Today’s episode features a very special guest, Francis X. Suarez, the Mayor of my hometown paradise, Miami, FL, one of the fastest growing and most dynamic places in the world.  In addition to year round enviable weather, nightlight, and cuisine, Miami is the only major U.S. city founded by a woman, the second most entrepreneurial city in the US, and a cultural crock pot teeming with unique flavor and energy. It is no wonder we are known as The Magic City!!

Tune in as Brittany Sharpton and Mayor Suarez discuss how his personal experience with COVID-19 influenced his approach on public policy, his plan on re-opening Miami, how traffic, technology, and a pandemic, surprisingly, go hand-in-hand, his current thoughts on mass transit and the SMART plan (Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit Plan), the after effects of the coronavirus on future building design & development, parks overlaying highways, and….a potential future presidential bid??!

Mayor Suarez, the first Miami-born Mayor and an attorney by trade, was elected as the 43rd Mayor of Miami in November 2017 with 86% of the vote. Mayor Suarez serves as Chair of the Environment Committee, as well as on the Advisory Board of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. He also serves as Vice-Chair of the Miami-Dade Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and is the former President of the Miami-Dade County League of Cities.