![\"Emilio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MIA_test_014.JPG\" "\\"Emilio")
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Emilio Gonz\u00e1lez, right, and his attorney Alan Lawson, center, hold a press conference after a hearing at the Third District Court of Appeal for a case Emilio Gonz\u00e1lez brought against the city of Miami on Tuesday, July 29, 2025.<\/p>\n
Alie Skowronski<\/p>\n
askowronski@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
The city of Miami will pay out $150,000 to cover the legal fees for Emilio Gonz\u00e1lez, a candidate for mayor who sued the city last year after it attempted to postpone the election from 2025 to 2026.<\/p>\n
In June, the city passed an ordinance moving the city from odd- to even-year elections. The change postponed the November 2025 election to 2026, giving the city\u2019s elected officials an extra year in office \u2014 including those who would have otherwise been termed out.<\/p>\n
Gonz\u00e1lez, a former city manager who was a declared candidate at the time the city postponed the election, filed a lawsuit arguing that the ordinance was \u201cunlawful and invalid.\u201d A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge and the Third District Court of Appeal sided with Gonz\u00e1lez, finding the ordinance violated the Florida Constitution because it amended the city charter without voter approval.<\/p>\n
The Third DCA also determined that the city was on the hook to cover Gonz\u00e1lez\u2019s attorneys\u2019 fees, which the parties negotiated down to $150,000, according to the city\u2019s legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Miami City Commission approved the payout Thursday without discussion.<\/p>\n Reached by the Miami Herald on Friday, Gonz\u00e1lez said: \u201cIt should never have come to this.\u201d He declined further comment.<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez was the second-place finisher in last year\u2019s crowded race for mayor, losing in a December runoff to Eileen Higgins.<\/p>\n