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Alexander "Alex" Penelas (born December 18, 1961 in Miami, Florida) is the former mayor of Miami...

Alexander "Alex" Penelas (born December 18, 1961 in Miami, Florida) is the former mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Penelas, a Cuban-American, attended college at St. Thomas University. In 1985, he received his law degree from the University of Miami, where he graduated cum laude and was inducted into the university's prestigious Iron Arrow Honor Society. Penelas and his wife, Lilliam, have two sons, William and Christopher. Penelas served on the city council of Hialeah, Florida from 1987 to 1990. In 1990, he became the youngest county commissioner in Dade County history. On October 1, 1996, Penelas became the first Executive Mayor of Miami-Dade County. Unlike the majority of Cuban American leaders in Florida, Penelas is a member of the Democratic Party. In 1999, People Magazine named Penelas "America's sexiest politician." During the Elián González controversy in 2000, Penelas vowed that he would do nothing to assist the Clinton administration and federal authorities in their bid to return the six-year-old boy to Cuba. He also alleged that Clinton was provoking Miami's Cuban community, and vowed to hold Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno responsible for "civil unrest and