Cid, 38 years old, son of Cuban immigrants, warns that the dream in Miami-Dade was always “to get here to work hard, buy our homes, be owners to create enough capital with which to change the lives of our children and grandchildren. “.
“However, we have a county that works for lobbyists and those people who have money,” said this candidate, owner of a small restaurant in Miami Lakes, father of three children and “one on the way.”
Young with experience
Despite his youth, Cid has spent half his life in politics. He started at age 21 when he went to Tallahassee to work with Republican Representatives Ralph Arza and Eddy González. Returning to Miami Lakes, he ran for and won a seat on the City Council at age 28.
“No one was betting on me. I was facing Mary Collins, one of the founders of Miami Lakes. She had been a county commissioner and had a lot of support within the Republican Party. I had little money (for the campaign), I focused on knocking on doors and tell my ideas, and I won”, is how he remembers his beginnings, who in four years would be elected the youngest mayor in the history of the municipality, a position he retains to this day.
Miami Lakes
“In the last 12 years I have been involved in everything that has happened in the city. I thank God because many of the issues I receive calls about in my office currently are related to large, poorly trimmed trees that are in the way on some sidewalks “The problems of Miami Lakes are not crime or traffic, thanks to the work carried out during this time,” said the mayor, who says he feels satisfied to leave the town better than he found it.
Transparency vs corruption
“Before arriving in Miami Lakes there was corruption in the city. And when people placed their faith in me, morally I could not fail them,” she noted.
Cid said that to eliminate corruption he created an internal control model. All checks exceeding $5,000 must be signed by the mayor. “But before it reaches my table it must have the approval of the people who are supervising the work. It has to be approved by the director of the department in question and it has to be signed by one of the administrators. That is, when a check of $5,000 comes to me, it is accompanied by documentation explaining why that money should be issued in accordance with what was approved by the Council,” he explained.
“In other cities the mayor signs without knowing what he is authorizing and no controls are established,” he said.
Another fundamental step was transparency: “I asked the secretary of the municipality about the public records that people requested. And I told her, we are going to put all the documentation for everyone to see on social networks. On our website “In the city there is the city account and all the checks that are issued and the contracts. Everyone can see them in real time.”
“We were the first city in the US, before COVID, to broadcast Council meetings live on social media and residents could participate from anywhere in the world. When COVID hit, many mayors in the country called us to see how they could implement it. I leave the mayor’s office with 85% approval of the residents,” he stressed.
“Transparency forces money to be used on programs that residents care about, that taxpayers need.”
Campaign
Regarding the elections in August for the county mayor, he states that when he launched his campaign “I felt attracted to taking my projects to the County mayor’s office. Now, after knocking on thousands of doors, my campaign has become a cause. I have seen that , given current conditions, the middle class is abandoned. In the last three years, coinciding with Daniella Levine-Cava’s mayoralty, 134,000 middle class people have left the county,” he states that this data changed his perspective on the campaign. to turn it into a cause, he insisted. “In defense of the middle class.”
“The position of County Mayor would give me the opportunity to speak for those who have no voice, for small businesses, for the working class. Speak up for those who don’t have lobbyists addressing their issues.”
Six Republican candidates
The difficulty of the August electoral battle is that, despite being non-partisan, six Republican candidates are running. A reality that could atomize the conservative vote and facilitate the victory of Levine Cava, who concentrates the Democratic vote.
However, Cid calculates that “in the County there are 35% Democratic voters, 31% Republican voters, but 32% are independent. A voter who does not want to be at the extremes is considered independent. They want to achieve what exists Already in Miami Lakes, low taxes, low crime and a bureaucracy that does not bother.
“I am the only candidate who can gather the highest percentage of the Republican vote and also the majority of independent votes,” he stated.
Levine Cava Management
For this reason, Cid focuses his campaign on reflecting the weaknesses of Levine Cava’s management. “When God gives us a public office, he gives you a platform to help others. The moment you use public office to do harm through tax increases, damage transportation, worsen garbage management, worsen the service of animals, damaging the management of the airport, you are failing. Levine Cava represents what we do not want to see in the county, a government in the style of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles,” said the Republican candidate.
“The mayor brought a group of extremist liberals to develop the Better Bus Network project. The result was that they eliminated routes that working people needed. I rode those guaguas (buses) and saw people distressed because they couldn’t get to their jobs where “They earn modest salaries. But she reorganized the routes without taking into account the interests of the users. That is the ugly part of Levine Cava’s entire management. It is the style of government of people who think they are above the residents,” he stressed.
He then detailed: “It is the style of governance of those who every morning pick them up in nice SUVs and the police take them through fast lanes while the rest of the people have to wait hours to get somewhere in the city.”
“My administrators in Miami Lakes, by contract, have to drive the city every week,” he stressed.
Being an owner, the objective
The Republican candidate believes there is a danger of turning Miami-Dade’s working class into permanent tenants. The crucial goal of his mayoralty is for the middle class to become homeowners: “It’s the only way to change the life of a low- and moderate-income person.”
However, the current administration encourages apartment rentals as a way to solve the housing problem. Many people pay more in rent than they would on a mortgage. Why not work with local banks and use the funds we have to ensure the middle class can purchase low-interest homes?
The government’s trap is to create an apparent affordable income. “A process from which it is very difficult to get out and prevents you from ever becoming the owner, to always be dependent on the government,” he said.
On the other hand, “if you look at the Hispanic families that came to Hialeah, Little Havana, and the African-American families in Miami Gardens, they were able to change their lives and those of their children because they were able to own their homes. Now they have access to capital that allows them to start new businesses, help their family’s future, without depending on the government to achieve their dreams,” he said.
Cid stated that there is a study that indicates that, in 2023, 40% of single-family homes in Miami-Dade will belong to corporations that will be in charge of renting them. “We have to avoid it by creating new housing proposals for the middle and working class,” he insisted.
Taxes destroy the future
On the other hand, he said that it is necessary to transform taxes. “It is not fair that a young man can buy a home in Hialeah and pay 20 times more than his neighbor in property taxes for the same service. What is the point? What he achieves is destroying the future of our community and the of our children and grandchildren.”
Cid proposes “working with the property appraiser to prevent the taxable portion of a home from continuing to increase. We have to collect taxes without damaging people’s future.”
He also advocates for more leadership on the County Commission, reducing solid waste fees, streamlining permitting processes and eliminating the more than 2,000 jobs that remain unfilled from the budget.
She later acknowledged that the current mayor “is very active, she attends all possible events, she gives kisses and hugs to everyone. This is what she has focused on in recent years: being pleasant and close. But I also think that the “People will vote with their pockets, they are seeing that after hugs and kisses they take the money out of their pockets. This reality will define the August elections.”
