Miguel Quintero

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Miguel Quintero

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 20, 2024

Personal

Birthplace

Miami, Fla.

Profession

Businessman

Contact

Campaign website

Personal LinkedIn

Miguel Quintero ran for election for Mayor of Miami-Dade County in Florida. He lost in the primary on August 20, 2024.

Quintero completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Miguel Quintero was born in Miami, Florida. His career experience includes working as a businessman and for the United States Postal Service.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Miami-Dade County, Florida (2024)

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Miami-Dade County

The following candidates ran in the primary for Mayor of Miami-Dade County on August 20, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniella Levine Cava (Nonpartisan)	57.9	163,668
	Submit photo	Manny Cid (Nonpartisan)	23.0	64,996
		Alex Otaola (Nonpartisan)	11.8	33,259
		Carlos Garin (Nonpartisan)	3.0	8,336
	Submit photo	Shlomo Danzinger (Nonpartisan)	1.9	5,300
	Submit photo	Eddy Rojas (Nonpartisan)	1.3	3,609
		Miguel Quintero (Nonpartisan)	1.2	3,314

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 282,482
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Monique Barley-Mayo (Nonpartisan)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Quintero in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Miguel Quintero completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Quintero's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm a teacher and business owner. I own an art school called Miami Flying Trapeze. I teach circus arts and dance. I'm also a local hero saving the lives of 40 plus individuals from an arsonist who set a building on fire. I neutralized the fire and chased the arsonists several blocks. I neutralized the arsonist and brought him back to the scene of the crime and awaited police. The arsonist was sentenced for attempted murder.

I was born and raised in Miami, FL. I studied Physics and Theology with a minor in Ancient Languages in college. I also studied Print Journalism at FIU and I wrote for a brief time for the Miami Herald.

I'm married to Gaby Quintero who came to the States form Venezuela. My parents came to the States as children from Cuba.

I'm 45 years old and this is the first time I run for public office.

I live just outside Miami Shores, two blocks from Miami Central (go Rockets!).

I have successfully defeated bad government officials in hearings and I've secured a better understanding of constitutional rights from corrupt and ignorant politicians regarding private property.

I'm a bully to the bullies. I don't back down from a fight. Politically I'm socially liberal and staunchly conservative fiscally. I'm a big believer people have a right to be who they want to be and I stand against socialism. Miami-Dade County operates, often, outside the law and that will end under my administration. Vote Aug 20th, 2024. Please.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I will put a live camera in the Mayor's office. That office is not my office it is your office and you have the right to know what your EMPLOYEES are doing. My campaign is about transparency and accountability and the buck stops with the top leader.

  The cameras are a great tool to keep other politicians in check and it's the best tool to show the public how government is work for us or against us.

  It is my mission to make local government sexy. I'm an entertainer and it's time we know more about the inner workings of government. I do this by keeping you engaged. We live in a time of great communication technology and I can use that to benefit all tax payers.

  Please vote August 20th, 2024
• Under the current administration and the current political landscape, our taxes will continue to go up. That must stop. Our services do not reflect the budget that has doubled since the current Mayor first took office. It is my duty to reveal the inconsistencies in our tax code and I plan to work closely with the Property Appraiser to show how the elite are gaming the system and cheating us into paying their share. I will show daily, through those cameras, and by inviting, with open invitation, journalists of all sizes, these issues. We all know corruption is rampant in Miami-Dade County and it's time someone does something meaningful about it. That's the challenge I'm taking on full steam ahead.
• Transportation, Garbage and Pollution of our environment is front and center on everyone's minds. The Better Bus Network does not work for everyone. The Bus system in general only sees usage of about 3% of tax payers, yet it reflects about 25% of the budget. We need to address this issue. The current administration has not rebuilt our incinerator and that will affect everyone in 2025, immensely. I also believe the current administration has plans to rebuild in Doral after the election, when there is a better option behind the current Mayor's house with 15 million sqft of county land. The current administration has not fixed a crumbling sewage plant that is spilling waste in the ocean. Please vote August 20th, 2024

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm passionate about transparency and accountability. I'm passionate about code enforcement and it's unconstitutional practices which leads to unwarranted citations in the current administrations attempt to collect more money from the middle class.

I'm passionate about reasonable aid from the county to assist condo owners to better support aging buildings, but the knee jerk reaction from the current administration after the tragic collapst of the tower in Surf-Side is not sustainable. No one wants to say it, but I will. We are making the middle class poor by overshooting demand to essentially rebuild structures. There must be a middle ground that doesn't cause retirees to go back to work.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

The biography of Abraham Lincoln is always good.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

The most important characteristic for an elected official is empathy. Most people are not affected by the same thing at the same time. A leader must put herself or himself in someone else's shoes, so to speak, to understand what they are going through and govern from many different perspectives.

Transparency is also high on the list of important characteristics. We pass laws to ensure transparency, yet we know public officials, who are often attorneys, know how to skirt these laws. Pay attention next time you hear a county meeting on youtube, the volume is purposely low. Pay attention to the comments section; it is purposely turned off. That is a strict violation of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights. The current political landscape is not interested in listening to your needs.

