Seeking long holiday, Miami cancels Dec. 8 commission meeting

City of Miami Commissioner Ken Russell offered his early resignation last week after fellow Commissioners Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Joe Carollo moved to cancel the Dec. 8 meeting, which would have been Mr. Russell’s final time sitting on dais before his term ends in 2023.

Mr. Russell is currently petitioning his colleagues to hold a December meeting. A majority of members is required to get the meeting back on the schedule. As of now, Mr. Russell and one other commissioner are on board, meaning one more member is needed to reach a quorum. If three of the five commissioners approve the meeting, it can be rescheduled for any time before Dec. 8.

The December meeting would have been Mr. Russell’s last before his resignation takes effect Jan. 3. Commissioner Joe Carollo, who wanted to cancel the meeting saying he wanted to spend more time with family over the holiday season, said Mr. Russell placed an extra financial burden on the city and taxpayers by not resigning sooner.

“If Mr. Russell had the caring that he claimed a little earlier… he would have resigned effectively in enough time for us to have been able to have an election for his seat this November where it would not have cost the City of Miami no additional monies,” Mr. Carollo said.

Under Florida’s resign-to-run law signed by Gov. Rick Scott in 2018, elected officials in Florida must resign to campaign for another political office. Mr. Russell ran in midterm elections this year for the US House of Representatives from District 27. He lost to Annette Taddeo in the Democratic primary, and Ms. Taddeo was ultimately defeated by Republican Maria Elvira Salazar.

Mr. Russell said if there is no meeting next month, he will resign early to save taxpayers money as he and the other commissioners will still be paid their $6,000 monthly stipend regardless of whether they meet.

Mr. Russell insisted he wanted one last meeting to see through items that required action before the end of the year. If he doesn’t get his wish, several items on the commission’s Nov. 17 agenda won’t be acted on until 2023, as they were deferred to the Dec. 8 meeting.

As for filling Mr. Russell’s seat, a special election is to be held in the new year. Whoever wins will sit on the dais representing District 2 until election season next November.