Carlos A. Giménez

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Carlos A. Giménez
Rep. Carlos Gimenez official photo, 117th Congress.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 26th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2021
Preceded byDebbie Mucarsel-Powell
7th Mayor of Miami-Dade County
In office
July 1, 2011 – November 17, 2020
Preceded byCarlos Álvarez
Succeeded byDaniella Levine Cava
Member of the
Miami-Dade County Commission
from the 7th district
In office
January 3, 2005 – April 12, 2011
Preceded byJimmy Morales[1]
Succeeded byXavier Suarez[2]
City Manager of Miami
In office
May 9, 2000 – January 29, 2003
Preceded byDonald Warshaw
Succeeded byJoe Arriola
Personal details
Born (1954-01-17) January 17, 1954 (age 67)
Havana, Cuba
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Lourdes Portela
(m. 1975)
Children3
EducationBarry University (BPA)
Signature
WebsiteHouse website
Firefighter career
DepartmentMiamiFireRescueDepartmentLogo.JPG Miami Fire-Rescue Department
Service years1975-2000

Carlos Antonio Giménez (/hiˈmɛnɛz/ hee-MEN-ez; born January 17, 1954)[3][4] is a Cuban-born American politician and retired firefighter serving as the U.S. Representative for Florida's 26th congressional district.[5] A Republican, he served as mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, from 2011 to 2020.[6] He previously served as a Miami-Dade County Commissioner from 2003 to 2011, and was the fire chief of the City of Miami Fire Department.

He supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. In 2020, Gimenez ran as a supporter of President Donald Trump and was endorsed by him.

Giménez serves as one of the Republican assistant whips under Steve Scalise.[7]

Early life and education[]

Giménez was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1954 to ranchers from the Oriente province. In 1960, his family immigrated to the United States in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, settling in what became Miami's Little Havana.[8]

Giménez attended Columbus High School near Miami and earned a bachelor's degree in public administration from Barry University.[9] In 1993, he completed the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.[9]

Career[]

Giménez joined the City of Miami Fire Department as a firefighter in 1975.[10] He was appointed fire chief in 1991, serving until 2000.[9]

He is a former member of the International City Managers Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Fire Protection Association, the Florida Fire Chiefs, and the Fire Officers Association of Miami-Dade. Gimenez also served on the Federal Emergency Management Agency Urban Search and Rescue Advisory Committee and as the Chair of the Legal Issues Subcommittee.

City Manager and County Commissioner[]

From May 2000 to January 2003, Giménez served as city manager of Miami proper, appointed by then mayor Joe Carollo, to replace incumbent Donald Warshaw.[11] In 2004, he was elected as a Miami-Dade County Commissioner for the county's 7th district, beating former Mayor of Miami and, eventual successor, Xavier Suarez.[12][13] His district included Miami proper, the Village of Key Biscayne, Coral Gables, South Miami, Kendall, and Pinecrest.[14]

Mayorship[]

Mayor Carlos Giménez and USAID Administrator Mark Andrew Green

Giménez was elected mayor of the metropolitan government of Miami-Dade County, Florida on June 28, 2011, in the 2011 Miami-Dade County mayoral special election. Incumbent mayor Carlos Alvarez had been recalled in one of the largest recall elections of a municipal official in United States history.[15] No candidate got over 50% of the popular vote in the first round so a runoff election was held. Gimenez won the runoff election with 51% of the vote against Julio Robaina's 49%.[16]

During his 2011 campaign, Giménez promised that if he were to be elected, he would cut his own salary. After he was elected, Giménez kept this promise, cutting his own salary and benefits by 50%.[17]

Giménez won re-election in the 2012 Miami-Dade County mayoral election with 54% of the vote against multiple candidates[18] and again in 2016 with 56% of the vote against school board member Raquel Regalado.[19]

Cooperation with ICE[]

In 2017, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting "sanctuary" jurisdictions that limited or refused to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, ordering a review of their access to federal funding.[20] Miami-Dade received a letter from the administration that the county had been flagged as a sanctuary jurisdiction. Giménez then ordered the director of his corrections department to begin honoring all requests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Miami Dade County Board of Commissioners formally codified his order by a 9 to 3 vote.[21][22] The Department of Justice later confirmed the county was no longer flagged as a sanctuary jurisdiction.[23][24] In December 2018, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal dismissed a lawsuit filed in state court challenging the county's detention policy.[25]

Election administration[]

In the lead-up to the 2020 election, which was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, Gimenez limited the number of ballot drop locations.[26] His office sent mail-in ballots to voters later than required by state law.[26]

