Mayoral race, council seats on the ballot for Doral voters
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City of Doral residents are gearing up to elect a mayor, two council members and vote on changes to the city's charter in next month's election.
Why it matters: Following months of political controversy, voters will decide not only whether to replace key city leaders but whether to revamp the city's power structures.
State of play: Mayor Christi Fraga is running for a second term against Roxanna Garay, a political newcomer and businesswoman.
- Vice Mayor Oscar Puig-Corve is not seeking reelection. Irina Vilariño, Nicole Reinoso and Juan Carlos Esquivel are vying to succeed him.
- Councilman Rafael Pineyro, seen as a close ally to Fraga, is seeking reelection against Ivette Gonzalez Petkovich.
The issues: Traffic congestion, overdevelopment, public safety and the relocation of Miami-Dade's trash incinerator are among the top issues and priorities facing the city, Fraga told the Miami Herald.
- Fraga touted the opening of Doral Central Park and repealing council members' lifetime pensions as achievements, the Herald reported, though a judge recently overturned the repeal.
- To relieve congestion, she said the city is considering building new roads and changing the local transportation system.
Similar to Fraga, Garay argued traffic, safety and the incinerator were top issues, per the Herald.
- For congestion, she proposed new technologies, such as smart traffic signals that account for real-time traffic patterns and weather.
Catch up quick: The city came under fire more than once recently after wading into international affairs.
- In May, it became the first South Florida municipality to call for an end to violence in Gaza, which many interpreted as urging a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
- Fraga later reversed course, calling the peace resolution "well-intended" but "naive" and "fundamentally flawed."
- Doral later weighed in on Venezuela's disputed elections, drawing allegations of hypocrisy from supporters of the discarded Gaza resolution.
More recently, City Manager Rey Valdes abruptly resigned less than six months after he took office, claiming retaliation from some council members.