Miami City Council: How the City Commission Works

Miami's city council is the Miami City Commission: five commissioners, each elected from one of five districts, who sit alongside a separately elected mayor, Eileen Higgins (City of Miami).

The names below are the officeholders the City of Miami lists on its own website. The mayor and the five commissioners are elected; the City Manager and the City Clerk are listed among the city officials, and the Clerk is responsible for recording, transcribing and safeguarding commission minutes and legislation (City of Miami City Clerk).

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the City of Miami website. Miami residents who are unsure which of the five districts they live in can use the Find My Commissioner and district map link on miami.gov, the same page that lists the commissioners above (City of Miami). The Miami city council members guide in the government section goes further.

Miami residents can take part at commission sessions, held on Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. in the City Commission chambers at Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, with the next on Thursday, October 22, 2026 (City of Miami 2026 calendar).

Two routes exist for comment on an agenda item. A written comment can be filed on the city's web form, which accepts entries until the chair ends the comment period for that session, or a resident can speak from the floor in the chambers (City of Miami instructions for October 22, 2026). Anyone needing a disability accommodation calls the Clerk's office at (305) 250-5361 at least three business days in advance.

The Miami City Commission meetings guide in the government section covers sessions in more depth. Residents also follow city business through Miami advisory boards, such as the Climate Resilience Committee and the Urban Development Review Board, whose sessions are listed on the same Miami public comment page (City of Miami).

A Miami commission candidate must have lived in the district for at least one year before qualifying, and a mayoral candidate in the city for at least one year (City of Miami elections FAQ).

Every candidate must also be a qualified elector of the city, and a commission candidate must keep a residence in the district for the duration of the term. Under the City Charter, qualifying runs from 60 days to 45 days before the election, and all documents and fees are due to the City Clerk by 6:00 p.m. on the last day (City of Miami).

The Miami qualifying fee is a $100 filing fee plus a state assessment fee of $582 for commissioner or $970 for mayor, paid by check from the campaign account. Petitions representing at least 1 percent of the geographical area of the office can replace the $100 fee, though the state assessment fee is still due. Candidates file form DS-DE9, appointing a campaign treasurer and depository, in person with the City Clerk at Miami City Hall in Coconut Grove, and form DS-DE84 within 10 days.

An announcement does not trigger paperwork by itself. The Miami FAQ says nothing in election law stops a person from announcing a run before naming a treasurer or depository, as long as no contributions are received and no money is spent on that announcement (City of Miami elections FAQ).

Not yet confirmed: the August 18, 2026 Miami ballot carried a charter amendment moving city elections to even-numbered years from 2034 and 2036, but the city election page does not state the result as of October 15, 2026 (August 18, 2026 special election page).

The amendment touches Sections 4(b), 7 and 12 of the Miami charter, the sections on the form of government, the election of commissioners and mayor, and filling vacancies. Its stated purpose is to make Miami elections coincide with any statewide or countywide election. To get there, Miami officials elected in 2031 and 2033 would serve three-year terms, reduced from the usual four-year term, and the qualifying period would be adjusted to match (City of Miami).

If approved, city races, now held in odd-numbered years, would coincide with any statewide or countywide election. The city page for that election lists the ballot language; residents checking how the question was decided can ask the Office of the City Clerk at (305) 250-5360 or [email protected] (City of Miami City Clerk).

On November 3, 2026, Miami voters decide three city questions: a public safety bond of up to $450 million, a bond oversight committee and a Virginia Key marina lease (City of Miami November 3, 2026 election page).

The three questions share the ballot with the countywide general election. The bond would fund repair and replacement of critically deteriorating fire and police buildings in Miami, including new fire stations and a new public safety headquarters, with debt millage capped at 0.5935 mills and the bonds included in the city's independent annual audit. The second question would write an advisory general obligation bonds oversight committee into the reserved Section 47 of the Miami charter. The third would let the city lease approximately 27.5 acres of Virginia Key to Virginia Key, LLC, covering the Rickenbacker and Marine Stadium marinas, for a 45-year initial term with two 15 year renewals, at a minimum annual guaranteed rent of $2,200,000 with escalations.

Early voting opens Monday, October 19 and closes Sunday, November 1, 2026, with sites open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and a Miami voter may use any early voting site in the county (City of Miami). The city says Miami City Hall will not be used as an early voting site because of its limited capacity. On November 3 itself, voters must go to their own assigned polling place.

One stale item on that Miami page: as of October 15, 2026, the 2026 election page still opens its notices with a 2020 announcement about a District 5 commission vacancy. The 2026 ballot material follows below it.

Voter services for Miami elections come from the Miami-Dade County Office of the Supervisor of Elections, led by Supervisor Alina Garcia, at its headquarters at 2700 NW 87th Avenue, phone 305-499-8683 (Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections).

The county office also keeps a branch in the Stephen P. Clark Center lobby at 111 NW 1st Street. The Florida registration and party change deadline for the November 3, 2026 election was Monday, October 5, 2026, and the county mailed domestic vote-by-mail ballots on September 24, 2026, after overseas ballots went out on September 18 (City of Miami election page).

For city candidates, the City Clerk takes qualifying papers and petitions, and the Miami-Dade Elections Department checks whether those petitions contain the required number of qualified and registered voters (City of Miami elections FAQ).