MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Commissioners Jose “Pepe” Diaz and Oliver G. Gilbert II were sworn in as chairman and vice chairman of the Miami-Dade Broward County Commissioners.
It was a memorable Wednesday morning for the two men, their families and everyone in attendance as the ceremony was held keeping in mind pandemic protocols in an outdoor, socially distant ceremony at Hard Rock Stadium — the public was encouraged to view the ceremony via a livestream webcast.
Florida’s Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez along with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava offered remarks with Cava telling the two men: “Your success is our success.”
On Nov. 19, the Board of County Commissioners unanimously elected Diaz as its next chairman, replacing Rebeca Sosa, and Oliver Gilbert as Vice Chairman.
“I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve as the chairman,” Diaz said from the podium.
Diaz has served on the commission since 2002, while Gilbert served as Mayor of Miami Gardens for eight years before joining the commission in November 2020.
“It is an extraordinary thing to live in a place where the kid who parked cars for the stadium when it was built can be the vice chairman of a county commission being sworn in at that stadium,” Gilbert said.
During remarks Wednesday morning there were multiple moments of silence in reverence to those who had passed from COVID-19.
Their two-year terms began Jan. 1, 2021.