Jose “Pepe” Diaz

Jose 'Pepe' Diaz serves as Mayor of the City of Sweetwater, Florida, a predominantly Cuban-American municipality in Miami-Dade County, having been elected to the office unopposed on May 9, 2023. Born in Pinar del Río, Cuba, Diaz immigrated to Miami as a child in the 1960s and has resided in Sweetwater since 1968. He serves as a U.S. Marine Corps veteran (1979–1984) and began his career in local public safety as a Sweetwater auxiliary police officer and police pension board chairman. Diaz previously served as a Sweetwater City Councilman from 1991 to 1999 and as the city's Mayor from 1999 to 2003. Following his initial mayoral tenure, he spent two decades as a influential Miami-Dade County Commissioner for District 12, serving as Commission Chairman and championing major regional infrastructure, transportation, and military affairs initiatives. His return to the mayoral role in Sweetwater completes a full political circle, reflecting his long-standing engagement with the municipal community he has represented for over three decades.

The Mayor of the City of Sweetwater is the chief elected executive of this small city government in Miami-Dade County, Florida, operating at the municipal level. The Mayor presides over City Commission meetings, represents the city in intergovernmental affairs, and provides executive leadership over city operations, policy priorities, and municipal services.