We have high hopes for Christine King on Miami Commission; Carollo, not so much | Editorial

After Tuesday’s elections, the Miami City Commission will gain one new face and the return of a familiar one.

District 3

Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo is back on the dais — bombast, bullying and all. Predictably, he bested three opponents to regain the seat. He didn’t want the Editorial Board’s recommendation — he told us to our faces — and we didn’t give it to him. And it’s a waste of time to give him any of our advice now.

So, whether he remains the driving force on the commission — as he was during the debacle that led to former Police Chief Art Acevedo’s firing — is up to everyone else to provide a counterbalance on residents’ behalf: compliant commission colleagues, the city manager and, of course, Mayor Francis Suarez, re-elected Tuesday, who has too often chosen glitz over grit in running this city.

District 5

It’s no surprise Christine King beat six other candidates, including incumbent Jeffrey Watson. King is backed by County Commissioner and previous District 5 Commissioner Keon Hardemon, whose family has dominated local politics for years. That connection seems to have paid off with her raising a whopping $325,000, more than all the other candidates combined.

King wasn’t the Herald Editorial Board’s first choice. We recommended Michael Hepburn, a nonprofit executive. King understands the majority-Black district, but her political connections raised concern about her independence. District 5 needs a representative who’s willing to challenge the status quo and dysfunction of City Hall. A political heir like King has the connections to make things happen, which is a plus, but might play the political games we’re so tired of seeing in Miami.

This is King’s chance to prove us wrong — and we hope she does.

Despite our reservations, it’s undeniable that King has the experience and is on the right side of many issues. Her priorities are spot on: affordable housing, climate change and gun violence. She has seen first-hand the struggles of her constituents through her nonprofit work and she said she has helped develop an affordable-housing project in the district, meaning she’s ready to tackle a problem that threatens to push Black Miamians out of the city. She’s a member of the Camillus House board of directors, which gives her the connections and background on homelessness, an issue the commission misguidedly voted to criminalize — a move she opposes.

King is a lawyer and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Economic Development Corporation, which has benefited from taxpayer dollars. She vowed to resign from the nonprofit if elected to avoid a conflict of interest, and we expect her to honor that promise.

This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 8:50 PM.