The Man Who Has Seen Miami Politics From Every Angle | Jose Felix Diaz

Jose Felix Diaz has seen Miami politics from nearly every angle — as a state representative, a lobbyist, and even a contestant on "The Apprentice" where he met Donald Trump. In this episode he breaks down what lobbying actually is, why he turns down certain clients, how social media has completely changed politics, and why so many people still vote for a party instead of the actual issues.

We also get into property taxes, the 836 extension to Kendall, the Urban Development Boundary, Miami's traffic problems, AI's growing role in political campaigns, the county's budget issues, and his thoughts on Zohran Mamdani's campaign. Plus meeting Bill Clinton, the Cuba situation, and his top 5 Miami restaurants.

This is Miami politics explained by someone who has lived every side of it.

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Produced by: Ben Schwede
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/benthecreatorrr/

0:00 Intro
1:56 About Pepe
3:38 Getting into Law and Government
6:57 Pay as a Public Official
8:16 How Has Politics Changed
9:44 How Social Media Influenced Politics
11:51 Knowing Your Local Politicians
13:16 Crazy Calls from Constituents
16:28 New Job
18:27 What is Lobbying
22:35 Not Taking On Certain Clients/Cases
24:18 People Voting for Parties and Not Issues
28:10 Zohran Mamdani’s Campaign
29:31 AI as the Future of Political Campaigns
30:31 Crossing the Party Lines
33:55 Property Taxes
38:47 DOGE
41:27 Bureaucracy
43:07 836 Extension to Kendall
46:10 Moving the Urban Development Boundary Line
49:20 Downtown
50:03 Little River and Little Haiti
51:51 Being on “The Apprentice” and Meeting Donald Trump
54:23 Meeting Bill Clinton
55:21 County’s Budget Issues
56:39 Can Miami’s Traffic Be Fixed?
58:40 Who Will Hurt the Most from Reduced Property Taxes?
1:00:36 Running for Office?
1:01:39 The Bridge in Downtown
1:05:32 Private Suites at the MIA Airport
1:08:01 America 250 and Meaning of It for Pepe
1:12:02 Cuba Situation
1:16:56 How AI Will Change the Market
1:19:16 Top 5 Restaurants
1:25:36 Restaurants Wishlist
1:28:50 Meeting Nick Pascual
1:30:50 Outro