Stephanie Severino, left, director of communications for Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez, center right, shields the mayor from Herald reporter Tess Riski, right, after his State of the City address. - Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/TNS
MIAMI — After touting government transparency and public office as a public trust during his State of the City address Tuesday morning, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez refused to answer questions from Miami Herald reporters — despite giving one-on-one interviews to every other media outlet present.
The snub came just hours after the Herald published an investigation into how Suarez advocated for a no-bid city contract for a startup that was actively negotiating a partnership with one of the mayor’s private employers. The employer was paying Suarez $20,000 per month at the time.
