How Faith And Family Shaped A Miami Leader | A Conversation with Manny Cid

A big thank you to our ministry partner Christian Business Mens Connection (CBMC). Check them out at https://www.cbmcsouthflorida.com

He was the mayor of Miami Lakes for nearly 12 years, but the part that stops us cold is this: the salary was about $20,000 a year. So while Manny Sid is cutting ribbons and handling community crises, he’s also teaching classes, working weekends at his restaurant, and trying to stay present with his family. That’s the backdrop for a candid conversation about integrity, visibility, and what leadership feels like when the spotlight follows you into everyday life.

We trace Manny’s story from his parents Cuban exile roots and a faith that wasn’t always safe to practice, to a defining moment when a woman sat outside City Hall praying for him on the National Day of Prayer. From there, we talk about civic life at street level: why people know their mayor but often can’t name their state representative, and how that disconnect shapes what residents expect from local government.

Manny also breaks down his current role in Miami-Dade County strategic procurement as assistant director for small and local business development. If you care about Miami-Dade small business resources, government contracting, local business certification, and building a stronger local economy, you’ll get practical insight into how the county buys everything from fuel to food and why contracting with local supply chains can keep dollars circulating longer in the community. We also revisit COVID leadership, mental health support, and the tough call to push for reopening to protect mom-and-pop businesses.

Transcript

Welcome And Mission Of The Show

Announcer 0:01

You're tuned in to Friends and Family, a God's way radio exclusive where we introduce you to some amazing people. In John chapter 15, verse 15, Jesus says, I have called you friends for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. That's our aim, that God would be made known to you. Stay with us until the end of our conversation for more information on this program and other unique offerings from God's Way Rating.

Joey 0:27

Part of our partnership with CBMC, it's part of the programming that we do together, which is inviting their guests that they're gonna have at the luncheon, so that we could hear a little bit from the guest and give an invite again and encourage you and promote the luncheon as a part of this partnership with CBMC. So, Omar, thank you again for being here and for bringing today's guest. And so with that, I welcome Manny Sid to God's Way Radio.

Manny 0:54

Thank you, Pastor. It's awesome being here. I felt uh the great vibes walking in through the door. I mean, it's uh you all have something special going on here, Pastor.

Joey 1:02

Oh, I I think so too, and I'm so uh I treasure it. Um, man, there's so much we could talk about. You know, just getting ready, uh, and uh, you know, you're joking how man, Omar got your life story, and so so he might have some insights as we're talking that that he'll chime in with as well.

Manny Sid Introduces His Life

Joey 1:17

But Manny, why don't you just introduce yourself briefly, your family, you know, kind of where you're at right now and what you're doing.

Manny 1:22

So I'm Manny Sid, and I'm currently the assistant director for small and local business development all over Miami Dade County, which is really cool, right? I went from being the mayor of a city of 35,000 people to now serving close to three million people, right? Have the doors open. But more importantly, I'm a I'm a father. I have four four kids. Uh me and my wife started really young. We have a 17-year-old, a 15-year-old, and then we we took a little break, and uh, and we have a four-year-old daughter and a and a one-year-old uh baby. So um, yeah, God, God blessed us, and it's it's been an amazing journey, and my wife is uh is amazing.

Joey 2:00

Awesome, awesome. So uh great to to hear from you and get a little information on that. You know what I'm curious? How do you get connected with CBMC?

The Prayer That Sparked Service

Manny 2:10

So we were we were talking about it um a while back, and uh and I remember running into some of your folks way back then when I would do the National Day of Prayer uh in Miami Lakes. So I would host uh the National Day of Prayer. And I shared the story with with Omar, and if you don't mind passing my share real quick because I think it's pretty powerful.

Speaker 6 2:30

Of course.

Manny 2:31

Martha Gonzalez, she was a a great person in our community. She passed away uh this past year. But one one day when I was a council member, I pulled up to this the town of Miami Lakes or City Hall, and I see someone sitting outside under a tree right in front of City Hall. And I was like, I didn't think too much of it. But I came back down a little bit later, I see her there again, and I I swung by like three or four times, and I see her out there, and I was like, no, no, I gotta go check this out. So I walk outside, I asked the receptionist, like, is everything okay? She's like, Yeah, I don't I don't know what's going on, but she's been out there. I go, All right, let me go say hi. So when I walk up to to the lady, she she looks at me and uh and I introduce myself. She goes, No, I know who you are. And I asked her, is everything okay? She goes, Everything's good, everything's great. I'm I'm here praying for you. I was like, what do you mean, praying for me? Like did something happen? Like, should I what you know what I mean? You're remaining like something going on. She goes, she goes, No, Manny, today's National Day of Prayer. And I'm out here praying for you, praying for the city, praying for our police officers, our businesses, everybody. And I I made a I was so blown away that I made a commitment to her. I go, Martha, one, if if God, God willing, become mayor of the town of Miami Lakes, I uh you're going to help me put on the National Day of Prayer. And she did so for eight years, right? She ran the entire show, she put it on, and that's where I met the the team at GBMC and CBMC, yeah. C I'm sorry, CBMC. And and yeah, we all we all got together now. Full circle, full circle moment. I'll be at the uh I'm here today, then I'll be at the luncheon tomorrow. Yeah.

Joey 4:05

So CBMC, um well, let me let you do this part, Omar. If not, you might we might not hear from you all.

Omar 4:10

No, no, no. I just I just wanted to say something about that. Uh it it's so wonderful to have a national day of prayer, but uh every day should be a national day of prayer.

Speaker 3 4:21

Yeah.

Omar 4:22

And I think it's important to single out a day of the year, but for us, every day is a national day of prayer. So, in terms of CBMC, yes, we're gonna invite Manny to be our speaker tomorrow. And he's got so much to bring to the table because he really does a very good job of putting together the whole idea of a political life, a faith life, a family life, and a professional life.

