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My most significant accomplishments of 2022 have been my priority items, such as
transportation and looking for ways to make our City more mobility friendly. I traveled to Europe over the summer to look at their urban air mobility — basically hovercrafts, like they had in the Jetsons. We’re exploring whether we can bring that technology to South Florida to enhance transportation and mitigate traffic on the road.
Photography: AJ Shorter II
We also met with folks at MIT for a peer exchange and brainstormed urban air mobility in the future. We traveled to Paris, Madrid, Munich, and London along with Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert and the Transportation Planning Organization of Miami-Dade County. They are always looking for ways to improve transportation for our community.
The Best of 2022
I hold a quarterly clean-up to help with the Keep Miami Gardens Beautiful initiative. We’ve
served different pockets around the City with this program, and we like the progress that is
being made.
This year, I got the Government Access television station for residents going: Channel 77 on Comcast. The resolution passed last year with a planned rollout before the end of 2022. A lot of people need help getting on the ZOOM platform. However, everyone is familiar with a television and remote control, so this will provide more access to the residents.
We officially activated the David Williams Botanical Garden and had our first Mango Fest over the summer. We had a pretty good turnout, and my office plans to do it at least twice a year.
Initiatives for 2023
I want our City to become a “Smart City.” An example of this would be if you’re going into a parking garage, when you pull up, the garage will indicate where spaces are available, saving you time and gas.
I want to focus on the initiatives I started about a year ago, such as placing speed bumps in certain areas. I also want to create a comprehensive plan to address our City’s housing issues. One of the solutions is to create jobs that pay a lot more so that people can afford their rent or mortgage.
Turning 20 in 2023
When the City first became incorporated 20 years ago, it was fragile, and there was a ton to learn and a lot of new people involved. Now, seeing the improved structures, more gardens and flowers, and big box retailers that hire people and provide goods and services makes me incredibly proud, and I am looking forward to the next 20 years.
