NORTH MIAMI (Le Floridien) — In a special city council meeting on Tuesday afternoon, May 7, Rasha Cameau was ousted as North Miami City Manager in a 3-1 vote. The meeting, originally scheduled for May 14, was moved up by a week, catching many of Cameau’s supporters off guard. It appeared that there was an organized effort to mobilize residents to intimidate the council members opposing Cameau.
The contentious session was marked by heated arguments between Cameau’s supporters and the backers of the three council members who voted for her removal. Mayor Alix Desulme was notably absent, leaving Councilwoman Kassandra Timothe, Vice Mayor Mary Estimé-Irvin, and Councilman Pierre Frantz Charles to carry the motion forward.
Councilwoman Timothe, who led the charge against Cameau, reiterated her dissatisfaction with the former City Manager’s performance. In an earlier meeting on April 9, she criticized Cameau’s hiring process and highlighted her opposition to the CRA extension and mismanagement of a Public-Private Partnership (P3) project as reasons for termination. Timothe’s motion was supported by Estimé-Irvin and Charles, who detailed their grievances with Cameau’s administrative conduct and decisions.
Supporters of the ousted City Manager passionately defended her tenure, criticizing the council members’ actions as unjust and arguing that the abrupt termination was poorly timed, given impending challenges like a lack of stable leadership.
Despite this vocal opposition, the council members ultimately voted 3-1 in favor of Cameau’s termination, with Councilman Scott Galvin being the sole opposing vote. At the end of the special meeting, Anna-Bo Emmanuel, Executive Director of the City of North Miami CRA, was appointed interim City Manager.
This decision has exposed deep divides within North Miami’s city administration, with both supporters and opponents voicing their concerns about the city’s leadership trajectory amid the ongoing tensions.
