As City of Miami voters take a closer look at County Commissioner Eileen Higgins’ record, a clear pattern emerges, not of leadership as she claims, but of systematically weakening independent agencies and shifting financial burdens onto everyday transit users. Her role in gutting the Citizens’ Independent Transportation Trust (CITT) is only the most recent example in a tenure defined by diminishing oversight and undermining the safeguards designed to protect taxpayers.
The CITT, created to provide independent oversight of the voter-approved half-penny transit tax, was once a crucial watchdog ensuring transparency and accountability. But under changes supported and advanced by Higgins, the board’s authority was dramatically cut. What was meant to be an independent barrier between political interests and transit-tax spending has now been reduced to a symbolic advisory group with little real power.
This was not a one-off decision. It reflects a broader pattern. Higgins frequently describes herself as a strong advocate for public transit, but her actions repeatedly contradict that narrative. During the last county budget hearing, she even recommended that users be charged at least $100 per month to ride the Metromover, a system that has been free for decades and serves as an essential connector for thousands of City of Miami residents. Higgins implied that those who rely on it most “should pay,” even though many of those riders are service workers, seniors, and low-income residents who depend on the Metromover for daily transportation…