Miami Beach mayoral candidates Michael Gongora, Steven Meiner headed to runoff
MIAMI - Miami Beach mayoral candidates Michael Gongora and Steven Meiner are headed to a runoff to become that city's next mayor.
The mayor's seat was up for grabs during Tuesday's election, but since none of the four candidates received 50 percent of the votes, the race will be decided between the top two vote-getters on November 21.
Current Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber has been termed out and can't run again.
There four candidates running for mayor were former state Representative Mike Greico, former city Commissioner Michael Gongora, Vice Mayor Steven Meiner, and former MTV executive Bill Roedy.
One of the biggest concerns for residents in Miami Beach is public safety after several years of violence during spring break. CBS News Miami asked the candidates about that concern.
"Number one is police visibility and we have a new police chief working closely with him. That is the number one deterrent. But we also have a municipal prosecution team here in Miami Beach,' said Vice Mayor Meiner.
"Need to get out of the cars more, need to be on the beat, need to have a real-time crime center up and running, more severe surveillance cameras," said Roedy.
"I'm the one here with the law enforcement experience. I was the one that brought the Air and Sea Show, and solved our problems for Memorial Day," said Greico.
"I'm the Miami Beach Police endorsed candidate. I'm working with them to put more police out on the streets to increase the police budget and make sure we do everything so that everybody feels safe here in Miami Beach," said Gongora.