Rosie Cordero-Stutz and James Reyes to contest for MDC’ Sheriff
DORAL, FL – Rosie Cordero-Stutz and James Reyes will face off in November’s General Election to become the next Miami-Dade County sheriff after winning Tuesday’s Primary Election for the Republican and Democratic parties respectively.
The county’s sheriff election promises to be one of the most contested ones on Nov. 5 since nobody has filled in the position in nearly 60 years and both candidates have proven to hold the necessary experience and vision to lead as sheriffs.
Elections closed last night with Reyes capturing 46% of voters, while Cordero-Stutz got 24% of the vote. The latter competed with 10 other candidates, including Mario Knapp, veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department, and Joe Sanchez, a Miami commissioner of 11 years.
Cordero-Stutz is the current Miami-Dade Police Department Assistant Director of Investigative Services, and her triumph was expected given her experience as a 28-year veteran with MDPD. She was endorsed by former president Donald Trump.
“Law and order safety in our community is of the utmost importance to me, and I promise I’m committed to bringing that to every single citizen regardless of party in this county,” the Republican candidate, Rosie Cordero-Stutz, said after winning the election.
Democrat James Reyes is the current Chief of Public Safety for Miami-Dade, and he competed against three other candidates, including retired MDPD lieutenant Rickey Mitchell and former federal agent Susan Khoury. He was endorsed by incumbent Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
“Letting folks know that I’m homegrown, I’m a homegrown product right here in Miami-Dade County,” Reyes said. “That I’m the only candidate that has executive leadership experience in a sheriff’s office and that will prove to be a critical difference.”
Miami-Dade County hasn’t had a sheriff since 1966. Talmadge “T.A.” Buchanan was the last person to fill in the position and he did so under corruption allegations, resulting in a passed referendum that eliminated the sheriff’s office that same year.
However, in 2018 Florida voters adopted Amendment 10 to the State Constitution, which prohibits counties from abolishing certain local offices, including sheriff, and requires elections for the offices.
After the Amendment 10 adoption, effective Jan. 7, 2025, there will be a total of five constitutional offices operating in Miami-Dade, all ran independently from county government, including the sheriff’s office, the supervisor of elections, the property appraiser, the tax collector, and the clerk of the court and comptroller.