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A New Leadership Role
As the newly-elected Mayor, I have many responsibilities. I think the first thing we have to do is assess the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on how we do business in Miami Gardens going forward. We need to assess the entire City and see how things are being managed.
The new Council is ready to go to work. I’m the Elder Statesman in the group right now.
Our Councilmembers are “brand new,” so to speak, but they are very smart and energetic.
I look forward to working with them to improve the lives of our residents. We want to be the best City, not only in the State of Florida, but also in the entire country.
The previous Mayor and Council did a tremendous job with the growth of Miami Gardens, and we just want to make sure that we continue on that path.
Leadership in the Time of COVID
With the Coronavirus infection numbers and hospitalizations increasing, and as a City with a large elderly population, we need to make sure our residents are safe.
At this time, everything is impacted by COVID-19, so I think it would be premature of us to say too much of what we’re going to do until we get a grip on this situation. We’re not sure if businesses are going to be shut down again, or if schools will have to close again. So right now, we are following the safety protocols as advised by our local health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
We won’t be sure what the federal government is going to do until this vaccine comes out either. It’s going to be a challenging time, not just for us locally, but for new President and his administration as well. They’ll most likely look at job creation and getting money back to our small businesses throughout the nation. My hope is that Miami Gardens will be included in those initiatives. I want our residents and our small business owners to get their part of whatever monies the federal government has to offer.
Our Present and Our Future
In response to the challenges our residents are facing due to COVID-19, the City offered two programs that are ideal at this time — the rental assistance and mortgage assistance programs to assist those who were impacted financially.
As we deal with COVID-19 and its challenges, we are continuing to move forward on the $60 million general obligation bond projects to fulfill our commitment to our residents.
In the longer term, we will continue our focus on economic development so that we can create jobs for Miami Gardens residents and work to ensure that small businesses have the tools they need to be productive.
We also have to invest in the kids, who are the future of our City and our nation. These kids take part in programs like our Junior Council, STEM and our robotics competitions. We have to put them in a position where if they go off to college, they can come back to our community and have a place to live, work and play. We have to get them ready to be the future leaders.
I love Miami Gardens. We are a very unique City, and to come together and work together is a tremendous job. We’re ready, willing and able to get it done.
