Miami Civic Engagement Guide: City Commission, Elections and City Boards

The Miami civic engagement section has three deeper guides, on the City Commission, neighborhood associations and voting precincts, and this hub answers the questions that lead residents of the City of Miami to each one.

Two governments share the work. The City of Miami runs the City Commission and its appointed boards, and the City Clerk supervises and certifies the results of city elections (City of Miami officials), while the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections registers voters and updates the county's voting precincts (Miami-Dade Elections).

Last verified: October 18, 2026, against the City of Miami officials, elections, boards and meeting pages and the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections website.

The City of Miami is led by Mayor Eileen Higgins and five district commissioners, with James Reyes as City Manager since January 12, 2026 (City of Miami officials).

Higgins is the first woman to hold the office of Mayor of the City of Miami; before that she represented District 5 on the Miami-Dade County Commission, a seat she first won in 2018 (City Officials). She nominated Reyes as City Manager on December 29, 2025. The five district seats are held by Miguel Angel Gabela, Damian Pardo, Rolando Escalona, Ralph Rafael Rosado and Christine King, in district order. The City Clerk is Todd B. Hannon, whose office keeps commission minutes and legislation and handles lobbyist registration and boards, and the City Attorney is George K. Wysong III, appointed in April 2024 (City of Miami).

A resident unsure of the district for an address can search it on the city's Find My Commissioner district map, linked from the officials page (City of Miami). Neighborhood contact also runs through each commissioner now: the city says its Neighborhood Service Centers, formerly called NET, have been dissolved, and the offices are now called Commission District Offices (Commissioner District Offices). The Miami neighborhood associations guide covers those offices and the association lists by district.

A Miami resident can comment on a City Commission or board item either by filing an online written public comment or by speaking in person in the City Commission Chambers at Miami City Hall (City of Miami public comment instructions).

All commission meetings start at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, and the 2026 calendar still lists Thursday, October 22, Thursday, November 19 and Thursday, December 10 (City Commission Meetings 2026). The calendar lists each session as running from 9:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.

Board meetings take in-person comment in the same chambers. The public comment page for late October 2026 lists the Climate Resilience Committee on October 19, then the Urban Development Review Board and the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board on October 21, with the PZAB comment taken in person on the evening of the meeting (public comment instructions). The page carries separate instructions for each meeting, so the right page is the one named for that date.

City Hall is not the city's general contact address. Hearings are at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive in Coconut Grove (City of Miami elections FAQ), but the city's contact listing is the Miami Riverside Center (MRC), 444 SW 2nd Ave, with 311 or 305-468-5900 (City of Miami contact details). The Miami City Commission guide explains agendas and sessions in more depth.

On November 3, 2026, City of Miami voters decide a bond of up to $450 million for fire and police buildings, a bond oversight charter amendment and a Virginia Key marina lease, alongside the countywide general election (City of Miami special election page).

The bond resolution would authorize up to $450,000,000 in general obligation bonds to repair and replace critically deteriorating fire and police facilities, including new fire stations and a new public safety headquarters, repaid through ad valorem taxes under a debt millage limit (City of Miami). A related charter amendment would create an advisory general obligation bonds oversight committee to monitor and publicly report on the status, cost, timeline and remaining or available funds for all active capital projects funded with general obligation bonds. The third question asks whether the city may lease about 27.5 acres on Virginia Key to Virginia Key, LLC for a 45-year initial term with two 15-year renewals, a minimum annual guaranteed rent of $2,200,000 with escalations, 6 percent of gross revenues, and an approximately $80,000,000 privately funded investment to redevelop the Rickenbacker and Marine Stadium marinas, including boat storage, restaurants, retail and public parking (election resolutions).

Those dates come from the Supervisor of Elections notices the city reposts (City of Miami). A City of Miami voter may use any countywide early voting site, but on Election Day only the assigned precinct polling place counts, which is why the Miami voting precincts guide matters most on November 3.

Miami voters register, look up a precinct and request mail ballots through the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections, led by Alina Garcia, at 2700 NW 87th Avenue or 305-499-VOTE (8683) (Miami-Dade Elections).

The county also keeps a branch office in the Stephen P. Clark Center lobby, 111 NW 1st Street (Supervisor of Elections), which the city lists among the early voting sites located within the City of Miami (City of Miami). The office reports 1,639,185 registered voters countywide, and its personalized voter information tool shows each voter a sample ballot and polling place. Precinct, district and municipality breakdowns on the site reflect the county's 2023 reprecincting.

City questions go to the City Clerk at 305-250-5361 or the elections coordinator at 305-250-5369 (City of Miami Clerk contacts). For anyone thinking of running, the city sets residency rules: a mayoral candidate must have lived in the City of Miami for at least one year before qualifying, and a commission candidate must have lived in the district for a year and stay there for the full term (City of Miami elections FAQ). The City Charter opens qualifying 60 days before an election and closes it 45 days before. Precinct maps and polling places are covered in the Miami voting precincts guide.

A resident joins a City of Miami board by applying when a seat is advertised online, or, for boards without an application, by telling the nominating mayor, commissioner or City Manager of interest (City Boards General Information).

Unless the Charter or Code says otherwise, members must live in the City of Miami, own real property in it, or work or keep a business there, and all members face state, county or city financial disclosure, residency and employment rules (City of Miami boards). Each board must include at least one member whose livelihood does not depend on the area it regulates.

Attendance rules on City of Miami boards are strict. On most boards a member is removed automatically after 3 consecutive absences or 4 absences in a calendar year, must attend at least 50 percent of meetings, and counts as absent when present for less than 75 percent of a meeting (City Boards General Information). Most terms run one year, or end when the nominating commissioner leaves office, and a board member may not become a candidate for elective office during the term.

The city's board list ranges from land use to oversight: the Planning, Zoning and Appeals Board, the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board, the Urban Development Review Board, the Wynwood Design Review Committee, the Climate Resilience Committee, the Miami Forever Bond Citizens' Oversight Board, the Overtown Community Oversight Board, the Little Haiti Revitalization Trust and the LGBTQ+ Advisory Board (City of Miami boards menu).