Dade mayor stays in-house for her pick to lead Miami International Airport
Mayor Daniella Levine Cava chose an in-house candidate as the new director of Miami International Airport, promoting acting Director Ralph Cutié to the permanent spot as head of the county’s Aviation Department.
The pick of a MiamiDade government veteran to run one of the most highprofile and politically volatile county departments ends a hiring process that began in June when Levine Cava asked for the resignation of Lester Sola. After a search that brought outsiders into the contention spotlight, Levine Cava went with a candidate who has worked in county government for 30 years.
Airport contracts have brought Levine Cava most of her setbacks before county commissioners, who scrutinize MIA spending and the heavily lobbied contracting decisions that stem from an airport with a nearly $1 billion budget.
In Cutié, Levine Cava has a veteran MIA adminisMiami-Dade trator considered popular among commissioners and someone who has already dealt with many of the private-sector vendors and lobbyists who are active in the airport-contracting arena.
“I think he’s a very safe bet,” said Emilio González, who served as MIA director between 2013 and 2017 and clashed with airport tenants, commissioners and his boss, then-Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “He’s not controversial. He’s a known entity.”
González appointed Cutié to the position of assistant director of facilities management in March 2017. As facilities director, Cutié managed 450 employees and a budget of $180 million. He started his county career in 1990 at MiamiDade’s transit department and worked his way up through that agency and the Internal Services department before joining Aviation in 2013.
“He’s very competent,” said González, who is also a former Miami city manager. “And very professional.”
Levine Cava’s office did not provide compensation on Cutié’s new position. As interim director, he was earning $255,000 a year. Sola, now an assistant city manager in Miami Beach, made $406,000 in 2020. Asked Monday afternoon what compensation he was accepting, Cutié said through a spokesperson that “the salary hasn’t been
finalized yet.”
In a Monday memo to commissioners, Levine Cava said Cutié’s threemonth tenure as interim director demonstrated “his great expertise and professionalism, and his clear qualifications to serve in this important role.”