Joey 4:46

Yeah. Um, I I'm so encouraged by by um the team, by the ministry, by the organization CBMC, um because they're they're so professional in everything they do, but so authentic. Uh so just a quick update or a quick um background. CBMC is Christian Business Men's Connection. He saw I was struggling with the last C. Christian Businessmen's connection, and again, they're a sponsor of Gods Ray Radio, they're a partner of Gods Radio. I love, I again, we got to talk to Manny. He's here for a limited time, but man, I love what we've been doing together. That it's not just a sponsorship, it's a partnership and the programming like we have here today. So, last little update before we continue talking to Manny is if you want to call or text us, our phone lines are open. You know, so many people say, Oh man, you were doing an interview, I didn't want to interrupt. It makes it that much funner, it makes it that much more sweet to actually have you on the phone or get your text messages while our guests are here. So the phone number to the studio is 786-313-3115, 786-313-3115. And one more thing that I just thought of is hey, you might be thinking, oh, Miami Lakes, you know, uh former mayor, uh uh I know someone, I want to text someone, but but the signal doesn't get to Miami Lakes, hey, that's okay. They can download the app, they can go online, godswayradio.com or download the app, and wherever they are, they can listen as we talk with Manny today. So, Manny,

From Marine Biology To Politics

Joey 6:19

back to you. I want to ask you this. How did you get your very, very first start in politics? What was the first position, the first participation?

Manny 6:31

So, uh and real quick, shout out to Steve Solomon, because he's the one that put us uh connected all of us. Um but uh but I never wanted to get into public service. What I wanted to be was a marine biologist. But I had an issue that I didn't know about, which when my mom put me into uh a marine biology camp at John Penny Camp down in Key Largo, um I remember going out in the boat, I was so excited, everybody excited. Five minutes into it, they had to turn around. I had middle ear, I have middle ear issues, so I'm that guy that gets seasick right off the bat. Yeah, so there's a trick around it. If I drive the boat, I'm good. But if I'm a passenger, it's game set match. So I'm walking around the cruise ship with a patch and all that. So that career was over, but being the son of Cuban exiles at the dinner table every day, we talked about civics, right? We talked about getting involved. We talked at a young age, my parents are like, yo, you gotta vote. You gotta get involved, you gotta do this. Every they were like, Manny, everything from how the how this bottle water got here, how much it was taxed, and how they what they made it with to the coffee that you're drinking and the tariffs that got charged for that coffee to come from Columbia or wherever. Somebody in elected office, somebody in that process made that decision. So that's what really enamored me. Uh where I got enamored with uh political science. And then I started volunteering on campaigns. At 18 years old, I was standing on 49th Street in Hyalia holding up a sign for For who? Could you say for who? I didn't even uh at that point was Eddie Gonzalez, who ended up four or five years later, ended up being my boss in Tallahassee. Yeah, crazy, crazy story. But I didn't even know who they were back then, right? But I just got involved. I was like, you know what, I'm gonna show up, volunteer, and I started volunteering and getting involved, and all these years later I had a great, incredible path.

Joey 8:19

You know, I mean, just that, just that little slice of your story and of your life, the impact of your parents, uh, you know, you can trace your history, right? Cuba, what's happened in Cuba, what's happening in Cuba, uh, man, how we can learn, how we can do things different. Uh man, so important. I pray, I pray that other people would be inspired to step up. Um, but Manny, you know, uh Omar's been mentioning how you're not just a man of politics, you're a man of faith and family. And so, how has that developed

Cuban Roots And A Public Faith

Joey 8:51

over the years? You were you're giving a shout out to to your Catholic church that you go to and and you're saying, Man, I so appreciate that they have open hours. I can go and sit in the sanctuary. So, man, you you got inspired in politics at a young age. How have you been inspired in faith and family over the years?

Manny 9:07

Well, again, that was that was also talked about at my house. I mean, something that that people sometimes take for granted here in the United States was like I look back on my mom. My mom, when she did her her first communion in Cuba, she had to do it in hiding. They had to get her dress in hiding. I mean, she I asked her again the other day to tell me the whole story, and we should her confirmation, and it was all they they they had to do it all in in hiding, right? So so I think back on that, and and today we can we can talk on the radio about our faith, we can go anywhere and talk about our faith. But there was a a moment where folks in my own family, my mom, she had to hide it. They was forced to be because the communist government taught you that, you know, no nothing was bigger, no religion, no person, nothing was bigger than than them. They're the the communist thugs, and they took away all of that. So for me as a kid, it was talked about every day, not as something that was, you know, hey, this is take it for granted, you know, we're Americans. No, no, it was like, hey, this is something that was taken away from me as a kid. Like, this is so important. If if they took it away from us, they knew how dangerous it was because our faith teaches us that that that you know what I mean, we we look for God for our rights, right? It doesn't come from the Castro regime, doesn't come from what they tell you, you know, it's something bigger.

Joey 10:24

Or even the United States government. Yeah, yeah, it comes from God, yeah.

Manny 10:27

Yeah, and but but it went, but where my perspective on faith started was there. Was my my mom would share those stories, my dad, and fast forward uh today. I mean, that that's that's so important because I know we're we're gonna talk about a little bit about business later on, but I I think it helps guide you not only in the way that you conduct yourself, but in the way that you feel like hey, I I got blessed, so I gotta make sure that I bless others. Yeah, you know, that I'm that I'm always giving back that you can use your business, you can use your your your platforms to to to help people, um, which I always think that is uh that's a must.

Joey 11:02

Again, again, right? Any one of these topics, any one of these uh slices of your story we could dive so much into. I mean, your parents and and their experience and how it impacted you, and um man, that that faith that you have. Um there's so much there, but but you know, we can we can continue and then we can come back to things, you know, as they come up again. Um let me ask you this, and I wonder, you know, I don't say this obviously any disrespectful way, but I I wonder how many people would know this, or I wonder how many people would guess this.

The Truth About A Mayor’s Pay

Joey 11:36

Uh so here's the kind of funny way I'll ask the question. So, Manny, you were the mayor of Miami Lakes for which years again, please?

Manny 11:44

I finished in November 2024, so not too long ago, for for almost 12 years total, right? Eight years as mayor, three as vice mayor, and one as a council member.

Joey 11:52

And so um here's my question. You know, as mayor, uh vice mayor, you know, you probably made a huge salary, didn't need to work, you know, sold all your businesses.

unknown 12:03

No.

