I spoke with the Mayor, Police Chief, & City Manager of Miami | The secret behind the city

Miami’s mayor, police chief, and city manager all sat down separately with Ivan Patriki and between them: a $450 million bond, a police force that (probably) didn’t chase aliens, and what it actually takes to run one of the fastest-growing cities in America.The Mayor, Eileen Higgins spent almost 20 years as an engineer in the private sector before a corporate retreat exercise, writing her own obituary convinced her something was missing. Within a year she quit to become the Peace Corps director in Belize, then served as a U.S. diplomat in Mexico and southern Africa. She joined the Miami-Dade County Commission in 2018 and, in December 2025, was sworn in as Miami’s first female mayor and first Democratic mayor in nearly 30 years.James Reyes was born in Cuba, the son of a political prisoner, and grew up in Hialeah after his family fled with nothing. He spent 22 years at the Broward Sheriff’s Office, eventually managing a $1.8 billion budget and 5,600 employees, then became Miami-Dade’s Chief of Public Safety and ran unsuccessfully for County Sheriff in 2024. Higgins appointed him Miami’s city manager in early 2026.Edwin Lopez built a nearly three-decade law enforcement career from phys-ed teacher to Miami-Dade Schools’ first Hispanic police chief, then Doral’s chief, before being sworn in this June as the 44th Chief of the Miami Police Department describing himself as “a humble kid from Miami who grew up with no money.”All three sit down separately with Ivan Patriki to talk about running the Magic City from three completely different chairs.We cover:Why the mayor says climate change is real, “a hundred and ten percent”Eileen Higgins’s corporate epiphany: writing her own obituary before quitting for the Peace CorpsServing as a U.S. diplomat in Mexico and southern Africa before running for officeBuilding four thousand affordable housing units, three thousand more in the pipelineA $450 million bond for fire stations unrepaired for fifty yearsSame-day permitting: cutting an eighteen-month process down to one dayJames Reyes on being the son of a political prisoner who fled Cuba for HialeahManaging a $1.8 billion budget and 5,600 employees at the Broward Sheriff’s OfficeWhat two different officials actually think about crypto in MiamiWhether Mark Zuckerberg moved to Miami because of the city’s leadership (spoiler: no)Edwin Lopez on inheriting “the keys to the Lamborghini” from two predecessorsThe alien rumor Chief Lopez “can’t confirm or deny”Nearly 1,400 officers