Michael Hepburn’s effort to break a glass ceiling in the race for Miami Mayor now has support from the candidate who came closest to beating the current officeholder in 2021.
Entrepreneur Max Martinez, who placed second among four candidates[1] who challenged[2] term-limited Mayor Francis Suarez four years ago, is getting behind Hepburn in this year’s crowded contest.
The two met during the 2021 race, when Hepburn was vying for a seat on the City Commission. And Hepburn impressed Martinez both as a friend, mentor and guide and as a knowledgeable policy wonk whom he believes would bring real change to Miami.
“The other names on the ballot have all been in office — you’re currently living in the results of their work,” Martinez, a fellow Democrat, said of Hepburn.
“Mike fights the right way, and he’s never bowed to developer money or special interests. Even without a seat, Mike has written more legislation and done more for Miami residents than those currently in office because that’s who he is. He doesn’t just talk about change; Mike creates it.”
Hepburn, a nonprofit executive, is no stranger to pursuing elected office. In addition to seeking a City Commission seat, he has also run for the Florida House and Congress.
But he’s also well-acquainted with public service, having volunteered with the Miami Parks & Recreation Advisory Board’s Community Emergency Response Team[3], as a charter member of AmeriCorps[4] and a co-founder of the Allapattah Neighborhood Association.
He also earned a Miami Herald Silver Night Award while in high school and was a fellow in former Gov. Lawton Chiles’ Leadership Corps, among other laurels.
If elected — a long shot, in a race with significantly better funded and more recognizable names — Hepburn, a Miami native, would become the city’s first Black Mayor.
He’s running on a platform that prioritizes helping children and seniors, ending “pay-to-play politics” at City Hall, enhancing neighborhoods, boosting public safety, rehabilitating and developing affordable housing, and improving Miami’s resilience to sea level rise.
“A vote for Mike is a vote for the entire city of Miami,” Martinez said. “He’s proven time and time again that he’ll stand up for all of us in every neighborhood, with no strings attached.”
Hepburn said it’s “truly an honor” to have Martinez’s endorsement.
“I personally know how hard it is to run a campaign and to solicit support — when it feels like no one is rooting for the extraordinary ordinary person anymore. We live in a world that is enthralled with status, money, celebrity, and name recognition. However, I know if we collectively come together, all things are possible,” he said.
“As someone who comes from a working-class family and embodies the mantra of pouring Life into the dreams and goals of our people. I will not let Max down, as we push forward together to Change the FUTURE of Miami.”
Hepburn reported raising just over $36,000 through June 30, most of it refundable self-loans. Notable donors to his campaign, which has not taken any corporate or political committee dollars, include Martinez, former Sen. Dwight Bullard, former Miami-Dade School Board candidate Max Tuchman, and Adrian Madriz, the co-Executive Director of the affordable housing-focused SMASH[5] nonprofit.
Other Democrats in the Mayor’s race include Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell, and Ellijah Bowdre, who chaired the Miami-Dade Cryptocurrency Task Force that last met in April 2022, according to county records[6].
Republican candidates include Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, former Miami-Dade Community Council member Christian Cevallos, business development strategist Alyssa Crocker, former Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, real estate agent June Savage and former City Manager Emilio González, who successfully sued[7] to stop sitting Miami officials from delaying the election to 2026, earning an endorsement[8] from Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Lawyer Kenneth DeSantis, former Miami Mayor and Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez and Laura Anderson, an affiliate of the Socialist Workers Party[9], have no party affiliation.
Miami’s election is Nov. 4. It’s technically nonpartisan.
If no candidate in a given race receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will compete in a runoff.
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References
- ^ four candidates (enr.electionsfl.org)
- ^ challenged (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ Community Emergency Response Team (www.miami.gov)
- ^ AmeriCorps (www.americorps.gov)
- ^ SMASH (smash.miami)
- ^ county records (www.miamidade.gov)
- ^ successfully sued (www.miamiherald.com)
- ^ endorsement (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ Socialist Workers Party (ballotpedia.org)