Bowdre’s Vision: A Housing Accelerator to Build 30,000 Affordable, Climate-Resilient Homes for Miami

Elijah John Bowdre, who serves as Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Cryptocurrency Task Force, is running for Mayor of the City of Miami. (Photo Courtesy of Bowdre)

Name: Elijah John Bowdre Campaign Website: bowdre4mayor.com Email: info@mddc.miami

Elijah John Bowdre serves as Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Cryptocurrency Task Force, where he leads the integration of blockchain and AI technologies into municipal governance—drafting Florida’s first blockchain legislation and shaping Miami’s crypto payment policy.

His portfolio bridges public policy, finance, and innovation, drawing on prior roles with Barclays Capital, J.P. Morgan, and Miami World Center. As a global business strategist and motivational leader, Bowdre has advanced blockchain education, economic equity, and cross-border partnerships across Asia and the U.S., positioning Miami as a national model for technology-driven economic development.

Affordable Housing & Development: What's your definition of “affordable housing” for Miami residents?

Affordable housing means homes priced so working families don't spend more than 30% of their gross income on housing costs, with specific local targets tied to area median income bands (30%, 50%, 80%).

How many affordable housing units do you commit to building or preserving in your first term, and what is your timeline?

I commit to 30,000 net new or preserved affordable homes in my first four-year term. Delivery path: Year 1 — create the institutional structure (Miami Housing Accelerator, Housing Trust Fund expansion, municipal bond authorization); Years 2–4 — deploy public land, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit syndication, catalytic public-private projects and an expedited permitting pipeline to deliver 20,000 units in production and 10,000 preserved through acquisition-rehab and tenant protections.

Renters, Evictions & Tenant Protections: What policies will you support to prevent unjust evictions and protect renters?

I will implement citywide right-to-counsel for low-income renters, require documented cause and a mandatory mediation step before eviction filings, strengthen rental registry enforcement, and link landlord compliance to eligibility for city incentives.

How will you expand tenant access to legal aid or rental assistance?

I will create a Tenant Stability Office embedded in the Housing Accelerator that centralizes legal aid referrals, expands pro-bono partnerships with law schools and legal services, runs neighborhood housing clinics (multilingual), and manages an emergency rental assistance pool with automated, transparent disbursement and fraud checks. We’ll publish intake and outcome metrics publicly each quarter.

Homeownership & Equity: What policies will you propose to support first-time or low-income homebuyers in Miami?

Policy package: expanded down-payment assistance tied to deed-restricted units; a scaled Community Land Trust (CLT) program to remove land from speculative markets; micro-mortgage products and shared-equity options; targeted affordability near transit and job centers; and technical assistance to shepherd buyers through purchase and post-purchase counseling.

Bowdre's portfolio bridges public policy, finance, and innovation, drawing on prior roles with Barclays Capital, J.P. Morgan, and Miami World Center. (Photo courtesy of Bowdre)

These tools create starter home pathways and preserve generational affordability. Policy package: expanded down-payment assistance tied to deed-restricted units; a scaled Community Land Trust (CLT) program to remove land from speculative markets; micro-mortgage products and shared-equity options; targeted affordability near transit and job centers; and technical assistance to shepherd buyers through purchase and post-purchase counseling.

How will you ensure housing programs are accessible to immigrant, like Haitian Creole and Spanish-speaking communities?

Every program will include full multilingual services, community liaisons embedded in neighborhoods, rotating on-site clinics, translated documents, and culturally competent outreach partners.

We will fund neighborhood navigators from those communities to co-design intake and eligibility rules, so enrollment barriers are removed.

Public Land & Climate Resilience: Do you support using city-owned land for affordable housing? If yes, how would you prioritize parcels?

Yes. Prioritization principle: housing near transit, critical services, and resilient infrastructure, coupled with climate-forward design (elevated podiums, flood-resistant systems, on-site stormwater and renewables).

Parcels will be scored for transit access, displacement risk reduction, and resilience readiness; high-priority parcels will flow into the Housing Accelerator for RFPs that require long-term affordability covenants. Public land must be the civic lever to unlock equitable development while protecting neighborhoods from climate threats.

Budget, Accountability & Governance: How will you fund affordable housing initiatives? If resources are limited, what would you deprioritize?

Funding strategy (diverse, durable): expand the Miami Affordable Housing Trust Fund; issue a voter-backed municipal affordable-housing bond; implement targeted linkage/impact fees and inclusionary zoning offsets; aggressively syndicate Low-Income Housing Tax Credits; and scale public-private investment through an Accelerator Fund that uses catalytic city capital to attract institutional equity.

We will also pilot municipal green bonds and transparent digital instruments to track flows. If constrained, I will deprioritize luxury tax abatements and speculative development incentives, redirecting those incentives to workforce and mixed-income housing. (Miami has previously moved in this direction with trust fund actions—this expands and institutionalizes it.)

What metrics will you use to measure progress, and will you commit to publishing annual accountability reports?

Yes, I will publish an Annual Housing Accountability Report and maintain a live public dashboard. Units produced/preserved by AMI band; eviction filings and outcomes; average rent as % of income by neighborhood; time-to-permit; utilization of trust fund dollars; and racial/economic equity impact metrics. Independent audits and community oversight will be part of the governance structure

Vision & Leadership: Why are you running for mayor, and what legacy do you want to leave in housing?

I’m running to deliver a Miami where economic opportunity and housing security are not mutually exclusive. My legacy will be a city that built tens of thousands of durable, climate-resilient homes that remain affordable across generations; a governance model that ties private capital to public good; and neighborhoods that retain historic communities even as they grow more prosperous.

What one major housing policy or project would you be most proud to accomplish by the end of your first term?

The creation and first-wave deployment of the Miami Housing Accelerator Fund — a blended public-private vehicle using trust-fund seed capital, federal tax credits, municipal bonds, and private equity to deliver 30,000 units, coupled with a city-owned land program and CLT pipeline that ensures generational affordability and climate resilience.