Biscayne Times Election Guide

While national politics have dominated this consequential election year, high-stakes local elections are upon us along the Biscayne Corridor.

Partisanship has influenced local elections more than ever. As a result of a 2018 Florida constitutional amendment, the county offices of sheriff, clerk of court and controller, property appraiser, and tax collector, are now elected positions along party lines.

Florida voters will decide statewide on Amendment 1, which would make hitherto nonpartisan school board elections partisan – a striking move in this time of organized book bans and Moms for Liberty.

Even in nonpartisan local elections, certain municipal candidates have increasingly mentioned their party bona fides or connections, particularly in relatively blue-leaning cities like North Miami and North Miami Beach.

This guide is a quick look at the candidates in the all-important down-ballot primary elections, from U.S. Senate to county judge to village council. The online version of this story includes hyperlinks to help voters do their research and dive into the issues.

REGISTRATION AND EARLY VOTING

The voter registration deadline is Oct. 7. Visit vote.gov right now and see if you’re registered. If you’ve missed a few elections and are inactive or dropped, you can get reinstated in just a few minutes. If you’re registering for the first time, the process will take about 10 minutes. Tell your kids, grandkids and friends or any random citizen to get on the stick now if you are reading this in time.

You may already have your mail-in ballot, sent out Sept. 26.  Elections departments no longer send such ballots automatically. To get a mail-in ballot, go online to the Miami-Dade Elections Department or call the department for customer service at 305-499-VOTE (8683). Deadline to request the ballot is Oct. 23 and the Department of Elections must receive it via mail or in person by 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5. Do not bring filled-out mail-in ballots to the polls, as poll inspectors will not let you use it. Also check out your sample ballot by entering your address at the League of Women Voters website at vote411.org.

Early voting runs Oct. 21-Nov. 3 in locations posted on the Miami-Dade Elections Department.  Election day at your precinct runs 7 am-7 pm Tuesday, Nov. 5.

If you are reading this in print, we encourage you to examine the accompanying election stories in this issue, talk to neighbors about particular local issues and candidates, and check out this story’s hyperlinked online version at www.biscaynetimes.com to learn more. As we wrote in August, www.ballotpedia.org is also a comprehensive, unbiased resource with links to campaign websites.

The voting rules are a bit tougher now than in past elections. You now need to request a mail-in ballot after each election cycle. When you show up in person, make sure you have a picture ID with your signature. The voter ID card alone won’t cut it.

Reflecting this peculiar year, each precinct for the first time posts a sign that it is a felony to harass or intimidate voters, poll workers, or poll watchers. That might not ensure a peaceful presidential transition, but it’s something.

A GUIDE TO THE RACES

U.S. SENATE RACES

Incumbent Republican Senator and former two-term Governor Rick Scott faces former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. Scott, the nation’s richest senator, has been favored to win and is falsely calling Murcasel-Powell a “socialist/socialista” in TV ads, but his lead has narrowed to 1-3 percent,

U.S. HOUSE RACES

District 24

Incumbent Democratic representative Frederica Wilson faces business owner Jesus G. Navarro, who is running on a Trump-friendly agenda of a border wall, energy independence, and term limits for all elected officials. Wilson beat Navarro 71.8%-28.2% in the 2022 general election.

District 27

This increasingly reddish-purple district includes the southern tip of the Biscayne corridor, from downtown Miami west to the Florida Turnpike and south to Cutler Bay. Republican incumbent Maria Elvira Salazar will face Democrat Lucia Baez-Geller, who represents District 3 on the Miami-Dade Public Schools Board.

STATE SENATE AND HOUSE

District 34’s Democratic State Senator Shevrin Jones, whose district covers most of the Biscayne corridor, was unchallenged and will serve until November 2026. District 37’s Jason Pizzo, a Democrat who serves the corridor’s northeastern corner up through the Broward coastline, will face Republican Imtiaz Mohammad November 5.

In Florida House District 106, which includes nearly all of Miami-Dade east of US 1 from Keystone Point to the Broward line, Republican incumbent  Fabián Basabe faces Democrat Joe Saunders, who represented District 49 from 2022-24, and independent Mo Saunders Scott.

In District 107, which covers the northern part of the corridor west of US 1 and a few to the east, veteran educator and political newcomer Wallace Aristide is running unopposed.

District 108’s Dotie Joseph has already won re-election outright in this safe Democratic district.  

District 109 incumbent Ashley Gantt is running unopposed in this district, which includes Liberty City, and extends eastward to include the corridor’s southern tip from the middle of Edgewater through downtown.

MIAMI-DADE ELECTIONS

Thanks to 2018 Constitutional Amendment 10, approved by more than 60% of Florida voters, Miami-Dade voters will elect a sheriff for the first time since the 1960s, and a supervisor of elections and other constitutional offices for the first time. Many of these have been mayor-appointed offices under the county’s 1957 charter. The amendment requires all 67 Florida counties to elect those offices by Jan. 7, 2025. Here are some key races:

Mayor

Incumbent Daniella Levine Cava, having won the August 20 primary outright, has been reelected mayor.  

Sheriff

Democrat James Reyes will face Republican Rosie Cordero-Stutz. (see accompanying story for more detail.)

Clerk of Court and Comptroller

Republican incumbent Juan Fernandez-Barquin will face Democrat Annette Taddeo, former state senator and chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Rubin Young is also on the ballot as a write-in independent.

