordan Leonard has said he would run in District 106 if the redistricting map is adopted.
Richardson said he announced the news Tuesday because word was starting to spread that he was running for the seat and he didn’t want residents to find out from the rumor mill. In recent days, he said, he told City Manager Alina Hudak and Mayor Dan Gelber about his upcoming announcement.
“There were a few people that knew and it was starting to leak out,” he said.
.JPG)