Building the Bench: The Honorable Manuel “Manny” Fernandez

The Energizer Bunny would drop in exhaustion if it had to keep up with Manny Fernandez. He's a full-time junior majoring in history at FIU. He serves as Chair of the DEC Interclub Council Committee and as the Communications Committee member responsible for posting on the DEC Instagram account. He gives advice on procedural matters as Parliamentarian of the Kendall Dems. And, to top it all off, at age 20, he is very likely the youngest elected official in Miami-Dade County. Yes, call him the Honorable Manny Fernandez, elected unopposed in August 2024 as the Community Council 11 member representing Subarea 116.

Manny traces his interest in government and politics back to 2015, when, as a fifth-grader, he was spurred into action in reaction to the diatribes of a former reality TV celebrity running for President. Manny has honed his skills both in person-he worked on Max Tuchman's recent School Board campaign-and online, by picking up pointers from YouTube clips of Congressional hearings and by participating in mock government role-playing games on Discord. Online, he has played Republicans and researched their talking points; he has represented Ukraine and its interests; and he has made dozens of friends across the world with a similar passion for governmental policies and procedures.

In his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln famously proclaimed that government is "of the people, for the people, and by the people." Manny Fernandez has put that principle into action. Last February, when documentation supporting a zoning request to situate a privately-owned waste transfer station on SW 127th Avenue near 136th Street was submitted only a week in advance of a scheduled Community Council 11 hearing, and only one resident turned up to comment, Manny voted with the majority to defer the hearing until the following month. In the interim, he reached out to a nearby HOA and surrounding communities to alert residents to the proposal. An overflow crowd full of questions and concerns attended the rescheduled hearing in March. Manny then introduced the motion to deny the proposal and the application was denied unanimously. The proposal has been appealed to the Board of County Commissioners. Manny also participated in a recent vote allowing the Apocalypse BBQ to keep their smokers and expand their business in the Kendall Village Center in a meeting that garnered media attention and large community participation.

"Democrats should pay more attention to zoning," Manny advised. In his view, decisions regarding local communities should be made in conjunction with those who will be most affected by them. And yet, the public remains largely unaware of the existence of Community Councils, which in unincorporated areas of the County, like Kendall, are charged not only with zoning matters, but also with making recommendations regarding public safety issues, road hazards like potholes, and parks.

When asked about his future plans, Manny Fernandez is clear: graduate from FIU, apply to law school, devote his life to public service.