On Tuesday, April 8, Miami Shores voters will fill three empty seats on the village council.
Though four candidates qualified for the race, only three are eligible. Stephanie Roberts Darring dropped out because of a family issue. The ballot will still include all four candidates’ names, however, a vote cast for Roberts Darring will not count.
Two of the seats are for four-year terms. The two candidates with the most votes will get the seats with four-year terms, while the third candidate will serve a two-year term.
Two of the candidates are incumbents. Jerome Charles was elected in 2023. Neil Cantor was appointed by the council from 10 applicants in February 2024 after Daniel Marinberg, who had served as vice mayor dropped out, citing Florida’s strict financial requirements, which took effect last January.
(Photo by Alejandra Bendana)
Community Center in Miami Shores
Some locals are concerned about the commercial sector on NE Second Avenue. Others are focused on the high cost of a transition from septic to sewer. Still others believe the aging community center needs refurbishment or rebuilding. And there is significant concern about overdevelopment in the largely residential community – perhaps the most significant issue is a large tract near Barry University, where almost 300 townhomes have been proposed.
The top two candidates will serve four-year terms, at least part as mayor and vice mayor, depending on who receives the highest number of votes. Whoever comes in third place will serve two years as a council member.
Early voting will be held on Saturday, April 5, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the C. Lawton McCall Community Center as well as election day on Tuesday, April 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Below are profiles of the three candidates.
Patrick Barry Devaney
(Photo by Alejandra Bendana)
Patrick Devaney at the Miami Shores Recreation Department
Patrick Barry Devaney, 27, is running for his first term on the Miami Shores Village Council. A recent graduate of FIU with degrees in both computer science and classical studies, he is a lifelong resident of Miami Shores.
“I've benefited a lot from this community,” Devaney said. “It's a community of diverse populations.”
Devaney says he would like to support local businesses. He wants to replenish the village’s small-town charm by aiding establishments hurt by COVID-19 and coaxing more people from their homes to the downtown area.
“A lot of people have not publicly gone to businesses as much as they did pre-COVID,” he said. “We need to support our local businesses.”
As a council member, Devaney said he would improve technology in zoning and building permits. He also wants a proper sewer system to replace leaky septic tanks.
“There's a lot of time to build it,” he said. “That's something I would support and try to find funding for.”
Affordability and growth are also important to Devaney. He says the council should consider adding buildings and apartments in Miami Shores. After careful planning and organizing, Devaney believes “it's worth considering.”
He says he is actively researching the development of NE Second Avenue.
“I've been using certain artificial intelligence tools like perplexity to catch me up to speed on various issues and understanding geography,” he said.
Asked about the community center, he responded that it should be part of a strategic management plan.
“That's something that's already been put in place by the village manager, and I need to get a better understanding of where our budget is at,” he said.
When Devaney isn’t campaigning, he works as a software developer while also building his own company called Koinonai. With it, he wants to develop artificial intelligence to create language model applications.
Neil Cantor
(Photo by Alejandra Bendana)
Council member Neil Cantor at Miami Shores Village Hall
Neil Cantor, 39, is running for his second term on the council. He grew up in Clearwater and moved to the Shores in 2011. He purchased a home in 2019 after being a Realtor for eight years.
His political story began in 2022, when he protested, along with his neighbors, to stop construction of a gas station that was planned near his house.
“We were going to have lights all night in our backyards,” he said.
Cantor ran for council in 2023, but dropped out in order to support others. The council later appointed him to his first term in February 2024.
In his next term, Cantor hopes to continue protecting his community. He wants village dwellers to feel represented at every council meeting.
“I want to give residents peace of mind,” he said. “If we don't have solid resident-centric people representing the community, then we have a lot of outside interests coming in and filling these seats.”
Cantor believes that there are opportunities for more development on Second Avenue. He wants to help business leaders thrive, “but it has to be done in a thoughtful way,” he said. He explained he’s already in talks with professionals to see the potential for the downtown district.
“I want to continue to support business down there,” he said. “If there are things that we can do to support it better, I want to do it.”
Cantor supports multiple projects including renovating the country club, golf course, a new community center, and improving stormwater drainage. However, he said they are all on different timelines, and it is important to utilize time as best as possible.
“They are all things that need to get done at the end of the day,” he said.
Cantor believes completing a sewer conversion is vital to any new projects and that a new community center is needed rather than remodeling a structure he said is over 50 years old.
“In my opinion, to preserve anything that's already there will be more expensive than doing a new facility,” he said, “There are kids that do gymnastics there, they run from the hallway into the gymnasium … it's the most unsafe thing and it's time to give us a new facility.”
Besides politics, Cantor spends his time working part-time at the Italian restaurant Macchialina in Miami Beach. He also creates his own music, playing several instruments, including bass, drums, piano and saxophone. He’ll be releasing his new album, “Beats by KD,” on election day.
Jerome Charles
(Courtesy Miami Shores Village)
Jerome Charles
Jerome Charles, 62, is running for a second term on the Miami Shores council. The 47-year resident of Miami Shores has a background in film and television that started in 1986.
He received his B.A. in Communications from Florida State University in 1989 and up until 2020, served as an award-winning senior editor for Discovery Communications, the parent company of The Discovery Channel Latin America.
Before his first term on the council, Charles had no experience in politics, “not even class president,” he said. But in 2023, a group of residents demanding a change of direction was looking for new candidates.
“It was kind of a choice to lead, follow or get out of the way,” Charles said. “And I chose to lead.”
In his first campaign, he received the third most votes. He believes two years was not enough to get the job done.
According to Charles, some plans that have been initiated or are waiting to be finalized are renovating the country club and golf course, building a new community center facility, improving parks, stormwater drainage, and making the transition from septic to sewer. As he did during his first term, Charles wants to focus on the residents’ needs.
“If you don’t have a plan, you don’t have a future,” he said.
Charles is optimistic that residents will look through the details, the cost, and state their decision. He is sure that the council will work together with the public in this process.
The business sector on Second Avenue is already active, Charles said, “but it hasn’t been optimized.” To reach its fullest potential, he wants to work with the county to make the road more business and pedestrian friendly, including more crosswalks and speed limits.
“If it's not walkable for pedestrians, then there’s fewer customers,” Charles said.
Another aspect of Charles' campaign is a commitment to “preserving the single-family residential character and charm of Miami Shores,” according to his campaign website.
“Communities that are already established also have a right to live the lifestyle that they have chosen,” he added.
Outside of politics, Charles and his wife Tabitha have raised two children in the village. He enjoys riding his bicycle and walking his dogs. The last Saturday of each month, he plays records with friends at Lost City brewery in North Miami.
This story is the result of a partnership between the Biscayne Times and Florida International University’s Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media