After suspending his presidential campaign last year, Miami-Dade County Mayor Francis Suarez returned to South Florida to focus on his mayoral duties. While touting the accomplishments of Miami during his tenure, a black cloud of controversy loomed over him. He is now facing calls for resignation after being accused of having conflicts of interest. However, Mayor Suarez is pushing back on the allegations, discounting them as “frivolous” accusations.
This week, the Miami Mayor held a press conference, touting a “story of sustained achievement” in Miami that was quickly overshadowed after a Miami Herald report revealed that he was allegedly involved in pursuing a no-bid contract that carried potential personal benefits.
In a statement, the former presidential hopeful’s office took to social media to comment that “the Florida Ethics Commission formally dismissed yet another frivolous complaint filed against Miami Mayor Francis Suarez citing ‘lack of legal sufficiency.’” His office goes on to say that the Florida Ethics Commission dismissed the complaint because “the Mayor continues to act properly, following all laws and regulations.”
“The Commission’s action exposes the coordinated coup attempt that radical liberal activists, political mercenaries, and their allies in the local leftist media have perpetrated in the City of Miami,” the statement reads.
Mayor Suarez claims that he has been targeted for over a year by “a vicious, dishonest smear campaign led by a small group of special interests hellbent on destroying our thriving city’s reputation and its prominent position on the world stage.”
In pushing back against the accusations, he affirms that he “will continue to serve the greater interests of the City of Miami and its residents, despite false and negative attacks as he works to continue making Miami America’s greatest city.”
The Miami Herald report accuses Mayor Suarez of pursuing the no-bid city contract that would have benefitted a partner of one of his private employers. After his speech, when pressed on the allegations, Mayor Suarez cut the meeting with reporters short, saying “thank you. I’m done.”
