Carlos A. Giménez


Carlos A. Giménez is a Cuban American retired firefighter and Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, elected to office June 28, 2011 in a special election. He previously served as a Miami-Dade County Commissioner from 2003 through 2011, and the fire chief of the City of Miami Fire Department. He is a member of the Republican Party, but his position of mayor of Miami-Dade County is a nonpartisan one.
In January 2020 he announced he was running for the Republican nomination in the 2020 U.S. House election for Florida's 26th congressional district.

Background

Giménez was born in Havana, Cuba in 1954 to ranchers from the Oriente province. In 1960, his family immigrated to the United States in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, settling in what became Miami's Little Havana.
Joining the City of Miami Fire Department as a firefighter in 1975, he was appointed fire chief by City manager Cesar Odio in 1991, serving through 2000. While serving as Chief of Fire-Rescue, Giménez is credited with modernizing the City's Fire Department and overseeing one of the largest re-organizations in the department's history. He is a former member of the International City Managers Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Fire Protection Association, the Florida Fire Chiefs, and the Fire Officers Association of Miami-Dade. Commissioner Gimenez also served on the Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search and Rescue Advisory Committee and as the Chair of the Legal Issues Subcommittee.

Political career

City Manager and County Commissioner

From May 2000 to January 2003, he was city manager of Miami proper. As its chief administrative officer, he was responsible for an annual budget of $500 million, 4,000 employees and providing services to almost 400,000 residents. During his tenure as the City of Miami's top administrator, the city's bond rating went from "junk" to investment grade and the tax rate dropped to its lowest in 50 years. In 2004, he was elected as a Miami-Dade County Commissioner for the county's 7th district, serving Miami proper, Village of Key Biscayne, Coral Gables, South Miami, Kendall, and Pinecrest.

Mayorship

Giménez was elected mayor of the metropolitan government of Miami-Dade County, Florida on June 28, 2011 in the 2011 Miami-Dade County mayoral election. Incumbent mayor Carlos Alvarez had been recalled in one of the largest recall election's of a municipal official in United States history. No candidate got over 50% of the popular vote in the first round so a runoff election was held. Gimenez won the runoff election with 51% of the vote against Julio Robaina's 49%.
Gimenez won re-election in the 2012 Miami-Dade County mayoral election with 54% of the vote against multiple candidates.
Gimenez won re-election in the 2016 Miami-Dade County mayoral election with 56% of the vote against School Board member Raquel Regalado.
Giménez has been criticized by road safety advocates for his transportation policies. After running on a platform of increasing transit, Giménez oversaw the decline of the Miami-Dade County Bus Transportation system. He has supported the redirection of funds to a controversial expressway in the Everglades opposed by environmentalists, road safety experts, and several municipalities in the county.
In the 2016 presidential election, Giménez endorsed Hillary Clinton.
In 2017 President Trump signed an executive order targeting "sanctuary" jurisdictions that limited or refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, ordering a review of their access to federal funding. Miami-Dade received a letter from the administration that the county had been flagged as a sanctuary jurisdiction. Giménez then ordered the director of his corrections department to begin honoring all requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Miami Dade County Board of Commissioners formally codified his order by a 9 to 3 vote. The Trump administration later confirmed the county was no longer flagged as a sanctuary jurisdiction. In December 2018 the Florida Third District Court of Appeal dismissed a lawsuit filed in state court against the county policy.

Congressional run

In January 2020 he announced he was running for the Republican nomination in the 2020 U.S. House election for Florida's 26th congressional district.

Personal life

He is married to Lourdes Portela, and their children are Carlos, Julio and Lourdes. He is Catholic and an alumnus of Christopher Columbus High School.