An Open Letter to Miami Beach

Dear Fellow Resident:

I am running for Mayor because Miami Beach isn’t just a city to me, it’s my home. And today it’s facing some of its greatest challenges. From sea level rise to over-development to never-ending congestion, the home we all love feels threatened.

So I am running because sitting by quietly isn’t in my DNA.

I come from a family that believes deeply in the value of stepping up to serve. My dad, Seymour, was a prosecutor, judge and mayor, and my mom Edith a public school teacher here on Miami Beach. My wife, Joan, a career federal prosecutor.

Service has been my path as well. I spent nearly a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney prosecuting public corruption. I also represented our community in the Florida legislature – in the House and the Senate – where I fought to improve our children’s education, advocated for LGBT rights and for a better quality of life for our residents. I’ve been a big brother in the Big Brothers program for 30 years – and co-founded a camp for kids with cancer where I spent most summers volunteering.

Here is my vision for our City:

First, we will have an honest and open government.

Too often local governments become transactional where businesses look to pay to play to get things done – or bad ideas become policy because someone financially supported someone’s election.

I intend to make our City Hall the most honest and transparent in the nation – if you wonder whether I’m sincere– ask the people who know me best, the corruption prosecutors I worked alongside – the people I grew up with.

Second we will safeguard the livability of our community.

Our City is a glamorous destination – and an economic engine in our region – but first and foremost whether you have called Miami Beach your home for decades or just a few years – it needs to be a community where you can easily drive around and park, where you can safely walk, that’s clean, and where your kids don’t have to struggle to receive a high quality education.

A place that doesn’t flood every time the moon is full.

These are the challenges that need to be solved with leadership you can trust. I understand these issues and advocated for them for decades — and gotten results. I commit to you the only lens I will have as your Mayor is whether something improves your quality of life and that of your family.

We all know elections have consequences – this one is close to home – our home.

I look forward to the journey ahead and earning your support.

Thanks,