Natalie Orbis Appointed to Miami-Dade Commission Amid Scrutiny Over Selection Process

The Miami-Dade County Commission voted Tuesday to appoint West Miami Vice Mayor Natalie Orbis, 38, to fill the vacant District 6 seat, left open by newly sworn-in U.S. Ambassador Kevin Cabrera.

The 9–3 vote ended weeks of speculation over who would take over the seat.

According to Orbis' résumé, obtained by New Times via a public records request, she is an experienced public administrator with nearly 20 years in legislative affairs, policy analysis, and community engagement within Miami-Dade County government. Her background includes managing advisory boards, leading strategic initiatives, coordinating high-profile events, and cultivating relationships with elected officials and stakeholders.

Orbis served as Vice Mayor of the City of West Miami, where she led the small city to become a certified Autism-Friendly City, ensuring first responders are trained to serve families with neurodivergent loved ones better, her candidate website says.

"This vacancy is a head of our budget, it is a head of the solid waste and energy discussion coming up in June/July, and it is a head of many other important decisions we are going to be seeing before this year's conclusion," Board Chair and District 10 Commissioner Anthony Rodriguez said at a Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday.

"She [Orbis] is duly qualified and is the exact example of what we want on this dais," Rodriguez said.

Once sworn in, Orbis will serve the remainder of Cabrera's term and is eligible to run for election in 2026. District 6 includes West Miami, Virginia Gardens, Miami Springs, and portions of Miami, Hialeah, and Coral Gables.

Rodriguez emphasized that the appointment was necessary to ensure constituents are represented as the board tackles pending issues, but noted voters will ultimately decide the seat.

"This election's qualifications would take place in about 12 months," Rodriguez said. "The people of District 6, residents and voters of this county, will have the opportunity to make a decision in just over 12 months as to who they want leading that district and representing them."

He said only two candidates submitted applications.

However, Juan Santana, a former Hialeah mayoral candidate, told New Times on Tuesday that he had also hoped to be considered for the District 6 appointment. Santana said the county indicated filings were due by noon on Monday, April 21, 2025, and that his January 21 email to Commissioner Micky Steinberg should have met the criteria.

"I am writing to express my interest and offer my thoughts regarding the upcoming vacancy for the District 6 Commissioner seat," Santana wrote in the email. It remains unclear why Santana was not considered.

"They said nothing," Santana told New Times.

District 4 Commissioner Micky Steinberg, District 5 Commissioner Eileen Higgins, and District 13 Commissioner Rene Garcia opposed the appointment, arguing that District 6 voters should have been given the chance to elect their next interim representative.

"It's not really on you [Orbis], it's more on the process," Higgins said at the meeting.

"If there were any 'no' votes, it wasn't a personal issue; it's just that some of us believe in elections, and that's it," Garcia said.

Of the two candidates Rodriguez referred to, and reflected in the county record, former Miami Springs Mayor Maria Puente Mitchell abruptly withdrew from consideration last week without explanation.

"One of those persons [Mitchell], for reasons beyond my knowledge, decided to withdraw and rescind their application," Rodriguez said. "So, we are left with one [candidate]."

Mitchell did not return a text message from New Times on Tuesday about why she bailed.

On her District 6 seat application, Mitchell included a video and claimed she has experience in public administration, having served as a county risk manager and transit safety engineer.

This isn't the first time Mitchell has made a U-turn that left constituents and county officials scratching their heads. A few years ago, Mitchell lobbied the county for a $2 million pedestrian bridge project connecting Miami Springs to the Metrorail in Hialeah. The plan gained funding and reached the design phase. After a New Times story revealed that a large homeless camp was situated near the site, Mitchell quickly voted to "postpone" building the bridge over the Miami River.

Mitchell's about-face—with no explanation—has since left students, seniors, and disabled persons schlepping nearly a mile through Medley and Hialeah to reach the Metrorail station.

With Mitchell out, county leaders looked to Orbis. Her husband, Manny Orbis, was Cabrera's chief of staff. He now works for Miami-Dade Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez, along with former Cabrera media contact Gianfranco Puppio Pérez.
"Commissioner [Natalie] Orbis, congratulations!" Rodriguez said following the vote.

"You have some housekeeping to do," he said, "and once that's completed and you are sworn in, please join us on this dais."

As of Tuesday afternoon, Orbis' bio on her City of West Miami bio page had gone '404.'

Orbis's first county commission meeting will be on Tuesday, May 20, at 111 NW 1st St.