Prior to the 2020 election, the Miami Heat sought to make AmericanAirlines Arena the early voting site for downtown Miami. In the wake of the killing of George Floyd, the NBA had sought to "channel demands for social justice into a voting drive by turning arenas into polling places." The city was close to signing an agreement with the NBA team which included a ban on political advertising in the arena while voting was underway. Gimenez intervened and the city ultimately selected the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, a previous long-time polling location, as Miami's early voting location, citing its proximity to a Metromover station as well as access to ground-level parking. The Frost Museum site was smaller than the arena and elections staff had not mentioned it on a draft list of 33 early voting sites that the staff worked on to prepare safe voting during a pandemic.[27]

U.S. House of Representatives[]

Elections[]

2020

In January 2020, Giménez announced he was running for the Republican nomination in the 2020 U.S. House election for Florida's 26th congressional district.[5] Gimenez was term-limited from running again as mayor.[28] In the 2016 presidential election, Giménez had endorsed Hillary Clinton.[29] In 2020, he said that he had "made a mistake" in supporting Clinton.[30] Having previously distanced himself from Trump, Giménez ran as a pro-Trump Republican in 2020. He ran on a platform of repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare),[31] and opposing a carbon tax.[31] Giménez was endorsed by President Trump in January 2020.[32] On August 18, 2020, Giménez won the Republican primary election, defeating Omar Blanco with 59.9% of the vote.[33][34] Giménez won the general election against incumbent Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.[28][35] Giménez was likely aided by Trump's strong showing in Miami-Dade County: he carried the 26th district 53%-47% against Joe Biden after losing it by 16 percentage points four years prior.[citation needed]

Tenure[]

After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump refused to concede while making false claims of fraud, Gimenez defended Trump and said he should not concede.[36] He later voted against certification of the electoral college votes for Arizona and Pennsylvania.[citation needed] Giménez voted against the second impeachment of Donald Trump on January 13, 2021.[37]

In late 2020, Giménez was a member of Freedom Force, a group of incoming Republican members of the House of Representatives who "say they're fighting against socialism in America".[38][39][40][41] On February 4, 2021, he joined 10 other Republican House members voting with all voting Democrats to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene of her House Education and Labor Committee, and House Budget Committee assignments in response to conspiratorial and violent statements that she had made.[42]

In March 2021, Giménez voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[43] In March 2021, Giménez was one of 8 Republicans to join the House majority in passing the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021.[44]

On May 19, 2021, Giménez was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol.[45]

Committee assignments[]

Caucus memberships[]

  • Republican Main Street Partnership[49]

Electoral history[]

Miami-Dade County mayoral election, 2016[50]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Carlos A. Giménez (incumbent) 475,547 55.83%
Republican Raquel Regalado 376,249 44.17%
Florida's 26th congressional district election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Carlos A. Giménez 177,211 51.7
Democratic Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (incumbent) 165,377 48.3
Total votes 342,588 100.0
Republican gain from Democratic

Personal life[]

