The Mayor’s Last Dance

Mayor Valdés-Fauli Announces That This Will Be His Last Term – And His Most Ambitious

June 2019

City Hall was standing room only last month when newly elected Mayor Raúl Valdés-Fauli told an audience of community leaders, in a brief speech, that “I hereby formally declare what many of you already know… that I will not seek re-election at the end of this term.”

He quickly added, however, that “I am brimming with ideas, and with the support of our commissioners, staff and the public at large I am committed to seeing my ambitious agenda to fruition.” The mayor then outlined that agenda, which he attributed not just to what city officials wanted, but to what citizens had expressed through resident surveys, town hall meetings and workshops, and personal feedback via phone, conversation and email – or via the ballot box. Here, then, are the mayor’s priorities:

Public Safety:

To continue to fully staff the police force; to connect private alarms to the CGPD; to add more Neighborhood Safety Aides (retired police officers); and to continue with license plate readers and cameras that monitor public areas

Finances:

To continue paying down the legacy of $250 million in pension unfunded liability inherited from past administrations; to continue to operate with a fiscal responsibility that keeps tax rates low and city bond ratings high.

Development:

To continue to permit “rational, controlled, smart growth” in strictly zoned areas, in order to attract job-generating businesses and keep taxes low. Among particulars: improve Biltmore Way with landscaping, bicycle infrastructure, and crosswalks.

Traffic:

To keep cars that pass through the city daily out of the city’s residential areas.

Historic Preservation:

To continue the city’s historic preservation goals, including restoring the Fink Studio on Ponce de Leon where architect Denman Fink designed the city, and restoring both City Hall and the 427 Biltmore Way building.

Annexation:

To continue efforts to annex Little Gables and the High Pines/Ponce Davis areas.

International:

To forge closer relationships with consulates and revitalize the sister city program.

Education:

To promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education both in the Gables and in the Americas.

Infrastructure:

To complete the new public safety building and to improve Smart City software that makes government services more streamlined, transparent, and interactive.

Environment:

To introduce more green spaces and parks; to continue efforts to battle plastic waste; to study the discharges in our canals and mitigate them; and to begin the process with FPL of putting our power lines underground.