There'll soon be a new sheriff in town in Miami-Dade County.
Voters on Tuesday will be choosing the county's first sheriff in nearly 60 years as Democrat James Reyes and Republican Rosie Cordero-Stutz face-off in the race.
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Reyes is the current chief of public safety for Miami-Dade Police and spent 22 of his 25 years in law enforcement with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
Cordero-Stutz has been with Miami-Dade Police for 28 years, starting as a patrol officer, working in robbery and homicide and moving up the ranks as a sergeant, lieutenant, and major to now assistant director.
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The two secured their nominations in a crowded primary that included 13 other candidates.
Endorsements and Priorities
Both candidates have received some major endorsements. Cordero-Stutz snagged a coveted endorsement from former President Donald Trump, along with the backing of many Florida Republicans including Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott.
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Reyes is being backed by Miami-Dade Mayor Daniela Levine-Cava and former Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez, along with Democratic state senators Jason Pizzo and Shevrin Jones.
Cordero-Stutz said her priorities involve putting more officers on the street, expanding the department's corruption unit, and developing officers' response to mental illness calls while also supporting officers' mental wellness.
"We have suffered a lot as a department in the last several years and I think that by supporting my officers with mental wellness, they can provide a better service to our county," Cordero-Stutz told NBC6's Jackie Nespral.
Reyes' priorities include public safety, a needs assessment for the department, and community outreach.
"I want to have a sheriff's office that people feel reflected when they look at our organization. They need to feel not only visually that they see themselves but they see their values and they see the priorities of themselves in the sheriff's office," Reyes told Nespral. "It was to do with engagement, it has to do with outreach, and it has to do with involving our community with who we are as an organization that's here to protect them."
Looking at Early Numbers
Although it's just one of several races and issues on Tuesday's ballot, the sheriff's race is one of the most important and was expected to help drive turnout.
As of Wednesday, the unofficial turnout figures showed nearly 600,000 ballots had been received through early voting and vote-by-mail, according to the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections.
The numbers also showed Republicans with an advantage, with over 233,000 ballots cast by Republicans so far compared to a little over 200,000 for Democrats.
Miami-Dade, once considered a solidly blue county that Democrat Hillary Clinton won by 29 percentage points in 2016, has been heading in a more purple and now red direction.
Joe Biden carried the county by around 7 percentage points in 2020, but the 2022 midterm election saw major gains for Republicans, with DeSantis taking the county by 11 percentage points and Sen. Marco Rubio winning by nearly 10.
Return of the Sheriff's Office
The winner of Tuesday's race will become the first county sheriff in nearly 60 years.
Talmadge "T.A." Buchanan, the last person to serve as Miami-Dade sheriff, was faced with corruption allegations, which were enough for voters to pass a referendum abolishing the sheriff’s office that same year. Since then, the head of the department has been an appointed position, currently with the title of "police director."
But that changed in 2018, when Florida voters adopted Amendment 10 to the State Constitution, which prohibits counties from abolishing certain local offices, including sheriff, and requires elections for the offices.
As a result of Amendment 10, effective Jan. 7, 2025, there will be a total of five constitutional offices operating in Miami-Dade, all of which will be run independently from county government. The offices include the sheriff, the supervisor of elections, the property appraiser, the tax collector, and the clerk of the court and comptroller.
