In a race that’s shaping up to be anything but ordinary, Miami Republican mayoral candidate Emilio Gonzalez is taking sharp aim at his progressive opponent, Eileen Higgins, accusing her of pushing Miami toward becoming a permanent “city of renters.” And honestly, given what we’ve seen in other Democrat-run cities, who can blame him for sounding the alarm?
Gonzalez and Higgins are heading into a Dec. 9 runoff after neither reached 50% in the Nov. 4 election. Higgins led with 35.96% of the vote, while Gonzalez secured 19.47%. Now the runoff is where the real contrast begins.
Higgins, a former Miami-Dade County commissioner, has been running on a message of affordability, pointing to her work investing nearly $3 million into small business grants and helping build nearly 7,000 so-called “affordable housing units.” Sounds great on paper… but as Miami residents know, “affordable housing” in big blue cities usually ends up meaning “you’ll rent forever and like it.”
Gonzalez—an Army veteran, former West Point instructor, business leader, and proudly endorsed by President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Sen. Rick Scott—says the issue isn’t slogans, it’s results.
“The affordability issue sounds very nice, but it means absolutely nothing because she really hasn't done much,” he told Fox News Digital. Miami, he says, has reached a breaking point: apartments too expensive, homes starting at $500–600k, and wages that just can’t keep up. “Forget about a mortgage,” he said bluntly. “Nothing is affordable.”
And that’s where he draws a line as clear as Biscayne Bay on a good day.
“She wants to create a city of renters,” Gonzalez said. “I want to create a city of owners. Property owners.”
While Higgins pushes government-driven building sprees, Gonzalez says Miami needs something else: a path for families to build wealth, not dependency. He’s fighting to ensure residents keep more of their money so they can buy their first condo or starter home—not get stuck in government-managed rentals forever.
He also warned that Miami cannot follow the path of New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles—cities drowning in debt, mismanagement, and in some cases, literal decay. “That’s not going to happen in Miami,” he said.
One of Gonzalez’s biggest policy pushes? Eliminating property taxes.
Yes—you read that right.
He praised Gov. DeSantis for his leadership on the issue and said Miami can absolutely follow through. Property taxes make up less than 7% of the city’s budget. Gonzalez says that gap can be easily closed with efficiencies—something Democrats rarely consider when there’s always another tax to raise.
And he’s not stopping there. He wants more ways to put money back in residents’ pockets, to make Miami affordable once again without sacrificing opportunity or freedom.
Despite trailing Higgins on election night, Gonzalez is confident and energized.
“This is a generational election,” he said. “We refuse to give up our future.”
He pointed to cities and countries devastated by socialist policies—from New York City to Cuba—and reminded voters exactly what Miami’s residents, many of them immigrants fleeing socialism, are fighting to protect.
“They do not want that here,” Gonzalez said. “And I am their candidate.”
A city of owners. A city of opportunity. A city that protects the American dream instead of replacing it with government dependency. Sounds like the kind of direction Miami could use right now.
