WSHC+B Partner and Chair of the Firm’s Appellate Practice Group Edward G. Guedes was recently featured in a Miami Herald article about the ongoing legal debate surrounding Miami’s proposed shift of its municipal election from odd years to even years, potentially postponing the upcoming November election to 2026.
The article discusses a decision by a three-judge panel of the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami-Dade County, which upheld Circuit Judge Reemberto Diaz’s ruling that North Miami Council members acted within Florida law when they voted to move the election date.
Ed represented the city of North Miami in the case. He told the Miami Herald that because the appeals court simply upheld the trial court’s ruling without elaborating in a written opinion of their own, “technically that kind of decision is not binding precedent.”
Nevertheless, Ed said Florida law allows municipalities to change the election date via ordinance and without voter input.
“It is very, very clear that the Florida Legislature authorized this kind of election date-changing by cities, and to do so by ordinance notwithstanding a charter,” Ed said.
He emphasized that making the change is “a one-time shot.” “This isn’t just a mechanism for cities to abuse the process and sitting elected officials to continuously extend their terms in office, because it’s a one-shot alignment,” Ed said. “Once you align, that’s it. You’re done.”
Ed is Board Certified in Appellate Practice by the Florida Bar and is chair of the firm’s Appellate Practice Group. He has litigated dozens of appeals before the Florida Supreme Court, Florida’s district courts of appeal, and the U.S. Courts of Appeals in a wide variety of matters, including medical malpractice, premises liability, probate, First Amendment and constitutional litigation, family law, state and federal administrative rule-making and regulation, home rule authority and preemption, election law, civil rights, land use and zoning, intellectual property, and labor and employment issues.
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