New Miami Beach mayor, several cities commission seats to be decided in Tuesday's elections
MIAMI - Tuesday is Election Day and there are several big races in Miami-Dade County.
There are elections in Hialeah, Homestead, Miami, Miami Beach, and Surfside.
In Miami Beach, the mayor's seat is up for grabs. Current Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber has been termed out and can't run again.
There are four candidates up for the seat. They are 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.
City of Miami voters will go to the polls to decide if suspended Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla will get to keep his position. He was suspended after he was arrested on corruption charges but is still running. Three men and one woman are vying to take his spot. CBS Miami asked the candidates what they feel is the most important issue in District 1.
"Number one, the lack of transparency and the corruption is running ramped in the city of Miami," said Miguel Angel Gabela.
"Let the residents of Miami know that there is finally someone from the community, not a career politician, that is ready to open the door at city hall, to answer the phone," said Marvin Tapia.
"Affordable housing, number one, and the streets," said Mercedes "Merci" Rodriguez.
"The most important is the rent control, this one has become a non-livable area because of the high rents," said Francisco "Frank" Pichel.
Diaz de la Portilla is also running, despite his arrest, but did not respond to requests for comment.
There will also be votes for District 2 and District 4 seats in Miami. Current Commissioner Manolo Reyes is running for re-election for District 4. Reyes was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Reyes is a cancer survivor who went into remission in 2019 after quietly undergoing treatment. He did not disclose his diagnosis at the time, and he did not miss any city commission meetings during his treatment.
In Hialeah voters, will decide on two city council seats. In Homestead, four council seats are up for election. In Surfside, voters will decide on several amendments to the town's charter.
There are no elections in Broward.
