City of Miami Commissioner Sabina Covo and longtime activist Damian Pardo are headed to a Nov. 21 runoff election to determine who will hold the District 2 seat for the next four years.
A packed election Nov. 7 did not result in any of the eight candidates receiving more than 50% of the vote. Covo led the race with approximately 39% of the vote, while Pardo followed with just over 26%.
Opponents Eddy Leal, former legal counsel for Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, and James Torres, president of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, came in third and fourth place with 15% and 10% of the vote, respectively. All other candidates received less than 5%.
Covo secured her place on the commission back in February during a special election after former Commissioner Ken Russell resigned before his term was up. A relative newcomer on the scene with only 9 months to prove herself in the chambers, the incumbent’s odds for winning a second time were anybody’s guess.
Covo’s support has remained solid, however, with 2,783 out of a total 7,088 votes casted going towards the commissioner. That’s more than 900 votes ahead of the runner-up, Pardo, who received 1,873.
Voter turnout landed at about 14% of the 280,000 registered voters in Miami’s largest district.
The early voting period for the upcoming runoff election will begin Nov. 17 and end on Nov. 19.