What to know about Miami, Miami Beach and Hialeah runoff elections
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Miami mayoral candidates Emilio González and Eileen Higgins. Photos: Al Diaz/Carl Juste/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
Tuesday is election day (again) in Miami, Miami Beach and Hialeah.
Why it matters: Miami voters will be electing a new mayor and commissioner, while voters in Miami Beach and Hialeah will be picking commissioners and council members.
Catch up quick: Runoff elections were called in all three cities after no candidate received a majority of the vote during the November elections.
Zoom in: In the Miami mayoral race, former County Commissioner Eileen Higgins and former city manager Emilio González are both pushing anti-corruption platforms amid years of political scandal and dysfunction among elected officials.
- Though technically a nonpartisan race, the contest between Higgins (a Democrat) and Gonzalez (a Republican) has drawn national attention, including from President Trump, who is backing González, and the Democratic National Committee, which is backing Higgins.
- Higgins would become Miami's first Democratic mayor in three decades and the city's first-ever woman mayor, according to Politico.
- She campaigned on improving the city's permitting process, upgrading city trolleys, and investing in environmental resilience.
- González's priorities include rolling back property taxes, increasing the city's police presence, and overhauling the city's permitting and licensing systems.
In Miami's District 3 commission race, former commissioner Frank Carollo is running against Rolando Escalona to represent an area that includes Little Havana, East Shenandoah, West Brickell, parts of Silver Bluff and the Roads.
- Carollo, an accountant and former police detective, campaigned on reducing police response times and advocating for the city's parks and its tree canopy.
- Escalona, a general manager at the restaurant Sexy Fish, vowed to improve access to affordable housing, expand trolley service, and increase police presence.
Friction point: Carollo, who previously served two terms as the District 3 commissioner, survived a legal challenge to his candidacy last month.
- After voters approved a referendum limiting commissioners to just two terms in office, residents sued to remove Carollo from the ballot, but a judge ruled he could run for a third term.
In Miami Beach, Monica Matteo-Salinas and Monique Pardo Pope are running for an at-large commission seat being vacated by Kristen Rosen Gonzalez.
- Matteo-Salinas, a city office associate, says she wants to improve affordability and transportation, while reining in development, per the Miami Herald.
- Pardo Pope, an attorney, is prioritizing public safety and overdevelopment, per the Herald.
In Hialeah, voters will be electing two councilmembers.
In Group 3, Jessica Castillo faces Gelien Perez.
- Castillo, a medical outreach coordinator, has campaigned on improving public safety and the city's responsiveness to resident concerns, along with reducing traffic congestion, per Florida Politics.
- Perez, the city's former human resources director and a real estate broker, campaigned on lowering property taxes and water bills.
- In 2018, Perez was investigated by the Miami-Dade ethics commission for earning real estate commissions from her employees, El Nuevo Herald reported.
In Group 4, William "Willy" Marrero faces Javier Morejon.
- Marrero — a student at Florida International University and former council aide — has campaigned on reducing water and sewer rates, fixing roads, and making city services more efficient, the Herald reported.
- Morejon, a land-use specialist and plat manager, says he wants to tackle rising service costs, aging infrastructure, and a lack of transparency at City Hall, per the outlet.