Miami Dysfunction: Seems like Suarez has better things to do than be mayor | Opinion

Does Miami even need Mayor Francis Suarez?

This is not a rhetorical question. We’re dead serious.

The job of Miami mayor comes with a lot of hype and little executive power over City Hall. His job description aside, Suarez is proving that he’s less of an asset to his constituents and more of one to the powerful interests that want something from the city or with whom he has a business relationship through the law firm that employs him.

It’s as if Suarez is too big for the parochial concerns that usually keep the mayor of a city of around 450,000 occupied. The impression is that he’s got bigger aspirations, such as running for president in a Republican primary bid that never caught traction and schmoozing with powerful people while he turns himself into a millionaire.

Suarez, a man who has managed 14 side gigs on top of being part-time mayor of South Florida’s largest city, does not spend a lot of time at City Hall these days. As the Herald revealed this week, Suarez spent one out of every five days in his second mayoral term traveling, a sharp increase compared to his first term.

A no-show

Suarez is not part of the City Commission, but when he was first elected in 2017 — and as previous mayors did — he was a constant presence at its meetings. That changed when voters rejected his 2018 bid to become a “strong mayor” with authority to run the day-to-day operations of the city. Today, Suarez hardly shows up. He was out of town for a one-third of commission meetings, the Herald reported.

While Suarez does not have a vote on the commission, he is allowed to broker votes behind the scenes and in public for things he cares about or that benefit his constituents. But he’s abdicated that power for the most part.

Where was Suarez when the commission approved a controversial redistricting map that split Coconut Grove and angered its residents? In Dubai, the Herald reported.

Where was the mayor when the American Civil Liberties Union sued the city claiming the redistricting map divided residents based on race and ethnicity? Watching the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

And when Miami entered its second year under a COVID-19 state of emergency in 2021? He was riding a camel as he met with FIFA officials in Qatar.

At the World Cup

Sometimes, Suarez does care — usually about flashy projects. He led the effort to help David Beckham’s soccer team convince the commission to lease taxpayer-owned land for the construction of a stadium and commercial complex at an old golf course. Not long after that, Suarez and Beckham attended the World Cup semifinal in Qatar together. State ethics investigators are now looking into whether Beckham gave Suarez a free ticket, which would be illegal because Beckham is a registered city lobbyist.

Then there are greater questions about Suarez’s many private employment deals, ranging from the consulting payments he received from a developer with business before City Hall to his work as a lawyer at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. The firm has told the Herald there’s a wall of separation between his mayoral duties and legal work, but the Herald’s recent story about Suarez’s role in organizing a trade summit with Saudi Arabia suggests otherwise.

Suarez used his public office, including the city seal, to promote the summit organized by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, a client of his firm. Emails reviewed by the Herald show city staffers helped organize the March event in Miami Beach. The summit is the target of a congressional investigation into the Saudi regime’s efforts to influence U.S. institutions and clean up a reputation tainted by public beheadings and the murder of a Washington Post journalist.

It also raises questions about whether Suarez should have registered as a foreign agent for the country. His office said his attendance was uncompensated and unrelated to his work for Quinn Emanuel.

Suarez is a man of ambition and high aspirations. But he’s also a public servant, and Miamians must wonder if he’s worth the $130,000 annual compensation package they are paying him.

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This story was originally published December 20, 2023 at 12:33 PM.