Mayor Gimenez: Opponent's Claims Have 'No Basis In Fact'

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The race for Miami-Dade County Mayor has been contentious at times, pitting an incumbent mayor against the daughter of another mayor.

Carlos Gimenez says the county has come a long way while he's been in office, but his main opponent, Raquel Regalado, gives him a failing grade.

"I'm a person of deeds," Gimenez said. "I actually do stuff. I just don't talk about it."

As mayor, Gimenez leads more than 26,000 employees and is responsible for a $7 billion budget.

In a campaign ad, he says the job requires "experience, honesty and transparency."

"You gotta know what you're doing from day one," he states in the advertisement posted to his YouTube page.

Born in Cuba, Gimenez came to the U.S. in 1960.

By the 70s, he was a firefighter, and by 1991, he was Chief of the Miami Fire Department.

Twenty years later, he was elected Mayor of Miami-Dade County on the heels of the recall of his predecessor, Carlos Alvarez.

"My message is very simple. We've come a long way since 2011. Remember 2011? We had 12% unemployment rate, decreasing property values, a $400,000 gap in budget. We closed that gap.  Now we have a 5-year projection that's balanced. The unemployment rate has gone down to 5.5%," he said.

This past weekend, the Miami Herald Editorial Board endorsed Gimenez, saying he has earned another four years in office.

"My vision for the next four years is to enhance economic opportunities for all sectors of our community," he said.

His most outspoken opponent is former school board member and daughter of Miami's mayor, Raquel Regalado.

In an interview with CBS4 News, Regalado called Gimenez a "chauvinist" and gave him a failing grade as mayor.

Gimenez has said Regalado is "making things up".

"The politics in this election have just gotten really low," Gimenez said. "When you're running a desperate campaign you result to anything. You make all sorts of accusations that have no basis in fact."

Of course, Zika has become an unexpected centerpiece of the campaign, with travel advisories poised to put a damper on the economic growth Gimenez has worked hard to foster.

"The first travel advisory had some pretty deep effects on the businesses in Wynwood," he said. "But the main concern is the safety of the people of Miami-Dade County and our visitors."

While past polls have showed Gimenez with a sizeable lead over his opponents, he will need more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff election in November.