Crank up the Carlos-O-Meter!

When Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is sworn in on Nov. 20, he will have already achieved many of the promises that he made during his first campaign. But at PolitiFact Florida, we’re still watching.

Gimenez, a former county commissioner, won his office on June 28, 2011, after his predecessor was recalled amid voters’ anger about rampant spending at County Hall. He won his first full four-year term in August 2012.

Gimenez’s campaign promises largely fell into two categories: cutting back on spending -- including reducing the property tax rate and his own paycheck -- and reforming county government to make it more transparent.

Gimenez largely delivered on his key promises about spending in his first budget year and again in his second budget year. He has also made important strides in reforming county government -- his most recent Promise Kept was earned when voters approved term limits for county commissioners on Nov. 6. (Mayoral term limits that were already in place mean Gimenez could serve a second four-year term from 2016-20.)

Gimenez’s first stint in the mayoral office was about 16 months.  As he launches his first four-year term, he has six Promise Kept, three Compromise, four Promise Broken, and three In the Works. We left one promise unrated: Gimenez said he would veto an effort to strike down domestic partner benefits but no such effort surfaced.

We are adding an 18th promise, and this one from Gimenez’s 2012  campaign: "Attract new investment and create high-paying quality jobs." Gimenez’s spokeswoman Suzy Trutie told us that Gimenez was referring to jobs in information technology, engineering and life sciences. We have not yet rated that promise, but we will be watching Gimenez’s progress.

PolitiFact Florida, the political fact-checking arm of the Miami Herald and the Tampa Bay Times, created the Carlos-O-Meter to track the Gimenez’s promises in 2011. It’s similar to PolitiFact's Obameter for President Barack Obama, our GOP Pledge-O-Meter for promises made by Republican Congressional leaders and the Scott-O-Meter for Florida Gov. Rick Scott. We also follow promises of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn on our Buck-O-Meter.

PolitiFact rates promises based on outcomes, not intentions. So if the county commission or the voters fail to act on a proposal, that would result in a negative rating for Gimenez. These ratings aren’t final. If Gimenez takes new significant action, we can update the rating.

If you have information about a promise by the mayor or a factual claim about or by Gimenez, email [email protected]