Mayor's Message

 

About our Mayor

 

Carlos A. Gimenez was elected as Miami-Dade County's Mayor on June 28, 2011. Prior to this election, Mayor Gimenez served on the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners for seven years.

 

He was first elected to the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners on November 2, 2004. He was re-elected for a second term without opposition in August 2008.  As Commissioner for District 7, he represented numerous municipalities, including the City of Miami, the Village of Key Biscayne, the City of Coral Gables, the City of South Miami, the Village of Pinecrest, as well as areas of unincorporated Miami-Dade County.

 

Mayor Gimenez served as the Vice Chair of the Regional Transportation Committee, which oversees Miami-Dade County's transportation systems from a local and regional perspective. He also sat on the Recreation and Cultural Affairs, and the Internal Management and Fiscal Responsibility Committees.

 

With his election as Miami-Dade County Mayor, Gimenez continues his lifelong commitment to public service. From May 2000 to January 2003, he was manager of the City of Miami and was credited with helping to bring stability and integrity back to the city. 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. At the same time, Miami was able to establish more than $140 million in reserves.

 

Prior to his appointment as City Manager, Mayor Gimenez spent 25 years with Miami's Fire-Rescue Department, the last nine of them as the Fire Chief. While serving as Chief of Fire-Rescue, he is credited with modernizing the City's Fire Department and overseeing the largest re-organization 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. Mayor Gimenez also served on the Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search and Rescue Advisory Committee and as the Chair of the Legal Issues Subcommittee.

 

A long-time Miamian, Mayor Gimenez is an alumnus of Christopher Columbus High School, and received his Bachelor's Degree in Public Administration from Barry University. In 1993, he completed the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.