Mayor Suarez, you want to be president? First, you owe Miami an explanation | Opinion

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has a lot on his plate: campaigning to promote his long-shot presidential bid and, apparently, doing his homework on the Uyghurs, China’s oppressed Muslim minority and topic of his ridiculed gaffe on talk radio.

Suarez wants to move into the big leagues, but, first, he must address unfinished business in the city that elected him mayor twice. Payments he received from a developer who had business before City Hall have already prompted a federal investigation.

The details of that relationship have become progressively worse as Herald reporters unveil them.

Suarez has contended that he never met with Rishi Kapoor and city staff to discuss Kapoor’s Coconut Grove real estate project. But the Herald reported Friday the two met at least six times between January 2020 and August 2021, according to city calendar invites. Those records indicate they met over Zoom and in person at the Cocoplum Yacht Club. One of the meetings had “home” as the listed location. The purpose of those meetings was to discuss a proposed ordinance to change the city’s code to facilitate the development. That proposal, however, never became law.

Forgetful mayor

Does Suarez suffer from a rare case of amnesia? He hasn’t bothered to explain himself. His office and campaign didn’t answer questions from the Herald. Kapoor’s lawyer told the Herald that Suarez was not working for the company developing the Coconut Grove property when those meetings took place.

Kapoor later paid Suarez $170,000 for consulting work in monthly increments of $10,000 — an arrangement Suarez didn’t disclose to voters until the Herald unveiled it in May. Suarez said at the time his work for Kapoor was unrelated to City Hall and he was paid to introduce him to new investors.

But internal corporate documents from Kapoor’s company, Location Ventures, note Suarez would “assist in pushing” the stalled Coconut Grove project along. After being nudged by the mayor’s office, a city official single-handedly overrode a zoning hurdle that had delayed construction on Kapoor’s URBIN development. That official told the Herald this month that it was new information, not preferential treatment, that changed his mind.

Still, any reasonable person would wonder whether Suarez, a lawyer with side gigs — including at a law firm and a private equity firm — is using his power and influence to enrich himself. Faced with such legitimate questions, Suarez decided to attack the messenger. It’s all the media’s fault. Nothing to see here.

It’s not fake news

“My local newspaper, which is a liberal organization — and everyone would admit that’s the case — has, all of a sudden, assigned three reporters and is now coming up with all these allegations,” Suarez told Fox News in early June when host Shannon Bream asked him about the FBI investigation.

Suarez can try to hide behind the “fake news” defense that has worked, incredibly, for his opponent Donald Trump. But the more information the public learns about his dealings with Kapoor, the more his excuses smack of someone evading responsibility. They are also offensive to the people of Miami, who expect their mayor to put them first. Their tax dollars, after all, are funding an annual full-time compensation package of $130,000 for a part-time mayor.

If Miami’s mayor wants to reach the White House, he must first contend with the crisis at City Hall.