On January 6, 2009, veteran appraiser Pedro J. Garcia officially became Miami-Dade County's first elected Property Appraiser in five decades.  Mr. Garcia has worked in the real estate industry for 34 years as a Certified Appraiser and Real Estate Broker.  For the past ten years, Mr. Garcia has been a Special Magistrate with the County's Value Adjustment Board that adjudicates property owners' appeals against their assessments.

In the campaign leading to his December 16, 2008 election victory, Mr. Garcia pledged to ensure complete fairness and accuracy in the County's property assessments which, in part, determine a homeowner's level of property taxes.

Mr. Garcia was born in Cuba, where he attended Havana Business University for two years.  He and his family have lived in Miami since June 1962.  He also served in the U. S. Army Reserve.

He and his wife Amalia have been married 49 years.  They have four daughters and eleven grandchildren.  Mr. Garcia's hobbies are golf and fishing.