Raquel Regalado
County Commissioner, District 7
Raquel Regalado is a Miami native and graduate of Coral Gables Senior High who practiced law as a commercial litigator for Holland & Knight and has hosted several daily Spanish language radio programs in South Florida along with the weekly television show “Esta Semana con Raquel.” She currently hosts a morning show about politics and social issues on 1260 AM. From 2010 to 2016 she served on the Miami-Dade County Public School Board, where she led initiatives to advance classroom technology, including special computer science training for Hispanic and African American girls. She was also instrumental as a lobbyist for school board issues in Tallahassee. Regalado has served on numerous boards, including the Chapman Partnership to help the homeless.
Latest Achievement
In November, Regalado was elected as Miami-Dade County Commissioner for District 7, which includes South Miami, Pinecrest, Brickell, Coconut Grove and most of Coral Gables. She replaces outgoing Commissioner Xavier Suarez, Sr. Among the challenges she faces is disaffection from city mayors who have felt left out of county decisions regarding Covid restrictions (such as early curfews that damaged restaurants) and the stalled CARES act funding, which is meant to offset Covid related revenue losses for cities across the county. So far, she has hit the pavement running, laying down a series of agenda imperatives that include dealing with damage from sea level rise and stabilizing commercial property values. during the pandemic.
What She Says
“We are pushing agenda items that have to do with the cities, and we are doing everything we can to be on the same page,” says Regalado. Among her priorities is preventing damage to water quality from rising sea levels reaching septic tanks – and developing a funding program to pay for linking homes to the sewer system. “Septic tanks are a big deal, and I have always been talking about the impact on Biscayne Bay,” she says. Another top priority is “pandemic trash” and how to deal with “these masks and gloves that are everywhere, clogging the drains.” Her most pressing Covid agenda, however, is to provide rental assistance for small businesses so commercial property values don’t collapse.
