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When Oliver Gilbert became Mayor of Miami Gardens eight years ago, he heard a lot of “NO…you can’t! You can’t open businesses here. You can’t have your young people from your community become police officers. You can’t bring the City back from shaky finances.” But today, the naysayers are looking at a thriving community with a record number of new businesses and job creation; police officers who live in Miami Gardens and are familiar with the community; record reserves in the bank, a rising bond rating and a 2020 All-America City designation.
“Our story of progress in Miami Gardens has not been perfect, unflawed or undeterred, but it has been progress built on hard work, perseverance and community, bolstered by imagination and a fundamental understanding of the intrinsic worth of the city,” said Mayor Gilbert.
Overcoming temporary homelessness while in college, living in a car in the winter in Tallahassee and working nights at Walmart to pay his bills, Mayor Gilbert has become a legend in the city he loves. You can find him talking to his residents over “Tea Time with the Mayor”, participating in the annual Easter Family Fun Day, Mother’s and Father’s Day Luncheons, Reading Initiatives; spearheading the annual Summer Youth Employment program; the Mayor’s Fitness Challenge; Karaoke with Mayor Oliver Gilbert; on the parks during the city’s youth football and cheer programs; and leading the nationally-recognized annual Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival.
This past August, he won a seat on the Miami-Dade Commission representing his community. There is no doubt that Miami-Dade Commissioner Oliver Gilbert will become a leading voice on that elected body. He will take his belief in the great opportunities that lie ahead for everyone if they work together to accomplish their dreams. As he says, “We were not created in the spirit of fear. We are the guardians of the life we want and the architects of the future our children deserve.”