Manny 12:04

Listen, funny, funny, everybody thinks that when you're the mayor, especially like a nice town like Miami Lake. That's why I warned you. It was gonna be kind of a funny kind of way to ask. People, people think, no, no, the mayor gets a house, gets this, gets that. Listen, my salary as mayor, and I'll say it's it's transparent, and the town of Miami Lakes was $20,000. Wow. Right? So I had to have another job. So I I would teach at St. Thomas University, I would teach sometimes three classes a semester, four classes. What kind of classes? Uh speech and debate, and then political science and American government. Cool. Um then I taught at Hareb Christian, I taught a little bit of uh uh civics. There was one year I even did uh an entrepreneurship class, and I also did one year uh uh a cryptocurrency, an intro to crypto when it was like uh we we mine different different coins. It was actually really fascinating. Uh and then on the weekends I was a buster and the cook at at my restaurant. Um so I had to do all four jobs to make ends meet, right? Like it was I was a working, I was a working mayor, it was a working class mayor. How how many hours a week do you think you were putting in? 80 hours or 80, 90, 100, depending on how'd you make time for the family? They became my schedule became almost their schedule. So like we took advantage of the like we would have huge Easter events in the town. Family was with me the entire time. We would have our Christmas events, we would have, I mean, you name it, we would have movies at the park and we would turn it into like a family outing. So everything that I did revolved around around the family in terms of in Miami Lakes. So, but I I I was the mayor that never left the town. So, in terms of I never went to you know the happy hour or cocktail hours with other mayors, hung out with other people just because if I did that, then I for sure wouldn't have time for for my family. Um, but yeah, it was all about balance and kind of you look, I look back on all the pictures. I had a gentleman, this is a true story. Last week, there was a gentleman that walked up to me, and I was in the at the Greater Kendall Business Association speaking, and he walked up to me with a letter and with uh with a picture, and it was from seven years ago a ribbon cutting where I was cutting the ribbon carrying my son. And he said that he always kept that when he saw that he was like, Man, if this guy is here with his kids and he has a business doing this, why can't I do it? Why can't I have the balance? And he told me that inspired him so much. He literally gave me a framed picture and an entire letter. I mean, I was like blown away because there are moments like that that you don't realize that other people are seeing you as an elected official, as an example, and he was like, You're standing there holding your son, cutting the ribbon out of business.

Joey 14:46

Well, I mean, that's why I that's why I would imagine, or that's why I think, and you could tell us from personal experience, integrity and ethics matters in politics, right? It's it's how unfortunate, how terrible when you see things come out on the news, oh, they were hiding this, oh, this, this scandal. Uh, man, because people are watching you, right? People are watching you. They watch not just uh, what is it, right? Not just the speech, but what when you're holding your kid at the ceremony.

Manny 15:13

100%. I would go, I I'll never forget I was on a cruise one time, and random guy came up to me. He's like, Man, I'm there walking around without a shirt, everybody's hanging out in the pool. And it just it dawned on me again. I go, wherever you go, now not so much, but back then it was 24-7. Wherever you go, you had to be that example because you weren't only an example to your family, to the community, but obviously to God that gave you that opportunity, right? You can't you can't let people down, and and which I thought was really important.

Joey 15:43

Absolutely.

Omar 15:43

I was wondering as you were talking, how hard, if at all, was it to get out of politics? Because you were in politics for twelve years, right? And now all of a sudden you make a you make a decision to work for the mayor, but you're not in politics anymore. How hard was it, or how easy was it for you to get out and do something else?

Manny 16:05

It was it was easy because I I was a working mayor and then I was a staffer before I used to be a staffer in the state legislature, but that gave me always a perspective that nothing, that I could work for anybody, I can make something happen. You know what I mean? I wasn't that type of mayor. I was like, no, no, no, I can't, I can't go work for somebody else. I can't go listen, I've bust tables when I was I would clean the bathrooms when I was the mayor of Miami Lakes, right? So like that, in terms of being humble, right? In terms of making sure that was the the the moment that always taught me, like, hey, you're there's nothing, you're not above anybody else, right? You you gotta live the same life.

Omar 16:44

Yeah, I don't I don't want to take it from Joey. No, no, no. But a lot of people like yourself end up trying to go up to the to the legislature in Tallahassee.

Joey 16:51

That was kind of the question, like, and it and it goes into another thing that you mentioned, and I'll kind of try to mention it all at once in case it ties together. You mentioned, oh, I I didn't go hang out with other mayors, right? Uh, you know, I I I tried to stay in my community because I because if not I wouldn't have time. You know, my the question is like, man, but then how are you gonna advance in your career? Don't you need don't politicians need to network and all that? And then also with the other details you mentioned of um this term or this idea of career politician, is that something different than what you aspire to be? So that kind of those questions I think are very similar.

Manny 17:26

I l I could have ran for State House, school board, county commission. I never what I realized during my path was that I was not meant to be a legislator, right? I wanted to be an executive, an administrator. And that's really why I ran for county mayor, and that's why I love what I do today, right? I I couldn't be in a position, because in the legislative position, it's awesome. It's a great experience. I was up there seven years. I actually wrote some state laws that are in place today. Um, but that just it was really hard to get stuff done, right? So I'll give you an example. If if I were to get elected today in the Florida legislature, I wouldn't be in a leadership position. I would have literally have to wait seven years, six years to be in a leadership position. I mean, that's how you go from being a freshman, a sophomore, junior, and then when you're a senior is really when you're gonna have those two years to get technical terms, or is that like slang or for freshman, sophomore?

Joey 18:24

Oh, no, no, no, those are more legislative.

Manny 18:26

Yeah, those are in Tallahassee, those are technical terms. Wow. In the House of Representatives, that's how you're framed, right? You're you're in a class. Yeah, there's classes, but um, but yeah, I I couldn't be a legislator. Hence why I didn't run. The people were calling me not to run for school board, to run for I was like, I'm I I don't want to do that. Like I I want to be either a a look before I started the county, I was actually the finalist for some cities to be the city manager, right? I really wanted to go into the city. That's executive as well.

Joey 18:56

Yep. Let me ask you this. What would you say, if you have it off the top of your head, is some of your uh favorite parts is a weird way to say it, of of whatever, of man, I love this about our state government, or or I love this about the way that politics works, and and then and then one of the things that you wish you could change or you you know doesn't work well. I mean, just the behind the scenes truth of it, uh, you know, if you have kind of like a highlight and a low light of of this world of of politics or of legislature, if if you can't share.

Why Locals Get Blamed For Everything

Manny 19:29

I'll share this with you, and this is when I was the mayor, I had I had the most powerful, that's the second most powerful person in the state of Florida lived in Miami Lakes, which was a speaker of the House, right, at the time, the the Florida House. But not a human being. Nobody knows who their state representative is. Look, I'll give you both the question. Who's the state representative for this area?

