Miami Council removes mayor Gil Madrid in 4 - 2 vote

What I became concerned about were the out-of-control meetings that were being chaired by the mayor, or not being chaired by the mayor”

Councilman Don Reiman

Monday evening, the last day of August, Miami's Town Council held a special hearing to decide whether Mayor Gil Madrid would keep his office. Two council members, Jose “Angel” Medina and Don Reiman, had submitted affidavits to support Madrid's removal after contentious Council meetings in July.

In their opening statements, Medina and Reiman accused Madrid of failing to control meetings, favoring certain speakers during calls to the public, harshness toward other council members and the town manager, creating a negative atmosphere, and disregarding advice from town attorneys, particularly regarding open meeting law. “What I became concerned about were the out-of-control meetings that were being chaired by the mayor, or not being chaired by the mayor,” Reiman said. “We need a leader who will lead in a positive direction and work to create unity, not complain and make allegations about it being everybody else's fault.”

Madrid came down from the dais, into the audience, to offer his defense statement. “This was a steep learning curve,” he said. “I apologize to any Miami resident and any council member who I may have personally offended when I lost my temper.”

The mayor's defense centered around Section 3.9 of the Miami Town Council rules, which he contended did not justify removal “merely because another councilmember disagrees with the mayor's priorities or style,” and a 12-item list of what Madrid called “concerns” about Town Manager Alexis Rivera (expanding on criticisms he began during an unrelated agenda item in the July 13 council meeting, which drew the town attorney's warning about violating open meeting law). 

Among these “concerns,” Madrid accused Rivera of ignoring an engineer's warning against opening Hostetler Pool; delaying HVAC installation at the police station; delaying the Town's facade project; failing to respect the mayor; and “refusing to comply with my requests” to hire the lobbying firm used by Globe and Superior.

But in the end Madrid's statement, and the audience applause it drew, failed to sway the Council's vote, which was 4-2 for his removal as mayor (Councilman Michael Sosh was not present at the hearing). Voting to remove him were Councilmen Medina, Reiman, Dan Moat and Phil Stewart; Madrid, who remains a councilman, and Vice Mayor Sammy Gonzales cast the no votes.

The Council then turned to Madrid's replacement. First Medina nominated Stewart, who declined the nomination before it was seconded. Stewart then nominated Sosh, who was approved in a 5-1 vote with only Madrid voting no.