A troubling pattern is emerging in the Miami mayoral race as the Democratic National Committee and the Florida Democratic Party aggressively insert themselves into a local election to boost Commissioner Eileen Higgins. Voters are now asking: Why are national political power brokers suddenly so invested in Miami’s mayoral race?
The answers point to a long-running pay-for-play pattern tied directly to Higgins’ record.
Months ago, concerns surfaced after Higgins co-sponsored and voted for a 12-year, no-bid concession extension at Miami International Airport. One of the biggest beneficiaries of that sweetheart deal?
Chris Korge, Chair of the Democratic National Finance Committee, a major national Democratic power broker with deep influence inside the party.
At the time, the vote raised eyebrows.
Now, with national Democrats descending into the race to help Higgins, it raises far more serious questions.
And that airport deal wasn’t a one-off.
Higgins has campaigned on buzzwords like “affordable housing” and “green,” but without any real policy substance. Meanwhile, over $250,000 from big developers is flooding efforts supporting her campaign many of the same developers who have profited from the “affordable” and “workforce” housing incentives Higgins champions.
Critics argue those incentives are nothing more than giveaways.
Under the Miami-Dade policy Higgins touts, developers can qualify for massive benefits by offering units priced at up to 140% of Area Median Income, meaning rents above $3,000 a month. That’s not affordable housing that’s luxury housing wrapped in political marketing.
The Miami Herald also exposed the close relationship between Higgins’ campaign manager, Christian Ulvert, and developers relying on him to message and navigate their projects through government approvals. It’s another link in a chain that keeps pointing back to the same circle of insiders.
And it continues.
Higgins’ recent celebration of Miami’s new electric bus fleet touted as a major political “win” is also tied to her campaign’s financiers. Records show Heckler & Associates, lobbyists for New Flyer, the company that received the bus contract, have contributed to her political efforts. Another project. Another contract. Another donor connection.
Taken together, the pattern is unmistakable:
Political favors. Developer windfalls. Party machine intervention.
All benefiting Eileen Higgins and all happening in the shadows.
Voters are no longer questioning isolated incidents. They’re questioning a consistent, repeatable pattern — one that looks far less like public service, and far more like pay-for-play politics.