Speaker 3 19:52

No idea.

Manny 19:53

Right? Nobody knows yet they they make they have such a huge impact on our lives, from funding our schools, right? To to insurance, right? Uh to health care, right? But they make all these decisions, but nobody knows them. But when you're the mayor, every human being in your community, everybody knows who you are. So that was it was a little tough because I would get blamed for everything. And then I would look at these guys and I'm like, yo, but you guys have the power to make a tremendous change in Florida. And you could someone sometimes you they did things I didn't agree with, but nobody knew who they were. So what will happen was everybody would come to see me, right? And and that's something that I that kind of became a little tough because you're like, what do you mean? Go see your county commission. And you can't just tell people, no, it's a state rep. They're like, I don't even know what my who's in my state rep. They think this is their congressman, right? And it and and that was a a a pain point because that's when you realize that there's such a huge disconnect between decisions that were being made up here and what's happening on the local level, yet everybody knows who your local mayor is. Nobody knows who literally who your state is and they and those folks control literally your your school funding is controlled by them. Yeah, healthcare, the the the Medicaid is controlled by them. A lot of the healthcare, I mean insurance costs is controlled by them. Yeah, your local folks. So that was that was an asset. We're learning, we're learning today. Which which is true. I just asked both of you who's a who's a state referent? Nobody knows. Yeah, hey, and I promise you that and it would happen. I would walk into public and he would laugh with the speaker. This is this is seven years ago, and he would laugh. He was like, Manny, nobody recognizes yet. I have a budget of a hundred billion dollars, and you have a budget of twelve million dollars, and everybody's coming to you with all the issues. You know, he was cracking up. He was like, This, yeah, it's true, true story.

Joey 21:46

Yeah, yeah, there you go. Oh man. Hey, if you just tuned in, uh, we're about halfway through our conversation with Manny Sid. Uh, he's currently with the mayor's office of Miami Dade County. I'll I'll allow him to uh say his title of Again and just uh recap there for a moment. But he was the mayor of Miami Lakes for twelve years, almost twelve years. Almost twelve years.

Manny 22:08

Eight as mayor, three as vice mayor, and one as uh as a councilman.

Joey 22:12

And he was busting tables and running a nursing home and doing other things as well. He told us about that experience as being a working mayor, uh uh only making twenty thousand dollars a year on that particular salary and job and doing other things in the midst of it all. So if you had a question you wanted to call or text or a word of encouragement or anything you'd like to say, now again, we're gonna treat our guests nice, okay? You gotta be civil here on Gosner Radio, but we've never had a problem. You guys are awesome. The phone number is 786-313-3115, 786-313-3115. And uh, like you said, uh it's probably not him, right? We'll we'll get the number to the state legislature and you can complain to them. No, no, no, just kidding. Um uh Manny, what I wanted to to ask about next is um something that that Omar, I would say, was very impressed or very impacted by, and this idea of how you connected with churches and faith communities as mayor. But before that, we actually have a call, so let's take this call.

Are Politicians In It For Themselves

Joey 23:12

Good afternoon. Where are you calling from today? Good afternoon from the beautiful city of West Miami. Hey, West Miami represented, thank you for calling. Uh, do you have a question or a comment for our guest?

Caller 23:23

Yes, I did. Uh first and foremost, thank you for uh your service. Uh uh civic duties and all that are something difficult and I think taxing. And I guess my question, and you don't have to go into too much detail, but I've always wondered, you know, in that world of politics, is that when you get to that position where, okay, like what you were just saying uh about having a budget of a hundred billion and all that, and people kind of know the people that do know that, how difficult is it when you interact with people? Does it feel like everybody's always trying to get somewhere? Is that reality? Is it really uh, you know, are politicians just uh pushing for position for the sake of their friends, or or is there a genuine aspect of it to where, no, I'm legitimately here to make change and pursue a particular uh campaign promise or whatever it is based on what I said as I campaigned focusing, you know, because a lot of times you see politicians and oh, they're all liars, they all make things up, they're all in it for themselves. I mean, are is are there people out there? Is is is that a thing where no, I'm legitimately here to try and better the city, the community. Uh I don't know if my question is too uh caustic or not, or just a poor view of politicians these days, but um any any kind of response or insight you have to that I appreciate. And it's awesome to have you on Gosway Radio, by the way.

Manny 24:45

I appreciate the uh the the question and and you're spot on. Look, there there's a l there were a lot of great folks that I worked with, and there were some folks who were in it for the wrong reasons. I mean, that's just factual. I mean, it's you see it on the news, you see it everywhere. Um, but there were a lot of folks who got a lot of stuff done. Look, and I'll share with you um a real story, regardless of how people I know some people agree, some people don't. I'm a I'm a fan because he was always so open with me. Was one guy that worked really hard was Marco Rubio. I'll give you an example. I I had an issue, two issues in Miami Lakes. Think about it, he and he was a U.S. senator, and I was one city out of 411 cities in Florida, and we had uh two big policy issues, and I would send him a message, he would call me, Manny, what are you what's going on? And I would tell him what the issue was, and he literally would have his staff work with me on fixing it. I actually fixed two major issues in my community. Look, and unfortunately, there were a lot of other folks that I dealt with that weren't as focused in terms of serving their community who saw, and what happens is a lot of times there are great people who run for public office, they they they mean well, but it it eats them alive because you're immediately you're you're getting in there and everybody's kind of, I don't want to use the phrase kissing your butt or want to they want to be your friend, you know what I mean? And I don't know, I don't mean to curse or anything. Okay. They want to be your friend or something. But that's okay. Okay, got it, got it, got it. But um, but yeah, they to be very honest with you, there are some really, really awesome, great folks that I've worked with and I'm currently working with. And then there were some folks that weren't as good, but what had what ends up happening on on on their own is that people end up seeing it, right? Especially after your first term, your second term. Um I think I think the community wises up to that and folks see it. But yeah, that I did deal with some folks that that weren't as as great. But there are a lot of good people in public service that I will say as well.

Omar 26:40

Manny talking about service, I think it's important if you just take a couple of minutes because we talked about your title, but I think it's important for the community to understand what you do to date because it's very impacting to date county.

Joey 26:53

So yeah. Just quickly before that, did you have anything else you wanted to say or ask? No, no, no problem. And then we'll get to that.

Caller 27:00

Uh no, other than that, could you tell me who my rep is? Just no, I don't I don't know.

