![\"Miami-Dade](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/MIA_2026-01-28AD0672StateoftheCounty.JPG\" "\\"Miami-Dade")
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Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert III speaks before Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava delivers her 2026 State of the County Address at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens, Florida on Wednesday, January 28, 2026.<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY AL DIAZ<\/p>\n
adiaz@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert announced Friday that he will cut his term short by nearly two years, a move widely viewed as a precursor to a run for U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson\u2019s seat now that the longtime congresswoman has said she won\u2019t seek reelection.<\/p>\n
Around 12 p.m. Friday, Gilbert submitted his prospective letter of resignation as commissioner of District 1 to the county clerk. His last day in office will be Jan. 3, 2027.<\/p>\n
And with that, Commish @Ogilbert<\/a> officially leaving the County Commission two years early to run for Congress. That sets up an Aug elex for his Dist 1 seat repping the Miami Gardens area. Gilbert resignation effective Jan 3, when Rep Wilson successor would be sworn in pic.twitter.com\/kbGkqM60Kq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Doug Hanks (@doug_hanks) May 29, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Gilbert did not explain in his letter why he is cutting his term short, but lauded the work he and his community have achieved since hem was first elected to the role in December 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cTogether, we have worked to move Miami-Dade County forward,\u201d he wrote. \u201cTo the residents of District 1 and to every person across this county who allowed me the privilege of serving, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n An August election will be held to fill the role, and the filing deadline for the District 1 seat is June 9. As of Friday night, at least two candidates are running \u2014 Miami Gardens Councilwoman Linda Julien and Miami-Dade County School Board Member Steve Gallon III.<\/p>\n Gilbert\u2019s resignation came shortly after Wilson, 83, announced her plans to leave Congress on Friday.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Frederica Wilson is leaving Congress. She explains why in an exclusive interview<\/a><\/p>\n Wilson has served District 24, a Miami district with a large majority of Black voters, since 2011, building a lasting legacy in South Florida and in Washington. She told the Miami Herald that her district will need a \u201cstrong, strong advocate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAll of this rests on my shoulders,\u201d Wilson said, adding she is not ready to endorse a candidate. \u201cSo I carried a lot, and it\u2019s time to find someone who I can trust. I\u2019m going to vet all these candidates to see who I can trust to carry this mission forward.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Potential successors are lining up as Frederica Wilson weighs exit<\/a><\/p>\n Gilbert, who attended a street-naming ceremony in Wilson\u2019s honor on Friday in Miami Gardens outside the school where she was once principal, told the Herald he is in awe of the trailblazer that Wilson is.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not enough words, not enough time,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a person who\u2019s amazing as a leader, and really the foundation of the good things that work in this community.\u201d<\/p>\n Gilbert said it is too early to decide if he\u2019ll run for her seat, emphasizing that she deserves \u201cto have this day\u201d recognizing her legacy. But the timing of his resignation offers a clue: Friday was the last day under Florida law for elected officials to indicate plans to resign in order to run for a different public office if the terms of the two positions overlap; and Jan. 3 is the date the new Congress will be sworn in.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always said that if the congresswoman doesn\u2019t seek re-election or retires, that I\u2019d run for Congress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n If Gilbert launches a campaign, he will run in an August Democratic primary that will likely decide who represents the district next year. Rudy Moise and Christine Alexandria Sanon-Jules have already filed paperwork to run for the seat. Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones is also expected to launch a campaign.<\/p>\n Gilbert has spent a long political career serving and representing Black voters in Miami-Dade County, as Wilson has done in Congress. Before his time as county commissioner, he spent a decade serving as commissioner and then mayor of Miami Gardens, the city with the largest population of Black residents in the county.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really looking at it, and after we get past this, we\u2019ll start making decisions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n