I can point these things out, but look for yourself. Try to ask for public records of contentious issues and you will be met with resistance and out right denial of your public records. Do you even know the hurdles you need to jump through to request public records? It's becoming more difficult with each passing season.

Try to meet with your commissioners or the mayor. You will struggle to ever be granted an audience.

Don't take my word for it. Try to do it.

Please Vote August 20th, 2024

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I'm the leader in my company. I have decades of experiencing being a team leader. A leaders role is to put together the best team to achieve the goals set out.

I'm kind and willing to listen. I'm empathetic to others situations and I'm willing to accept, we are all different with different needs.

I lead selflessly and I don't put my needs first. Those for whom I'm responsible will always take precedence over my wants and desires.

I've put my life on the line for others and I don't hesitate when the situations arrises to do it again.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The core responsibilities are very simple: 1. Meet with the constituency. 2. Govern with transparency and accountability. 3. Manage the tax payers' money efficiently and effectively to benefit the most possible. 4. Stay off private property. 5. Safety must be at the forefront, but never at the cost of freedom. 6. Accessibility for all is a must. 7. Transportation must be reasonable for the masses, not just the few 3%. 8. Guessing is not allowed. We must govern with proof of concepts and distribute to the whole upon success. 9. It is a core responsibility to address the public every day as often as possible, we have the technology, we can do this. 10. Public officials must stop running for office to secure contracts for their personal businesses unless they are willing to share the financial gains with the public, which should rake in the majority of those gains. As we speak we have commissioners who are benefiting from their public positions, but because they are attorneys, they know how to play in the gray and avoid ethics violations, which is different from illegal acts, to line their pockets.

Vote August 20th, 2024

What legacy would you like to leave?

I want to change local politics for ever. Good luck to the next mayor who may want to take down the camera or policies I put in place.

I want public officials with great responsibility to fear the people and respect the job they've been elected to do.

I want transparency and accountability to mean something.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember the space shuttle challenger exploding. I was 7 years old. I remember the cause was due to mismanagement and a lack of accountability that lead to the tragic events that unfolded.

Perhaps that's why I'm big on accountability? That's a great question. The decisions leaders make have a major impact on others. That responsibility must have consequences.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was fast food. I started working at 15 years old.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Personal

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Superman

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Boogie woogie woogie, it's electric :)

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Government has been a struggle. Marriage has been a struggle. Life in general has been a struggle. But that's true for everyone.

I still love my government and I certainly love my wife. I love life, however difficult it gets, it's still worth it.

A mayor is a leader in his or her city. What does that mean to you?

Being the leader means the buck stops with me. I'm responsible for 30 plus thousand employees and when one goes rogue, which it's inevitable, I must not protect that employee but set an example. I must show the public what that employee has done and show the path to correction.

If I do something wrong I must own it and admit my mistake. I must not only promise to correct the mistake, but I must do the work to show how that mistake is being corrected.

We are not robots. We are human and inevitably we make mistakes. We must admit our mistakes and take appropriate action to correct our mistakes.

When was the last time you heard a politician say, "I was wrong."?

If the mayor in your city is not a member of the city council and oversees the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor and city council?

I believe the Mayor is the top liaison for the will of the people. It is the Mayor's responsibility to capture the general tone and needs of the constituency.

Please Vote August 20th, 2024

What do you love most about your city?

I love the diversity of my county, Miami-Dade County. I love the people.

What do you perceive to be your city's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Our greatest challenge is the effective and efficient distribution of our taxes. We have room to grow, but it must be done reasonably and with the will of the people.

The more people who move here, the better it is for our businesses and those who want to start businesses. It's also better for our level of services. But if the money is being mismanaged, as I believe it is, we will suffer more traffic and far worse services.

We need leaders who understand good business practices. We need leaders who understand real accountability. As it stands, because of legislative immunity, an elected official can mess up royally without fear of prosecution. I can understand that, but there must be some level of accountability for those who spend our money willy-nilly and that's where voting is important.

If you are happy with the status quo, do nothing. If you want to see change, vote for change August 20th 2024.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the state government?

Our county is a donor county. We give more to the state than any other county and we have great influence at the state level, as a result.

As such, we can influence major decisions at the state level. That responsibility must not be taken lightly and it must be leveraged.

Tell us your favorite joke.

NO! I'll inevitably insult someone. Get it?

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor's office and law enforcement?

As a liaison of the constituents of the county, the mayor has a major influence in the culture and policies within her law enforcement agencies.

I would push for more accountability and transparency.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Cameras and full access to Journalists, as well as private citizens, is huge for transparency and government accountability.

Public records must be handled by outside agencies that have no ties to the departments from which they originate.

Public records must be available on demand at no additional cost, within reason. If someone is requesting records from a decade ago, there must be a cost. But if the records have not been archived for longterm storage, than it should not have a cost.

I believe it is the governments responsibility to breakdown the budget and explain it as if they were to explain it to a child. County finances must be easily understood and straight forward. Even CPAs today struggle to understand the budget. That's done on purpose. How else can officials bury evidence of wrong doing?

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Mayor of Miami-Dade County

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