Manny 27:05

Am I right? But am I right? Who is your rep? And I that is, I promise you, you go anywhere in Miami Day County. You asked that question. I'm gonna look it up.

Joey 27:14

We gotta pass the text next time, guys. Thank you for your call, okay? God bless you. God bless you, thank you. Appreciate it. So um, yeah, absolutely, Omar. Um, and it almost uh uh passed my mind because I didn't want to go back back to that, so thank you. So your title again, and then let's talk about your current job and your current duties, how

Helping Small Businesses In Miami-Dade

Joey 27:35

you serve.

Manny 27:35

So I am the assistant director for small and local business development in in the county's strategic procurement department. So why that's so important is that this last year, the county's contracting arm uh blended all small and local business services under one umbrella. So what was happening before was that you had uh a lot of the services that were bifurcated. Now we wanted to make sure under the direction of the mayor, uh Chief Edwards, and Director Upal is to make sure that we have more contractual opportunities for small and local businesses here in uh in Miami Dade County. So, for example, last year we contracted out close to $12 billion, and the goal is to to give more opportunities to those businesses, regardless of what it might be. I mean, we literally purchase from helicopter parts to fuel to the food that the lines get fed at Zoo, Miami. Like our department literally has a role in all of that. And so what we want to do, and it's based out of a study in in Vancouver in Canada, that showcased that if you contract with companies that manufacturing companies that have a local supply chain in the community, that that the dollars stay in that community, it revolve in that community three times as longer. Wow. So if let's just say if there are two. Yeah, explain that. That's very interesting. So if there are two firms here, uh they both sell a pencil, you know, but one firm is a national firm that once they get that contract, their duties are to their national shareholders. But if there is a company that manufactures, you know, just say that pencil in Miami-Dade County, they hire their people in Miami-Dade County, they pay taxes in Miami-Dade County. If you were to contract with them, even if it costs five cents more, that money you're investing in your community long term and keeping that money here and circulating in your community. Where and I and I think I never thought about it like that because in Miami Lakes, our goal was when I was a mayor, I was like, no, no, just find the cheapest thing, you know, procure it, just find the cheapest thing. But the more that you think about it, if you buy the feed for the for the animals of the zoo from the farmers in South Dade instead of the farmers in Iowa, yeah, then you're feeding families here within your own community, you're creating wealth in your own community, you're moving the economy in your own community, which I thought was really powerful. And there are studies that showcase uh that. So, but aside from that, we also recognize that not every business, there's 180,000 businesses in Miami Dade County. Wow. Right? Big, small, micro. This church has a BTR, you know what I mean, depending on on where you're at. But and only 12,000 businesses are registered with the county. 1,700 have their small business certification. So we know not everybody's gonna be able to contract with them, but we have other options. We can help you with your permits for free. We can get you funding up to $75,000 at prime minus one rate. Uh, we have marketing programs, we have CDFIs. I mean, we've created an entire, we've curated an entire program that anything, and this is a challenge to both you and Omar, Pastor. Think about what an entrepreneur might need to grow, scale, and open here in Miami Dade County, and we have it. So think of something. Ask me anything that an entrepreneur might need, and we have it because we want to make it.

Joey 30:44

Okay, radio, let's let's challenge them. Let's give them some ideas. 786-313-3115. Let's see if they cover it yet. If not, you're gonna give them a good idea to go home with.

Manny 30:54

Uh, what about uh cleaning? So, so so great idea. So, cleaning, well, that's one thing that we do. It's called it's called services under goods and services. So we help you get your guess.

Joey 31:05

You don't need that to open a business. Cleaning.

Manny 31:07

What do you mean, cleaning?

Joey 31:08

Yeah, I guess you gotta help me, Omar. I even I even failed the test of the test. I couldn't even think of anything.

Omar 31:16

Well, tell us what cleaning what cleaning means for you.

Manny 31:20

So not on wrong cleaning. Listen, I we have under actually, if you have a cleaning company, we can get you certified and there are set-aside contracts because those are services that that you hire people here locally. But, Pastor, if you and Omar tomorrow, I'm gonna give you an example. Okay, if you and Omar tomorrow say, Manny, I got this idea. I want to open up this this business, but I don't know where to start. One of our partners uh will do your business plan for free. Right? And then you're like, Manny, but I need a little bit more money. All right, we have a a one of our other partners does uh startup funding. You're like, I need a location. Well, we have incubator space that we can put you in to incubate your business until you're big enough to get your own location. I need help with accounting. Well, we have this group that does that it's a group of CPAs that helps you with that. Oh, I need help with reviewing our contracts. I can't afford an attorney. Well, we've partnered with Legal Services of Miami to help review. You know what I mean? There's everything and oh, I need help with permitting. Immediately we get a member of our small business permitting team uh to help you through the process. So almost everything, yeah. And if you do need help with cleaning, once you're open, we can we can make that we can make those connections for you as well.

Joey 32:26

Got it, got

Partnering With Churches In A Crisis

Joey 32:27

it. Um one of the other things I I wanted to ask you about and going back to um that topic that Omar was really impressed by and touched by, going back to your tenure in Miami Lakes, how you made connections with so many churches and faith leaders, and tell us some of those stories and some of those developments over the years.

Manny 32:49

So it was once once we got our national day of prayer uh going, I ended up becoming friends with a lot of our local pastors, right? Uh and even our local rabbi who who moved into Miami Lakes and opened up a chabad uh in Miami Lakes. Uh, but I became really close friends with our with our the pastor from the Methodist Church. I became really close friends with our with our priest at at Our Lady of the Lakes. We bec I became really close friends with our non-denominational church, Patolago, right on the Hyalia side. I mean, uh Pastor Lewis at Elevate as well, the Southern Baptist Church. I mean, everybody, and and what I realized, what we ended up creating was a group of people that wanted to help. So it helped me out a lot where if there was a hurricane during COVID, whatever it may be, and we needed help, we needed our faith community really stepped up at at that moment to help. Whatever, whatever it was. I mean, we I'll give you an example. We needed we had uh got in two 18-wheelers from Cisco where we had $500,000 worth of food and different things, and they ended up bringing more and more trucks, and we needed somewhere to to store it. One of our churches was like, hey, bring it over. Awesome. We'll we'll put it there and we'll we'll actually get the volunteers to give it out. One of our other churches was like, hey, uh, we can also help if you have uh COVID testing, we can do the testing here, we have this. So it became a hub of of helping. And I think that's one of the big messages, too, was that a lot of my local pastors were like, Look, man, it's just not about Sundays, right? It's not about showing up talking about it, but it's actually you have to leave the four walls and have an impact on the community, right? And it and and I I thought that was really powerful because it created an ecosystem of folks that that were really helping out every day.

