Miami-Dade voters deciding on sheriff for first time in over 50 years

MIAMI – The Miami-Dade County Sheriff race marks a defining moment as voters in the 2024 election choose an elected sheriff for the first time in more than half a century.
Republican Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz, 55, and Democrat James Reyes, 47, are facing off for the position in a county that has more than 2.6 million residents.
The elected sheriff will be one of the most powerful political figures in South Florida.
In Florida, the elected sheriff oversees law enforcement, jail operations, court security and legal processes, and appoints deputies, acting as the county’s top law enforcement official.
The last elected sheriff in Miami-Dade, Talmadge A. Buchanan, was removed amid corruption allegations in the 1960s, leading voters to abolish the elected position. For nearly 60 years, the county has operated with an appointed police director.
The new sheriff will not answer to the mayor, and will be independent while leading the county’s 3,200 sworn officers and managing a $1.2 billion budget.  
Reyes and Rosie Cordero-Stutz have starkly different backgrounds.
Cordero-Stutz is a 28-year veteran of the Miami-Dade Police Department, where she serves as assistant director. 
She has extensive hands-on experience in law enforcement, having worked her way up from officer to assistant director of the Miami-Dade Police Department. She said during a debate on CBS News Miami that her decades in uniform give her an intimate understanding of the risks officers face, stating, “You need to be a police officer to be sheriff of Miami-Dade County.”
Reyes serves as Miami-Dade’s chief of public safety. He has emphasized his executive leadership experience, particularly his management of large budgets and oversight of public safety divisions.
“I’m running to be sheriff, not a police officer,” said Reyes, who was endorsed by the Police Benevolent Association. 
Reyes said that managing a complex sheriff’s office requires administrative skills rather than policing experience.