Property Appraiser

Democrat and 20-year state property appraiser Marisol Zenteno, is running against broadcast journalist and Republican former Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado.  (For more on this and the elections supervisor race, see BT, September 2024.)

Elections Supervisor

Democrat Juan-Carlos Planas, a lawyer and eight-year Republican representative for District 115, will face current District 115 Republican representative Alina Garcia. Planas switched parties in 2020 over Republican election denial. Garcia has been endorsed by Donald Trump, and has said she would like to retain on senior staff the current supervisor of elections Christina White, who has served with the Miami-Dade Elections Department for more than 18 years, 8 years as supervisor. A self-described public servant rather than a politician, she chose not to run.

Tax Collector

Small business entrepreneur and Republican Dariel Fernandez is facing former State Democratic Rep. David Richardson Nov. 5.

County Commission District 3

Incumbent Keon Hardemon won election outright against Audrey Edmonson and Marion Brown in the primary.

School Board District 3

School board elections remain nonpartisan, pending the Nov. 5 vote on Proposition 1, described below, in which a 60% supermajority “yes” vote would make these races partisan. For District 3, which covers the corridor from Aventura to parts of Coconut Grove, former state Rep. Joseph Geller, an attorney and perennial Democratic figure, will face Dr. Martin Karp, a longtime educator and current dean of a consortium of Jewish schools, who served 16 years on the school board, four as vice chair, until 2020.

Florida Supreme Court

Two of seven justices on the Florida Supreme Court are up for merit retention: Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso, both appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. If retained, they will serve six-year terms.  All seven judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor. No judge has lost a retention election in Florida.[

Judges

Only one 11th Circuit judicial race is on the ballot: County Judge Group 29, where District 107 Representative Christopher Benjamin will face 25-year attorney Alina Salcines Restrepo.

For more information on judicial races, consult The Florida Bar website at floridabar.org, which provides voluntary statements by candidates for circuit and county judicial positions.

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDEMENTS

Six statewide constitutional amendments are on the ballot. Amendments 3 (marijuana) and 4 (abortion) are grabbing the greatest attention. Each requires a 60% majority to make it into law.

Amendment 1 changes school board elections from nonpartisan to partisan beginning in the August 2026 primary and November 2026 general election.

Amendment 2 establishes a state constitutional right to hunt and fish.

Amendment 3 legalizes marijuana for adults 21 and older.

Amendment 4 provides a state constitutional right to abortion before viability, effectively overturning the DeSantis administration’s ban after six weeks, with limited exceptions for rape, incest, and the mother’s life.

Amendment 5 provides for a yearly inflation adjustment for the value of the homestead property tax exemption.

Amendment 6 repeals a constitutional provision providing for public campaign financing for candidates who agree to spending limits.

LOCAL RACES

Local elections are as important as any. Here is a list, with online links:

Aventura

Three commission candidates are running for the Seat 1, north of Lehman Causeway, currently held by Commissioner Dr. Linda Marks. They are: Gustavo F. Blachman, Michael Jacobs, and Alberto Zaltzberg. For Seat 3, south of Lehman Causeway, Clifford B. Ain and Joseph Lekach are running for the seat now held by Commissioner Billy Joel. At-large Seat 5 Incumbent Rachel Saltzman Friedland is unopposed.

Bal Harbour Village

Bal Harbour Village is divided into five voting districts, with openings in Districts 2 and 4.  Jeffrey P. Freimark qualified to run in District 2, and

Alejandro Levy and David J. Albaum  will face each other in District 4.

Biscayne Park

Three candidates are running for three seats unopposed. They are incumbent commissioners MacDonald “Matt” Kennedy and Ryan Huntington, and former Commissioner Daniel Samaria. The top two vote-getters win four-year terms, and the third gets a two-year term.

Village of El Portal

An election is scheduled for seats 1, 2, 3, and 4 and mayor. Only one seat is contested, with resident Charles Winters challenging Vice Mayor Seat 4 Luis Pirela. Other incumbents are unopposed: Mayor Omarr Nickerson and commissioners Anders Urbom, Dr. Anna E. Lightfoot-Ward, and Mrs. Darian Martin.

The City of Miami

City of Miami voters will vote on four charter amendments. The first requires continuous residency in the city before qualifying to run for mayor, the second and third relate to leases and development on Watson Island, and the fourth changes to runoff date in the city’s odd-year elections for commissioner and mayor to the second Tuesday in December.

City of Miami Beach

City of Miami Beach voters will face a special election on eight matters relating to the city’s charter, available at this hyperlink in our online story. Go to “General Election Information” and click on “Master Ballot.”

North Bay Village

The following candidates have qualified. Mayor Rachel Streitfeld was elected unopposed for a two-year term. Jose Alvarez and Richard Chervony are facing each other for the North Bay Island seat, and Doris Acosta and Jose Parada are squaring off for the Treasure Island seat.

North Miami

Please see the accompanying story.

North Miami Beach

Please see the accompanying story.

Sunny Isles Beach

For Seat 1, in the city’s northern section, incumbent Commissioner Jerry Joseph is facing challenges from Patricia Alvarez, George Bardmesser, and Iracilda Lichtinger. For Seat 3 in the city’s southern section, Greg Capra is challenging incumbent Commissioner Fabiola Stuyvesant.

Surfside

Surfside residents will vote on five ballot questions limiting certain development in specific areas along Harding Avenue, subdivision of lots, and tightening municipal collection procedures.