Miami Sends off Francis Suarez with the Opposite of Farewell

Ahead of his final days in office, outgoing Miami Mayor Francis Suarez penned an editorial in the Miami Herald to reflect on his eight-year tenure.

In the piece titled “Mayor Suarez: I leave behind a global city and a safer Miami,” Suarez highlighted some of the city’s accomplishments under his watch, rather than the many lowlights that New Times has covered. He cited the city’s population growth, employment rates that lagged the national average, record-low city taxes, the creation of child savings accounts for kindergartners, expanded affordable housing, public safety reaching “historic highs,” and Miami’s emergence as a global city.

“As I close this chapter, I do so with gratitude, humility, and pride,” he wrote. “Miami’s future has never been brighter — not because of any one leader, but because this city chose to believe in itself. That belief — Miami for everyone — is the legacy I leave behind, and the promise I know this city will continue to keep.”

Suarez’s editorial found itself on the brutally honest r/Miami subreddit, and let’s just say Miami residents are ready to slam the door shut on the Suarez chapter.

Here’s a sampling of what some Reddit users had to say about the term-limited mayor and his actions over the last eight years:

“How long before he pops out with a cushy ‘consultant job’ at some Saudi wealth fund?” a comment reads. “Or will they dump him once he’s not mayor anymore?”

“He’ll end up in the maga regime in short order,” another responded.

“Fuck that guy,” one chimed in.

A Reddit user added, “Good riddance.”

“It’s like a shadow of sapingo is departing from the sky,” one said.

A person wrote, “Miami has a ‘weak mayor’ system, and no one exemplified that more than Francis. Sent from my MiamiPhone.”

A user reflected, “He spent his time counting his money and working out.”

“This dude did a generational grift,” another said. “Good for him. I guess”

An anonymous user wrote, “It was always funny seeing the venture capital, crypto, and tech bros acting like he was extremely powerful and credit him for every little thing. It must pain them so much to see their macho, weightlifting, swaggering avatar being replaced by a bookish white lady. lol”

Of course, one remarked, “Mayor Ponzi Postalita.”

One commenter was not pleased that the mayor did not initiate the removal of City Manager Art Noriega after it was revealed that his wife’s furniture company had been awarded more than $440,000 in city contracts for new office furniture and furniture assembly.

“One of the powers that the mayor of Miami actually does have is to initiate the firing of the City Manager,” the comment reads. “Suarez not only sat back and did nothing while his city manager was incompetent at his job, but didn’t say a thing when it was discovered that the city had been pumping millions of dollars to his [sic] the city manager’s wife’s furniture business.”

The Reddit user also appears to be an avid New Times reader: “Meanwhile, he departs $5 million richer than when he came in, after many seeker [sic] consulting gigs that he never had to disclose.”

And one Miami resident is still waiting on their MiamiCoin dividend.

“GTFO,” they quipped. “I want my Miami Coin money back scammer !!!!!!”