Across the bay from the Biscayne Corridor, residents of Miami Beach are preparing for an election that will determine the majority of its seven-member commission.
Running to replace current Mayor Dan Gelber, who is term-limited, are Bill Roedy, a Vietnam War veteran and former MTV executive; Steven Meiner, a current Miami Beach commissioner and law enforcement attorney; Michael Gongora, a former three-term Miami Beach commissioner and community association attorney; and Mike Grieco, a former Miami Beach commissioner and former state representative.
Each mayoral candidate brings a unique identity to the Nov. 7, 2023, election. As the only one in the race without a political background, Roedy refers to himself as a “change candidate.” Meiner hopes to be known as the “law and order mayor,” while Gongora intends to build a reputation as “the mayor of arts and culture.” With a history in both local and state politics, Grieco boasts of unique solutions and the experience needed to bring them to fruition.
(Marcela Novela via Instagram)
Marcela Novela is a Miami Beach commission candidate.
If needed, a runoff will be held Nov. 21.
In a city with a weak-mayor system, however, the remaining three races for at-large commissioners will prove to be just as important.
In Group 4, there’s Andres Asion, a real estate broker and business consultant, running against Tanya Katzoff Bhatt, a marketing and branding professional. In Group 5, voters will choose between Mitch Novick, a business owner and longtime preservationist, and David Suarez, a marketing director and activist. Running in Group 6 are Joe Magazine, a member of the Miami Beach planning board, and Marcella Novela, chairperson of the city’s Art in Public Places program.
(Bill Ready campaign)
Bill Roedy is a candidate for Miami Beach mayor.
Public Safety
Public safety is all the hubbub in this year’s election, especially after the city has had to impose curfews and declare states of emergency due to violence during spring break over the past few years.
“We have to end spring break as we know it,” said Roedy.
“Public safety is my No. 1 priority – better enforcement, proactive policing, sending a message that Miami Beach is not a place to come and engage in criminal behavior,” said Gongora.
(Tanya Bhatt via Facebook)
Tanya Katzoff Bhatt is running for a Miami Beach commission seat.
Meiner envisions a spring break during which Ocean Drive is surrounded by a secured perimeter, where police officers can check for guns or other weapons before visitors are allowed through.
Grieco’s solutions are less direct, although, in his eyes, targeted toward underlying causes. He wants to reimagine and simplify the building department’s permitting process, attracting more businesses to occupy empty storefronts that he believes are creating “dangerous voids” throughout the city.
As for spring break, Grieco’s idea is, “for the month of March, to make parking almost completely unavailable for anyone who does not live in the city of Miami Beach.”
“The size of the crowds is unmanageable and the police … can’t do their jobs because there’s just too many people,” he said.
(MICHAELGONGORA.COM)
Michael Gongora, Miami Beach Mayoral Candidate
Grieco believes reducing parking availability will reduce the number of individuals visiting from other parts of the county. He doesn’t expect any effect on tourists staying in hotels, who don’t tend to rent cars, and says that those traveling via Uber, Lyft or taxi are far less likely to carry guns.
Overdevelopment & Lack of Infrastructure
Candidates across the board are also setting their eyes on putting an end to overdevelopment throughout the city.
“You have folks in City Hall that are more interested in getting a gold medal in Olympic ribbon-cutting than they are about fixing the roads or making sure that our stormwater, drinking water and sewage pipes aren’t bursting all over the city,” said Grieco, who names infrastructure as his top priority.
(Steven Meiner via Facebook)
Steven Meiner, a current Miami Beach commissioner, says he wants to be “the law and order mayor.”
“Our city commission is a glorified zoning board that seems to spend far too much time trying to fit square developer pegs into round holes,” said Bhatt. “We’ve got a commission that seems to be much more interested in raising our skyline than fixing our sewer line.”
Meiner wants to reallocate time during and outside of monthly commission meetings, which can often run for 10 hours, to prioritize residents’ concerns over development plans that may never even be approved.
(MitchNovick.com)
Mitch Novick, a candidate for Miami Beach commission, with his dog.
“That time is better spent on the day-to-day issues that our residents care about, and residents should have the ability to know when their items are going to be heard,” he said.
Roedy wants to impose a moratorium on high-rise proposals altogether until the city has had a chance to “appraise for smart, innovative developments that have a direct benefit for the residents of the city.”
The Clevelander
Last month, the owners of the Clevelander South Beach hotel and bar on Ocean Drive announced a plan to replace the historic building with a 30-story tower under the Live Local Act, which allows developers to preempt local zoning laws if they build affordable housing.
The announcement immediately triggered public outrage, but now, candidates are beginning to think the plan may not be real. Many are referring to it as a “scare tactic” or a “publicity stunt.”
Meiner says the proposed floor-area ratio is not allowed even with the provisions listed in the Live Local Act, nor would it receive the required certifications due to inadequate water and sewer infrastructure on Ocean Drive.
“When you hold a press conference and you issue a press release, it’s subsequent to officially filing the paperwork with the city to get the process going,” said Meiner. “No such paperwork has been submitted, so this is not a serious plan.”
In any case, candidates say the need to be vigilant and proactive remains.
“I think they put it out there to freak everyone out, so then if they come back later and ask for 15 stories, it won’t seem so scary,” said Gongora. “We need to convince a judge that Miami Beach is not a city that should be regulated by legislators in Tallahassee.”
Commission Candidates
In the smaller races for city commission, lesser-known candidates are vying for a seat at the table to bring forth more nuanced issues that politicized them in the first place.
Suarez created a grassroots movement and media campaign known as Save SoFi two years ago to prohibit short-term rental developments in his neighborhood, South of Fifth. He’s also a self-proclaimed environmentalist with proposals of enforcing lighting provisions to protect sea turtles at night and removing single-use plastic in the city.
Novick, his opponent, has served on the Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County historic preservation boards and filed myriad lawsuits to ward off bad actors.
“I have a long history of standing up against powerful people, and I’m not done yet,” said Novick, who also vows to never raise taxes by reducing budget waste.
Magazine is concerned that Miami Beach’s residential population is dwindling, giving way to transient uses.
“Even though I’m pro-business, I also think that our economy is too cyclical and too dependent on an over-reliance on tourism,” he said.
Novela remembers a Miami Beach that she idolized growing up, where a diverse population in colorful garments roamed through clean, safe streets en route to the latest cultural events.
“We really have to set a stage for our community and our residents to feel safe, to feel inspired,” she said.
Asion did not respond to this publication’s request for comment. His opponent, Bhatt, spoke of overdevelopment, infrastructure, public safety and coastal resiliency for Miami Beach and beyond.
“We are interconnected in that we share waterways, and you can’t keep water from flowing one place over another,” Bhatt said. “We need to protect our waterways. These are fundamental resources to our South Florida communities.”
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(David Suarez via Facebook)
Miami Beach commissioner candidate David Suarez with his family at the Miami Beach Turtle Fest in April 2023.
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(Courtesy of Joe Magazine)
Joe Magazine and his daughter during his campaign for Miami Beach commission.
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(WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Mike Grieco, Miami Beach Mayoral Candidate