Miami's Carollo Political Dynasty Might Not Be Going Anywhere

It looks like Miami’s Carollo dynasty might not be packing up anytime soon.

Former City of Miami commissioner Frank Carollo (AKA the little brother of longtime city commissioner Joe Carollo) has officially entered the race for Miami's District 3 seat in the November 2025 election. On Wednesday, Frank filed paperwork with the city clerk and confirmed his decision in a text message to the Miami Herald.

Three other candidates so far have filed to run for District 3: Oscar Elio Alejandro, Brenda Maribel Betancourt, and Rolando Escalona.

Frank previously served two terms as Miami's District 3 commissioner, from 2009 to 2013 and again from 2013 to 2017. After his tenure, his brother Joe was elected to the seat and won reelection in 2021.

"In Miami, we don't recycle our trash, we re-elect it," Miami documentary filmmaker and activist Billy Corben wrote on Instagram about Frank's plans to run for office again.

However, a new city proposal could jeopardize Frank's plans.

Last week, city commissioner Damian Pardo introduced a measure to set stricter term limits for elected officials, limiting them to two terms on the commission and two terms as mayor for their lifetime. If passed as written, the legislation would prevent Frank from securing a seat on the city commission.

It could also prevent Joe, who served as Miami's mayor from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2001, from running for mayor again — something that has been rumored.

Currently, Miami's officials cannot serve more than two consecutive full terms in the same seat, but they can run for office again at a later date.

While the item was up for discussion at today's city commission meeting, a city spokesperson confirmed to New Times that it was deferred until the April 10 meeting.

As previously reported by New Times, Joe hasn't earned the moniker "Loco Joe" for nothing.

Among other things, the politician once allegedly threw a teapot and/or cardboard container at his wife's head, made a racist remark comparing Ken Russell, Miami's first Asian-American city commissioner, to Kim Jong-un, and more recently faced accusations of abusing his power as commissioner in a campaign to harass local businesses over a political vendetta (which resulted in him being out $63.5 million and nearly losing his Coconut Grove home).

And like his older brother, Frank has a brief history of ... light public corruption.

In 2011, late anti-corruption blogger Al Crespo revealed that Frank took a mysterious free trip to Spain while serving as a city commissioner. The following year, he reportedly called the then-chief of police to get out of a traffic ticket.