After candidates for two City of Miami commission seats and the mayor of Miami Beach fell short of the majority vote required to win their November 7 elections, the races are headed for a Tuesday, November 21 runoff vote. Residents can vote early today through Sunday at designated early voting sites in Miami and Miami Beach or wait until election day and go to their assigned polling location. (Remember to bring a valid photo ID in either case.)
Among those vying for office are a securities regulator, a former TV news anchor, and a seasoned Miami politician fresh off a felony corruption indictment. Before you head to the polls, here's a rundown of the candidates:
Miami Beach: Meiner vs. Góngora
Meiner, who was elected in 2019, is a longtime enforcement attorney for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He's running on a tough-on-crime approach in line with his previous push to bolster the city's municipal prosecutor program and advocate for a secured perimeter around Ocean Drive during spring break festivities.
Meiner's campaign profile highlights his plan to stem overdevelopment, implement traffic management software, and offer free ferry service to and from Miami.
Góngora, a condo board attorney and Miami Beach's first openly gay elected commissioner and vice mayor, was elected to a commissioner seat in 2006, then two more times in 2009 and 2017. He pushed for a citywide recycling initiative and helped forge a sustainability plan geared toward urging developers to erect greener buildings. He was also active in passing a stormwater master plan to address flooding.
Like Meiner, Góngora's campaign has emphasized public safety and enhanced policing.
According to his platform, he plans to do away with what he calls the "anything goes" approach in Miami Beach and to "demand accountability for public safety."
Suspended commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla (left) is running for re-election against businessman Miguel Angel Gabela (right)
Courtesy of Miami-Dade Corrections/Screenshot via Facebook
Miami: Díaz de la Portilla vs. Gabela
Suspended commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, who was arrested on corruption charges in September, is running for re-election against businessman Miguel Angel Gabela.Díaz de la Portilla, who was elected to the city's District 1 seat in 2019, represents Allapattah, Flagami, Grapeland Heights, and parts of Little Havana. After his arrest on charges of pocketing bribes in exchange for political favors, Díaz de la Portilla pleaded not guilty and vowed to "win big" this election. He has used mailers, radio ads, and text messages to attack his opponents, including the man prosecuting him, Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor.
Gabela, an auto-parts salesman in his fourth bid for the city commission, won a last-minute court case against the city to qualify for office just hours before polls closed earlier this month. He had been in a legal battle with the municipality after the city's redrawn voting map excluded his longtime home from District 1.
Hailing from Cuba, Gabela has lived and worked in District 1 for more than four decades, according to his campaign site. He previously volunteered to serve on the city's zoning board, where he "defended the individual's rights and interests, usually in conflict with powerful stakeholders and larger entities," he says.
According to Gabela's campaign site, his platform focuses on enhancing public transportation, beefing up local police presence, and creating more affordable housing.
Miami: Covo vs. Pardo
Comissioner Sabina Covo, who was elected to represent Miami's coastal neighborhoods in a February special election following the resignation of Ken Russell, is seeking re-election against longtime community activist Damián Pardo.Covo, a public relations consultant and former Spanish-language television reporter holding office for the first time, got off to a rough start during her first commission meeting in March when she was unable to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Since taking office, she has launched a program to tackle drainage issues in her flood-prone district and secured $3.5 million for affordable housing.
According to her campaign site, she plans to prioritize public safety, environmental protections, and affordable housing if reelected. She also vows to prioritize infrastructure and use her investigative reporting skills to end "dysfunction and broken promise" at City Hall.
Pardo, on the other hand, is a financial adviser and community activist who has worked to advance "equality, diversity, and inclusion in Florida and beyond," according to his campaign site. In 1993, he founded the LGBTQ-rights nonprofit SAVE (Safeguarding American Values for Everyone) while serving as a two-term president of the AIDS health organization CareResource (formerly known as Health Crisis Network). In 2015, he cofounded 4Ward Miami, a nonprofit group that launched the annual Gay8 Festival.
In addition to fighting to increase opportunities for residents of Miami's historically Black neighborhoods, he plans to prioritize improving Miami's public spaces and infrastructure and beefing up the city's protections against sea level rise.
If elected, Pardo vows to "shake things up" in City Hall by ensuring local elected officials "get back to the basics of serving residents."