Joey 34:37

Yeah, I mean, I think it makes a huge difference when um like-minded people get together, right? Again, you you have your church, you're you're Catholic, you worked with the Christian churches, you worked with the rabbi there, and uh man, people that have the same aim and the same goal, right? It's um there's a word for this. You probably used this word before in your career. Um Exponential's not the word. Um it if I if I come to it, it it it exponential, something like that. If it comes to me, I'll I'll mention it, but it it multiplies, right? Um I wanted to ask you, because you just mentioned it and it took you know till right now that I connected the dots.

COVID Loss And Mental Health Support

Joey 35:18

You were presiding mayor or vice mayor during COVID.

Manny 35:22

Yep, I was uh I was a mayor already, and it was uh it was a really, really hard. What were some of the hardest moments there? Wow. Some of the really the most toughest moments were human beings that I knew who passed away, right? So that was that was actually very painful and and very hard uh to see. And then the other part was the the psychological aspect, right? Because it wasn't only the physical aspect, but folks staying home, seniors staying home, people not being able to work, people losing their jobs. I mean, it was it was it was eye-opening. I was one of those folks. I lost at my restaurant, I lost 80% of my revenue overnight. And that's where I had to figure out how to cook. I literally had to teach myself how to cook. Luckily, all of our meetings are virtual, but it it was it was tough. So we created two things. I would have daily updates on Facebook, Instagram, all of our social medias talking live to our residents so they can ask me questions. And if they needed something, we would send volunteers to their house. And then, second, we would host uh every Thursday a mental health Thursday where we brought in clinicians from our community that provided free services to people. So people would call in and they would get free therapy, free help because people were going through a major, you know, a loss, right? You're used to that physical contact, right? We're we're in Miami, you're used to giving hugs and kisses to everybody. Yeah, and now you you were you couldn't even get close to folks, so it was really, really challenging.

Joey 36:45

Yeah, yeah. I mean, there's so much going through my mind. I I remember um we were talking to a missionary, I don't remember where this was at church or he did a teaching from Peru. I think it was Peru. And uh man, uh it was so different in so many parts of the world. He had I think I'm pretty sure this is what he was saying, he had to sneak out to buy groceries. I mean, it was like if you were on the street, you were arrested, kind of thing. I mean, it was super, super locked down out there, and uh it was just such a different experience for so many people. And again, this is getting maybe a little into personal and opinions and everything. Uh, if you could talk about it, but what was your take, right, as you saw things going down? Did you want to open things sooner? Did you did you take stands? Did you get into conflict? Did did you want to stay closed longer? What was some of the more personal decisions you were making as the leader

Calling For Reopening To Protect Locals

Joey 37:40

of that community?

Manny 37:40

No, no, I I definitely I I was very vocal. I was the I was the first mayor in the in the community talking about reopening because what what happened was not only owning a business, but being on the street, being at a on a street level, right? I got to see things that other people sometimes don't see, right? I saw the struggle that that other human beings you need to pick that up. Sure, yeah, yeah. Uh but finish finish your thought, please. So I so I got to see the struggle, and I'll never forget. I I I remember calling the county mayor at the time and said, Look, this is really impacting our communities. I'm gonna host a press conference tomorrow requesting that we reopen. I did it before you know the governor, I did it before anybody else. It's because I was like, look, this is incredibly unfair. You're allowing the vertically integrated corporations to stay open, but your local mom and pops, which now I do now, I protect their interests, right? They had to shut. The guy who makes who cle who fixes the shoes, he had to shut. But you can go to Walmart and buy shoes. I how does that how does that stuff even make sense, right? So yeah, I took them, and I'll never forget, Only in Date. It's one of those pages, Only In Date had had put out what I what I had tweeted, and I put out the message, and it went viral. And and that's where you saw a lot of the other elected officials beginning to change their stance because they were like, wait a second, that makes sense. How do we have all these vertically integrated corporations open yet? Our local, our small local businesses had to shut. Yeah, you know?

Joey 39:05

That that is a that is such a biblical principle that I think people don't realize. When you take a stand for righteousness, for truth, for common sense, for for life, for justice, people will you'll inspire people. You'll inspire people to stand up with you. So it's amazing. We've got somebody on the line. Good afternoon. I think this is St. Petersburg, Florida. Yes, it is. It is. Hey, my brother, I would just ask you to keep it brief uh since we have our guests here just for about 15 more minutes. But did you have a question or a comment for Manny Sid today, our guest?

Caller 39:41

Well, um, I know you guys were inviting Friday at the U fair.

Joey 39:45

Uh-huh.

Caller 39:46

And um I know that you guys were in England. I can imagine that the people are coming in and out. That's a blessing. Thank you for what you guys are doing there.

Joey 39:55

Yeah, it was a great time. We should have invited Manny.

Caller 40:02

My thing is it's funny.

Joey 40:11

Amen, man.

Caller 40:24

So we'll continue to pray. Continue to pray, don't give up. If you're sitting at the church and church, we have Miami, wherever you are, after your church, and you see an empty chair, pray for that empty chair. Pray for that empty chair. Or maybe somebody that got drifted away and wants to rely on because the cross and follow Jesus again.

Joey 40:47

You know what's amazing? You know what's amazing, my friend? That story is like the same exact story that we heard from Manny, where uh Martha, I think was her name, was praying for him, and that prayer led to a national day of prayer in the city of Miami Lakes. So, how when we pray, you know, you just pray for your mayor, it leads to this huge uh change. You pray for that chair, it could lead to a huge life, a huge impact, a huge change in a person's life. So, great kind of like theme being repeated here. Thank you.

Caller 41:17

Thank you, guys, man. Keep on praying for God's great radio. Yes, you are your church for your church, man. God bless you.

Joey 41:23

Thank you, thank you, my brother. Thank you so much.

Disagree Without Hate In Politics

Omar 41:26

I got a question for him. We we always hear today about how dirty politics are and how we are two different sides. I'm right and you're always wrong. In the background of Manny, there are situations where his opponents became his closest allies.

