| Michael Góngora | |
| Office: | Member of the Miami Beach City Commission from Group 3 |
| Term Start: | 2017 |
| Predecessor: | Joy Malakoff |
| Term Start1: | 2009 |
| Term End1: | 2013 |
| Predecessor1: | Victor M. Diaz Jr. |
| Successor1: | Joy Malakoff |
| Office2: | Member of the Miami Beach City Commission from Group 5 |
| Term Start2: | 2006 |
| Term End2: | 2007 |
| Predecessor2: | Luis R. Garcia Jr. |
| Successor2: | Edward L. Tobin |
| Birth Name: | Michael Christian Góngora[1] [2] |
| Birth Date: | 27 March 1970 |
| Birth Place: | Coral Gables, Florida, U.S.[3] |
| Education: | University of Miami (BSBA, JD) |
| Residence: | Miami Beach, Florida |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Website: | michaelgongora.com |
Michael Christian Góngora (born March 27, 1970)[4] [5] is an American politician and lawyer from Miami Beach, Florida who is currently serving his third term as Commissioner of the City of Miami Beach City Commission. Gongora was first elected in 2006 and most recently in 2017. Besides his legal practice, Gongora currently serves as a legal and political analyst and is regularly featured on many Spanish networks including Telemundo, America Teve and Mira TV.
Góngora attended the University of Miami School of Law where he earned his Juris Doctor (cum laude).[6] After graduation, he was a partner in his own firm in Miami Beach. Góngora is currently a partner at Becker & Poliakoff, where he is the lead community association litigator in the Miami office.[6]
Góngora was Miami Beach's first and only openly gay elected commissioner and vice mayor.[7] Góngora was also the first openly gay Hispanic to win elected office in the state of Florida. As commissioner, he pushed for the first citywide recycling program, founded the city sustainability committee and helped create a sustainability plan designed to encourage developers to erect greener buildings. Gongora was active in passing a stormwater master plan to resolve flooding in the City of Miami Beach.[8]
In 2013 he ran for mayor of Miami Beach but lost to Philip Levine, coming in second of four candidates running with nearly 40% of the vote following a recount.[9] It was found that Levine had spent approximately $2 million to receive 5,639 votes in the most expensive election in the history of Miami Beach.[10]
In 2021, he sued the City of Miami Beach to run for a third term, alleging that term limits approved by the voters did not apply to his candidacy. Gongora lost the lawsuit when a judgment was entered in favor of the City of Miami Beach.[11] Gongora then switched races and is running for the mayor of Miami Beach in the 2023 elections.
Prior to being elected to the Miami Beach Commission, Góngora held local elected and appointed leadership and governmental roles throughout Miami-Dade County, including:
Góngora created the first Green Ad Hoc Committee (now referred to as the Sustainability Committee) for Miami Beach in 2007. This committee created a sustainability plan, and focused on ways of improving recycling within the city.
Góngora's involvement with the LGBT community in Miami Beach includes advocating for the creation of the city's Human Rights Commission, and works with local organizations such as the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce as well as local, state and national groups such as Aqua Foundation, Gay Pride Committee, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Trevor Project, SAVE Dade, Equality Florida, and Unity Coalition.[12] He introduced resolutions to the City Commission in support of the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA, S. 424/H.R. 1024), and the Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up For All Students Act against cyberbullying, in the U.S. House of Representatives.[13] He hosts or sponsors events by SOBAP (South Beach AIDS Project), GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian & Straight Alliance) and the Trevor Project, the only national 24/7 suicide prevention helpline for LGBT youth.
Góngora is involved in civic organizations in Miami Beach. He was the chairman of the Environmental Coalition of Miami and the Beaches (ECOMB) from 2007-2009.[6] He was legal advisor to the Miami Beach Latin Chamber of Commerce.[6]
He served as a Director for the Advisory Board for Neighborhood Lending Partners, a lending consortium designed to provide funding to build affordable housing. He also represented the City of Miami Beach at Florida Atlantic University in a program for elected officials to help implement and design projects in their municipalities. Góngora also served as president of the Miami Beach Bar Association, the local lawyers association.[6] During his tenure in 2007, the Miami Beach Bar Association opened the North Beach Pro Bono Law Clinic, staffed by volunteer attorneys that provide pro bono consultations with qualifying residents.[14]
On a national level, Góngora is a member of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). He was on the Florida Host Committee for the annual NALEO conference held in Florida in 2012.[15]