6 June 29 - July 5, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | BALONEY METER Fact-checking Mayor Francis Suarez’s White House bid video. BY ALEX DELUCA AND NAOMI FEINSTEIN M iami Mayor Francis Suarez has officially tossed his hair gel- crusted hat into the ring for the 2024 presidential race. After several years of not-so-subtly eyeing a bid for the White House, Suarez announced his campaign for presidential office, releasing a video on Thursday, June 15, helpfully enti- tled “I’m Running,” in which he’s shown — wait for it — jogging across his notoriously pedestrian-unfriendly city in a red T-shirt and stopping mid-run (as one does) to join a group of kids for soccer and chat with a pe- destrian who appears to have lost their way. But while Suarez takes credit for numer- ous accomplishments throughout the clip, in- cluding solving the city’s financial woes and fixing the city’s homeless crisis, his pat-your- self-on-the-back claims are a tad thornier than he makes them out to be. Notwithstanding Suarez’s attempts to have Miami adopt a “strong mayor” form of government, the city still delegates relatively little power to hizzoner. While Suarez has the authority to hire and fire the city manager (who actually runs things) and can veto city commission measures, he has no general vot- ing power on legislative items presented to the commission and wields limited sway over the city’s budget. (Suarez did serve as a Mi- ami commissioner for eight years before his mayoral tenure.) For the edification of our readers and our- selves, New Times set out to separate preten- sion from actual production in Suarez’s presidential bid vid. In taking a closer look, we found that while Suarez may have set a few initiatives on commendable paths, many of his claims boiled down to chest-puffing, some of which short-circuited our finely tuned baloney meter. Claim: “I started a program that helped every child open up their own bank account.” Baloney meter reading: Partly true As mayor, Suarez sponsored a measure that donated city funds to Future Bound Miami, a Children’s Saving Account (CSA) program for kindergarteners enrolled in Miami-Dade County public schools. While he pushed for the program, he didn’t start it. An assortment of nonprofits and public entities, including the City of Miami Beach, collaborated to launch the program so students can set aside funds for post- secondary education. Catalyst Miami, in partnership with the Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, began exploring the idea of creating the program in 2017, according to the Future Bound Miami website. Claim: “When I was elected, the city was broke and broken, but we came together, and I won my mayoral election with over 80 percent of the vote.” Baloney meter: True In 2017, Suarez won his mayoral seat with more than 85 percent of the vote. He was re- elected in 2021 with more than 78 percent of the vote. As far as “broke and broken,” the city’s deficit has increased from $505 million to $894 million under Suarez’s reign, according to Miami’s own financial records. (Of course, he doesn’t have much control over budget matters.) Notably, while Suarez asserted that the city was “broken” when he took the reins, he didn’t claim to have actually fixed anything, so no baloney there. Claim: “I lowered taxes to a historic low.” Baloney meter: Likely misleading It’s not clear what taxes the mayor is talking about, but in July 2022, the Miami city com- mission voted to reduce the municipality’s property-tax rate to the lowest since the 1960s. Suarez did not have voting power, so it would be a stretch to say he’s the one who lowered taxes. Nonetheless, he held a press conference following the meeting to tout the historically low rate. Claim: “Our tax collections skyrocketed.” Baloney meter: True When Suarez was first elected in 2017, city collections of delinquent taxes stood at $12.46 million year over year. As of 2022, the annual amount collected clocked in at $17 million — a 36 percent increase compared to fiscal year 2017. Claim: “Today, our city is a major technology hub.” Baloney meter: It’s complicated A handful of notable tech companies, Silicon Valley venture capitalist outfits, and financial firms have relocated to Miami since the pan- demic set in, including Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund and Kenneth Griffin’s hedge fund Citadel and market-making giant Citadel Securities. Along with Austin, Texas, Miami has be- come a refuge of sorts for libertarian-leaning corporate honchos like Thiel, who relocated after becoming disillusioned with what they saw as high tax rates and overzealous CO- VID-related restrictions in areas like New York City and Silicon Valley. On the flip side, Miami’s cryptocurrency craze, pumped to no end by Suarez, fizzled out in dramatic fashion. The local crypto scene has tumbled from its bullish peak of November 2021, resulting in deserted com- pany offices and bankrupt firms. And the MiamiCoin token Suarez so passionately touted is now basically worthless. A recent Wall Street Journal article detailed how a desperate Suarez even tasked his staff with cold-calling venture capitalists to lure them to town. There was no greater symbol of the hype than FTX, which was planning to move its headquarters to Miami before the multibil- lion-dollar outfit collapsed and its chief, Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested on securities fraud charges. Claim: “The lowest unemployment in America.” Baloney meter: True. But Miami is still unaffordable According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis- tics April 2023 report, the Miami-Miami Beach–Kendall area had the lowest unem- ployment nationwide among large metro di- visions in February, at 1.7 percent. Still, people hav- ing jobs does not necessarily equate to quality of life when your pay- check does not cover rent, and you’re sinking into debt. A RealtyHop report released in August 2022 sug- gested that Miami was suffering from the most severe housing affordability crisis of any area in the nation when you factor in home prices relative to median income. Claim: “Now, instead of 6,000 homeless, we have 608, and I am not finished yet.” Baloney meter: Likely false under Suarez’s mayoral watch It appears Suarez is referring to some older figures regarding homelessness, possibly dat- ing back more than a decade, when reports indicated the City of Miami’s homeless popu- lation lingered around 6,000. By 2005, the county census indicated the number of unsheltered homeless had fallen to roughly 750 in the City of Miami. Accord- ing to Miami-Dade County’s Homeless Trust’s August 2022 census, there were 640 unsheltered homeless people living within the city limits. Suarez’s statement is misleading in that he’s taking credit for a drastic reduction in the homeless population that occurred long before he took the (mostly ceremonial) helm. [email protected] Mayor Francis Suarez speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on June 15, 2023, in Simi Valley, California. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images | METRO | SUAREZ HAS NO GENERAL VOTING POWER ON LEGISLATIVE ITEMS AND WIELDS LIMITED SWAY OVER THE CITY’S BUDGET.
