Commissioner Eileen Higgins’ record on crime and public safety is drawing increased scrutiny as Miami’s mayoral race intensifies. Throughout the campaign, Higgins has kept an unusually low profile on her voting history and ideological leanings, even as concerns mount about her long-standing alignment with far-left criminal justice policies.
Higgins has often presented herself as a pragmatic centrist. But a closer look at her background paints a different picture — one that Miami voters are only now beginning to see clearly.
In a 2018 Miami New Times profile, Higgins described what she called her “political awakening.” According to the article, that moment came during her 30s in New York City, when she attended an anti–death penalty event hosted by the Unabomber’s brother, who advocated against capital punishment for violent offenders. Higgins told the publication that the event “clicked” for her — a moment that shaped her emotional and philosophical approach to criminal justice…