Giménez is married to Lourdes Portela, with whom he has three children.[51]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Miami-Dade County Commissioner 07 - Runoff Race - Nov 02, 2004". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  2. ^ "Miami-Dade County Commissioner 07 Race - Aug 26, 2008". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  3. ^ "The Miami Herald 2011 Miami-Dade Mayor Candidate Questionnaire" (PDF). The Miami Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  4. ^ "Carlos A. Giménez". Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Batchelor, Amanda. "Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announces run for Congress". Local 10 Miami. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Gimenez elected Miami-Dade mayor". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  7. ^ Nicol, Ryan (January 20, 2021). "Carlos Giménez secures spot on House GOP whip team". Florida Politics. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  8. ^ Hiaasen, Scott (9 May 2011). "Gimenez seeks top Miami-Dade county job". The Miami Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Alumni Relations : Barry University, Miami Shores, Florida". www.barry.edu. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  10. ^ Marquis Who's Who Biographies, OCLC 464397729
  11. ^ "Legacy of a Cuban Boy: Miami City Hall Is Remade". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  12. ^ "Our Campaigns - Miami-Dade County Commissioner 07 - Runoff Race - Nov 02, 2004". www.ourcampaigns.com.
  13. ^ "Carlos Gimenez". Cubans in Florida - A Project of Cuban Studies Institute. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  14. ^ "District 7 - Commissioner Xavier L. Suarez". www.miamidade.gov. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  15. ^ Gray, Kevin. "Angry voters oust Miami-Dade mayor in special vote". Reuters. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  16. ^ Munzenrieder, Kyle. "Carlos Gimenez Claims Victory in Miami-Dade Mayoral Election". Miami New Times. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  17. ^ Sherman, Amy (June 29, 2012). "Mayor Gimenez gets rid of his own executive benefits". PolitiFact.com. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Dade - Election Results". results.enr.clarityelections.com.
  19. ^ Sayre, Wilson; Padgett, Tim. "Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez Soundly Wins Another Four Years". WLRN. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  20. ^ Gomez, Alan. "First 'sanctuary city' caves to Trump demands". USA Today. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  21. ^ "Miami-Dade orders jails to comply with 'sanctuary' counties crackdown". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  22. ^ Mazzei, Patricia; Hanks, Douglas. "Fearing Trump, commission drops Miami-Dade's 'sanctuary' protections". Miami Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  23. ^ "DOJ letter says Miami-Dade officially isn't 'sanctuary city'". AP NEWS. 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  24. ^ Reilly, Katie. "Miami Is No Longer a Sanctuary City — At Least According to the Trump Administration". TIME. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  25. ^ Hanks, Douglas. "Court tosses ruling against Miami-Dade over Trump administration's immigration detentions". Miami Dade. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
  26. ^ Jump up to: a b "Bloomberg gives $500,000 to spur Dem turnout in Miami-Dade". The Associated Press. 2020.
  27. ^ "How the Gimenez administration halted talks for early voting at the Heat's AA Arena". Miami Herald. 2020.
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b Dixon, Matt. "Republican Gimenez unseats Democrat Mucarsel-Powell in Florida House race". POLITICO.
  29. ^ "Miami-Dade Republican mayor who backed Clinton to attend Trump inauguration". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  30. ^ "Rep.-elect Carlos Gimenez, former Miami-Dade mayor, condemns other mayors that 'allowed mob rule'". Fox News. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  31. ^ Jump up to: a b "Carlos Gimenez, Trump's 'warrior,' aims to flip Miami's swing seat in Congress". Miami Herald. 2020.
  32. ^ Smiley, David; Hanks, Douglas; Daugherty, Alex. "Hours after launching run for Congress, Miami-Dade mayor wins Trump's endorsement". Miami Herald. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  33. ^ "Election Results 2020: Live Florida results - South Florida Sun-Sentinel". sun-sentinel.com.
  34. ^ "August 18 primary results". Washington Post.
  35. ^ "Big upset as Carlos Gimenez defeats Debbie Mucarsel-Powell for Florida Congressional District 26 (Video) | Southeast Florida". spotonflorida.com.
  36. ^ Cardona, Alexi C. (2020-11-13). "Miami-Dade Mayor Joins Trump's "Do Not Concede" Chorus". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2021-01-03.
  37. ^ Cai, Weiyi; Daniel, Annie; Gamio, Lazaro; Parlapiano, Alicia (January 13, 2021). "Impeachment Results: How Democrats and Republicans Voted" – via NYTimes.com.
  38. ^ Jankowicz, Mia. "A group of incoming GOP House members, calling themselves the 'Freedom Force,' are trying to counter Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 'Squad'". Business Insider.
  39. ^ Parrott, Jeff (December 29, 2020). "GOP's 'Freedom Force' members say they are ready to take on the 'socialist Squad'". Deseret News.
  40. ^ Parke, Caleb (December 1, 2020). "GOP Congresswoman-elect on forming 'Freedom Force': Left is 'totally out of line' with mainstream". Fox News.
  41. ^ "The 'Freedom Force': Republican group takes on the Squad and 'evil' socialism". the Guardian. November 30, 2020.
  42. ^ Clare Foran, Daniella Diaz and Annie Grayer. "House votes to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments". CNN. CNN. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  43. ^ "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 49". clerk.house.gov. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  44. ^ Juliegrace Brufke (2021-03-11). "The eight Republicans who voted to tighten background checks on guns". The Hill.
  45. ^ LeBlanc, Paul (May 19, 2021). "Here are the 35 House Republicans who voted for the January 6 commission". CNN. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  46. ^ "Gimenez Appointed to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee | Representative Carlos Gimenez". gimenez.house.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  47. ^ "Gimenez Appointed to House Homeland Security Committee | Representative Carlos Gimenez". gimenez.house.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  48. ^ "Gimenez Appointed to House Science, Space, and Technology Committee | Representative Carlos Gimenez". gimenez.house.gov. Retrieved 2021-02-02.
  49. ^ "MEMBERS". RMSP. Retrieved 2021-03-01.
  50. ^ "Dade - Election Results". results.enr.clarityelections.com.
  51. ^ "Carlos A. Gimenez - Mayor". Miami Dade County. Retrieved 19 August 2020.

External links[]

Political offices
Preceded by
Jimmy Morales
Member of the Miami-Dade County Commission
from the 7th district

2005–2011
Succeeded by
Xavier Suarez
Preceded by
Carlos Álvarez
Mayor of Miami-Dade County
2011–2020
Succeeded by
Daniella Levine Cava
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Florida's 26th congressional district

2021–present
Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Andrew Garbarino
United States representatives by seniority
390th
Succeeded by
Tony Gonzales
Retrieved from ""