Speaker 3 41:45

Yeah.

Omar 41:46

He went against twice against uh Susan Collins.

Manny 41:50

One time, Mary Collins.

Omar 41:52

Mary Collins. And she's a woman of faith. And after he beat her, she called him up and they had a great conversation. He just lost, quote unquote, an election to the current mayor of Miami Dade. And what did she do? She hired him. So let's talk about that. Because in the world of dirty politics, it's really amazing how Manny somehow has gotten involved with people who were quote unquote quote his adversary and now are his allies.

Manny 42:22

Well, and real quick, I wanted to touch, I'm gonna go to that question right now. I wanted to touch on the state representative stuff because I don't want any of him to get upset. I love them all, they're good friends of mine, but I I was using that as an example of like how local government, you know what I mean, because I didn't want somebody to listen and be like, oh man, he's mad at the state reps. No, no, no, no. They are my friends, a lot of them are, and they're helping us out today. That whole story just wanted to add that in there.

Joey 42:44

Thank you, thank you. Hey, on the record, on the record. But that whole story and that whole section of conversation over this almost hour, it just made me excited to learn more. So so I'm so they're gonna, you know, they're gonna get prop props from me and they're gonna get notoriety for me as they start to go online and learn. Good.

Manny 43:00

Um but back to almost so going there, and one of the things that my parents taught me early on, and from their example, because there's a difference, and it it goes back to to church, right? There's a difference between what you get taught or what you say at church and how you some sometimes how you you act in the world, right? You have to be be the same. Yeah, and one of the things that my parents showed me was not only did they the the way they taught me, but the examples that my parents and my grandmother my grandmother was, where every time that I ran for public office, I've run four times. I've won three, lost once. But every time that I ran, I always made a commitment to the person I was running against. Like, look, I'm never gonna talk about your family. I'm never gonna talk about anything personal. Like, this is not, we're not gangs. Like, I'm not, you know what I mean?

Joey 43:46

This is like a personal conversation.

Manny 43:48

I've I've talked, I've told everybody, every time that I've run, I've told everybody that I go, look, it's the other way around. Like, I'll never I'm gonna protect, make sure your family's protected, nobody talks to me, because politics today has gone away out. So, like every time I will have a debate with somebody, I never allowed it to leave the boundaries, the boundaries of policy. So, for example, Mary Collins, uh, when I ran, I'll never forget that that night shall me the night of the election, the the results start coming out. She wins early voting and absentee ballots. She won't she wins the two. So now election day was coming in, and it looked like she was gonna win. So she was like, they were all watching the results. Nobody thought I was gonna win. I was I was running against somebody who's very well known. But once the results started coming out, little by little I was edging in, and then my home precinct took me over the top, and I'll never forget, she called me right away. She was like, Man, manny, I thought I thought I was gonna win. But I just want to tell you, like, I'm so happy that it's you. And she was like, I she was elected for 12 years. She was a county commissioner, a state Republican committee woman, super well known, supported by the governor, had everybody backing her up, had run for Congress, a bunch of cool stuff. And she was like, I'm so happy it's you, and I I will always have your back. And I'll never forget the day that I that I got sworn in, she was there. Wow, the day that I ran for re-election, she was there. Like, and it and it taught me something about about politics, right? That it should never leave the boundaries of that conversation, which is something we need more of. Like today has gotten to the point where people hate each other. Like, I've seen stuff that to me it's insane. So the same thing happened with me and the county mayor. I would have never in my wildest dreams would have thought that I'd be uh working with and and for the current mayor after being her opponent, right? Be running countywide and and and um such a year of campaigning. But the same thing, when we had our public debates, never never I'll share with you a quick a quick funny story. I pull up to a senior center in Alapata, and I remember getting there, my team was really small, right? It was me and and Laz and Albert, and we we had we had gone in and I see all these cars, and this place is packed. There are 400 seniors inside, and I pull up and it's the mayor, and they had messed up and they had they had booked us at the same time. So I walk in, and being a kid from Hylia, Miami Lakes, I'm un poco chaparante, you know what I mean? Like I was I'm a little bit straight. So I walk in and I was like, this is my time. So I walk, and while she's giving her speech to 400 people, I stand right next to her, shoulder to shoulder, shoulder to shoulder. And the mayor, Mayor Danela Vincawa, finishes her speech and she puts her her arm on me. She goes, Hey, and I want to introduce you all to my opponent. The mayor of Miami Lakes, Manny City, he's actually a really nice guy. And think about like how so that it was my turn. Yeah, it was my turn to give the speech, and I was like, look, this is a great example of how our country should we should have very robust and dynamic debates and disagreements, but but it should never get to the point where people hate each other. And I think that is something you need more of. And I've I've seen it in several folks. I saw it from Mary Collins, I saw it from Wayne Slane too, when I when I won the first round to be the mayor, and he came out and supported me. And I saw it from uh Daniel Levinkava. Those are three human beings that you look at their lives, and all three of them are solid, solid human beings, and they all have uh incredible families, incredible track records. Yeah, um, but and I was very fortunate that that that a lot of them were were we we end up running against each other because you you you kind of see the good and the bad in society, and I saw a lot of good at that point.

Joey 47:32

Yeah, man, so so many interesting points there as well. But we've got a call. Let's take this call. And uh first of all, where are you calling from today?

Caller 47:40

Um, I'm calling from uh Keller Bay.

Joey 47:43

Oh, okay. Hang on. I gotta hype this guy up a little bit. This is a history teacher. He loves uh our country, he loves history. He he takes his students on field trips to Washington, so I'm looking forward to this comment or question. Um so my friend, go for it, go for it.

A Practical Path For Student Leaders

Caller 47:58

Okay, well, first of all, again, no, uh it's been awesome hearing um Manny talk, and of course, great to hear Omar. But uh I had a quick question as I teach middle school history and civics. Actually, I teach an entrepreneur elective too on entrepreneurship. So your insight there was great as well. But uh for like middle school students, what would your advice be? Um the path for you know, I sometimes have ambitious students. What would the path be to run for office if they want to be um politically active in that way? And then the second question would be um, other than voting, uh what ways can people that also want to be politically active, you know, make an impact or make a difference um in their community, you know, as good citizens, uh to affect their community politically, you know, and of course, you know, I'll always say voting, but um, what other ways can can they do that as well?

