Eileen Higgins, MBA ’89

MBA Alum Wins Runoff Election to Become Mayor of Miami

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The first woman in the post, Eileen Higgins, MBA ’89, is also the first Democrat to lead the city in nearly three decades

By Joe Wilensky

In a closely watched runoff on December 9, Eileen Higgins, MBA ’89, was elected the next mayor of Miami. The former county commissioner will be the Florida city’s first female mayor, the first Democrat elected to the post in 28 years, and the first non-Hispanic mayor since the 1990s.

Higgins defeated former city manager Emilio González, a Republican, with approximately 60% of the vote.

Eileen Higgins, MBA ’89, speaks with a resident at a Metromover transit station in Miami during her campaign for mayor
provided
Speaking with a resident at a transit station during the mayoral race.

“Miami chose a new direction,” Higgins said in her victory speech. “You chose competence over chaos, results over excuses, and a city government that finally works for you.”

Although the position of Miami mayor is technically nonpartisan, the race became a bellwether for party politics this fall—and a potential preview for the 2026 midterms, as Republican leaders nationwide voiced support for González.

Miami chose a new direction. You chose competence over chaos, results over excuses, and a city government that finally works for you.

Higgins, 61, had won 36% of the vote among a dozen other candidates in the November election.

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(The outgoing mayor, having served two four-year terms, was not eligible to run again.)

Eileen Higgins, MBA ’89, speaking with supporters at her campaign kickoff
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Chatting with supporters at her campaign kickoff in May.

Higgins's campaign focused on alleviating affordability issues through more efficient government, cutting the red tape hindering small businesses and homeowners, promoting climate resilience, and fostering safe neighborhoods.

“We are facing rhetoric from elected officials that is so dehumanizing and cruel, especially against immigrant populations,” Higgins told the Associated Press following her victory speech. “The residents of Miami were ready to be done with that.”

A New Mexico native, Higgins earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of New Mexico before obtaining her MBA on the Hill.

After working in international development and consulting, she became a Peace Corps director in Belize. She later served as a foreign service officer for the U.S. State Department, then worked in private-sector marketing for several companies.

We are facing rhetoric from elected officials that is so dehumanizing and cruel, especially against immigrant populations. The residents of Miami were ready to be done with that.

Higgins represented the Fifth District on the Miami-Dade County Commission from 2018–25.

In that post, she focused on creating thousands of new affordable housing units, expanding transit, and strengthening small businesses by investing nearly $3 million in grants; she also funded a reforesting plan called Million Trees Miami-Dade.

(Top: Higgins portrait courtesy of Miami–Dade County.)

Published December 10, 2025

Comments

  1. Humberto Pacheco, Class of 1970
    26 Jan, 2026

    This election is so refreshing and democratic that it places the City of Miami in a different league. Those of us who sometime in our life’s had a holiday apartment there and are fond of the city, welcome the change for a person that will take care of its citizens and treat them democratically, no allusion to the governing party.

    Reply

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