Manny 48:56

Those are are uh are two great, great questions. Look, the the first one, and it's something the mayor actually tells me every day, you know, when we talk, she's like, look, you you have to challenge authority, right? You can't if you want to run for public office, like don't don't ask for permission, right? Don't don't you know challenge authority, right? And and get in and and do it because you you'd be surprised of what you are are capable of. Sometimes half the battle is just signing up. And I always share with everybody, right? At some point in life, everybody should either open up a business or run for for public office because you're gonna surprise yourself what you are capable of. Because sometimes we put artificial boundaries or or barriers. Like I'll never forget, like I didn't come from a powerful or wealthy or well-connected family. And uh when I ran for mayor of Miami Lakes, there were a lot of insiders that weren't too happy uh with me. And and I never forget one of my first one of my first fundraisers in public office ever, nobody showed up. I raised zero dollars, nobody showed up. It was me by myself, uh sitting there. Very true, true story. And I didn't allow that to discourage me. I used that as to refocus, right? Now I went, now I said, you know what, forget about all these fundraisers, forget. I'm gonna knock on doors. And I started knocking on 150 doors every day by myself, nonstop. And and wow, but I I would tell you that that's the first one. Like challenge authority and and uh and if you if somebody's dead set in doing it, they have to do it. You have to go file. On the second front, the easiest way to have an impact on your community is is you write a policy brief. Um, because one one thing is for folks or young people just to go online and say, I don't agree with this. The other thing is the moment that you're constructive, that you have a well-thought out uh policy change, policy uh proposal, you change the narrative. So like in Miami Lakes, I had a rule that if anybody, uh a resident, a middle schooler, I had a I had middle school kids in Miami Lakes who passed an ordinance that allowed because we had a flooding issue, and they passed an ordinance that that allowed you to have a bigger uh driveway as long as you use permeable pavers in to replace concrete. So then that way when it rains, the pavers, it goes through the pavers, it goes down into the ground. They they came to me with the idea and I told them, look, I'm gonna put it on the agenda, but you do the presentation, you do, you do the legwork, you do do it all. And today it's been a rule in Miami Lakes and it's been helping people all the time. So cool. Um, but yeah, if your class, like let me know, and I'll swing by one of these days to your class for sure. Thank you for volunteering because I was gonna ask you. Yeah, and then and I'll help you with that as well. So, like if they have some policy ideas, like I'll be able to help identify some in Color Bay or wherever, and we'll put them in touch with a council member to sponsor. But those are the two ways that I think are always really awesome to get involved, right?

Caller 52:01

You know, yeah. Wow, thank you so much. I know, I mean, I wrote that down, policy brief. That that's amazing. And I definitely um I know Joey's information, so I'll contact Joey and um no, I'd love to have you come into my classroom. Count on that, 100%.

Joey 52:17

Excellent.

Caller 52:17

Thank you for calling, brother. Thanks, man. Yeah, thank you. God bless you guys. Alrighty.

Joey 52:22

Thank you. Um wow, so exciting.

No Wrong Door And Final Invites

Joey 52:24

I mean, uh, so much we can learn about. Uh but you know, our time here, Omar, is coming to an end, but this is not the last chance people get if they want to hear from Manny.

Omar 52:35

If they want to hear from Manny, you can hear him again tomorrow, a little earlier than today at 12:30 at the 94th Squadron restaurant, which is right at the corner of 57th at the airport. And um, so anyway, we he's gonna be our speaker for our monthly West Dade CBMC lunch. And if there are some questions that uh had not been answered already, you can do it tomorrow beginning at 12:30 from 12.30 to about 145. So we're looking forward to having him there. I'm going into it, I'm going to interview him just like you, but I'm just gonna let him go. Yeah. Because he's very good at what he does.

Joey 53:13

Awesome. Manny, we can't thank you enough for coming. Any final thought? We've got about two minutes uh and or less. Any final thought you want to leave with our listeners?

Manny 53:22

No, however, I could be a service, you know, I could be reached at manny.sidcid at MiamiDate.gov. Anybody out there uh that we can assist, the mayor has uh has an initiative called No Wrong Door. This is actually really exciting. So traditionally in government, sometimes you see, let's just say you go down the street and you see somebody who's working on, I don't know, a sidewalk, but you're like, Man, I have an issue with a permit, I have an issue with fund, whatever it may be, that there's this new program called No Wrong Door that the mayor put in place. That if there is anything that you need from Miami Dade County, you could just send it to me. So, regardless if I'm the assistant director for small local business development, like if you have an issue with mosquitoes, if you have an issue with uh your garbage, if you have an issue, you know, transportation, whatever it is, you can send it in because it's this new gov uh uh what is it called customer service style that anybody at the county, somebody like me, you can just interface uh with us. Um but aside from that, I appreciate just and very true. Send me anything you might have, a pothole, whatever it may be, manny.sit at MiamiDate.gov. Secondly, I appreciate the invitation. Thank you, Pastor. Thank you, Omar. I mean, this is really awesome to showcase and and more importantly, to all those entrepreneurs and business owners, you know, once you you make it, make sure that you give back. That's one of the things that's so important. Once you get that platform, once you are successful, it is so important to bring somebody else up because I think that that's a that's the way that we create a better society, is uh is we we we share our blessings.

Omar 54:57

And again, I'd like to remind you that if you want to hear more from from uh Mr. Sid from Annie, tomorrow, 12 30, you have a date at the 94th Air Squadron restaurant in uh Miami, right next to the airport, 57th in the airport.

Joey 55:14

Excellent. So thank you again to CBMC. Uh they are having their lunch tomorrow, 94th Aero Squad Squadron, 12 30 PM, and as a part of that luncheon or an extension of that luncheon and their partnership with Godsway Radio, we got to chat with Manny Sid for uh pretty much an hour today, and we're so thankful. If you need anything from us at all, you should have the information for Godsway Radio. We can connect you, we can sort of pass it along as well to our ministry partners, our sponsors, or even some of our guests as we stay connected with them.

Announcer 55:51

We hope you enjoyed Friends and Family, unique conversations recorded and produced in our studios where you get a chance to hear what God is doing in people's lives. Jesus tells us in John 15, verse 15, I have called you friends for all things that I've heard from my fathers and have made known to you. So that's why we love to share these exclusive interviews with you today. Our hope is that through their stories, God will be made known to you. You can only find them here on Godsway Radio. Just check godswaveradio.com for a full program schedule.