Two singular January events are about to set the stage and tone for two big swaths of the Biscayne Corridor: the city of Miami’s District 2, which hugs the water from Coconut Grove through Morningside, and the city of North Miami.
In both cases, you can credit or blame Florida’s Resign-to-Run Law, which requires local and state officers to resign their seats to run for another office.
(Samantha Morell for Biscayne Times)
Ken Russell (far right) was frequently odd man out on a city commission dominated by Joe Carollo, despite it being chaired by Christine King, seen here speaking at a June 9, 2022, news conference with Carollo over her right shoulder.
Miami’s departed District 2 Commissioner Ken Russell, now with commercial real estate investment firm Longevity Partners, was required to vacate his seat by midnight, Jan. 3, after his congressional Democratic primary loss. The Miami City Commission has until no later than Jan. 13 to decide whether to appoint a replacement or – if three commissioners cannot agree on one – hold a special election within 45 days. The city will then hold its general election Nov. 7.
In North Miami, Mayor Phillip Bien-Aime is out of office after losing his Miami-Dade County commission race. As reported online in the Biscayne Times, District 4 Councilman Alix Desulme was subsequently appointed mayor by his peers, leaving his district seat vacant. Here, too, three councilmembers must agree on an appointment, in this case at a meeting scheduled for Jan. 10, or hold a special election.
But the most significant Dec. 13 vote in North Miami was to push back the goalpost for the next election a full 18 months, from May 2023 to Nov. 5, 2024, to coincide with the federal election cycle. Most notably, it was done via ordinance rather than referendum, resulting in incumbents Desulme and Scott Galvin serving until November 2024, and Estimé Irvin and Kassandra Timothe until November 2026.
“The residents have told me loud and clear from calls, emails, texts and letters that they believe this delay strips away their rights. Unilaterally moving an election is not fair to either the public or for the candidates who have worked hard and raised money and planned for the May 2023 election,” said Timothe, who was the lone opposing vote.
As the year closed, some aspiring mayoral candidates, such as Hector Medina, said they were consulting with lawyers and contemplating a legal challenge to the city’s unilateral move.
Miami District 2
(Erik Bojnansky for Biscayne Times)
Ken Russell
In the city of Miami, activists and civic groups, particularly in Coconut Grove, have pushed for a special election, which the city has estimated could cost $330,000. An appointment would certainly prove more cost-efficient, if not representative.
A wildly mixed bag of 11 applicants have submitted applications as prospective appointments: Michael Castro, a property manager and paralegal; Sabina Covo, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Marcelo O. Fernandes, a property manager and five-year chair of the Coconut Grove Council; Michael J. Goggins, a wealth manager and compliance officer; Javier Gonzalez, a Realtor, former bakeshop owner and four-year president of the Coconut Grove Village Council; Lior Halabi, a digital marketing director and former political strategist for the Israeli Knesset; Lorenzo J. Palomares-Starbuck, a business and tax lawyer; Kathy Jane Parks Suarez, a longtime Tampa automobile dealer; June Ellen Savage, a realtor associate with One Sotheby’s, longtime community volunteer and 2017 candidate for mayor of Miami Beach; James Torres, a sales manager and marketer; and Mario Vuksanovic, a city of Miami information and referral specialist for seniors.
With no clear favorites, the commission is free to choose anyone from outside the list and has set no specific deadline, but must reach its decision no later than Jan. 13, or 10 days after Russell’s obligation to leave.
Miami watchers will recall that Jeffrey Watson was a surprise 11th-hour appointment in November 2020 to the District 5 seat vacated by Keon Hardemon, but Christine King handily beat him for the seat a year later. Now King is advocating for a special election, but recent history shows she could be persuaded otherwise.
(Shutts & Bowen)
Marc Sarnoff, Attorney & Former Commissioner
Russell’s District 2 predecessor, Marc Sarnoff, who served from 2006-2015, remains a dominant force in any District 2 conversation and is a distinct contrast to Russell as a political player, lobbyist and lawyer. Sarnoff is a partner at Miami’s oldest law firm, Shutts & Bowen, where he has built a successful real estate and land use practice. He retains close ties with Miami commissioners and helped lead a Shutts team in representing the city in the development of 73 acres for retired soccer star David Beckham’s Freedom Park on the current Mel Reese golf course site.
Sarnoff, 63, holds more power as a kingmaker at a firm with nearly 300 lawyers and $1 million in profits per equity partner than as a Miami commissioner, where he chaired the commission, the Downtown Development Authority and the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, where District 2 has since lost power.
Over the last decade in District 2, the real estate market and money have moved north, with new high-rise developments transforming the skyline and population throughout Brickell, downtown and Edgewater. Coconut Grove activism arguably carries less currency among incumbent Miami commissioners than it did 20 years ago, but Sarnoff emphasizes that it remains a potent force.
“The road to being District 2 commissioner still resides in the Grove,” Sarnoff told the Biscayne Times, but laments what has happened since he left it. “District 2 was the seat of power in Miami for a long time and District 2 has lost that power. It has been very hard to watch what’s happening.”
Sarnoff is betting against a special election and would not rule out an appointment outside the list of 11.
North Miami Challenges
(The Haitian Times)
Alix Desulme vacated his North Miami District 4 seat this past December when he was appointed mayor. The council must now vote Jan. 10 whether to hold a special election to fill the vacancy or appoint a replacement.
North Miami is in a different animal altogether, but further along in confirming the appointment route.
Newly appointed Mayor Desulme, who had previously called on City Manager Theresa Therilus to resign, says he has since reconsidered but his endorsement seems provisional.
“You ask if I have confidence in the city manager? Yes, I do. It’s early to tell. I’ve had some conversations with her on what needs to happen. This is a fresh start,” Desulme said, whose main concern is with the city’s finances, which face structural challenges before the new development wave hits the tax rolls around 2025-26.
Therilus brought the city out of the red in 2021, thanks largely to one-time land sales, ARPA money and waiving the city’s minimal reserves. The city lacks the credit for a long-delayed replacement of its 60-year-old water plant and faces infrastructure challenges to accommodate the burgeoning development the city has approved. Therilus’ contract is up for renewal in June.
As for the 18-month term extension, Florida Statutes permit cities to change election dates to correspond with the federal cycle via ordinance rather than referendum. No statute, however, specifies a time period.
Three candidates had filed to run for mayor in the May election: former State Rep. Daphne Campbell; Naomi Blemur, recently defeated for Florida Secretary of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs; and Hector Medina.
Campbell, for one, is disgusted with the delay.
“They’re holding on as if the office belongs to them,” she said. “It’s really bad. I leave it in the hands of the community to speak up and speak out. I’ve never seen this in any city at all. Sad, sad, sad, sad. That’s all I have to say.”
Real estate investor Evan Shields has raised $40,000 to succeed term-limited Galvin in the District 1 seat he’s occupied since 1999.
Shields would prefer to hold the May 2023 election as scheduled and then let the voters decide via referendum to conform with the even-year federal cycle.
“This was a very faulty decision and not in the best interest of everybody,” Shields said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for everybody on this council. We’ve got a moment where we have to rebuild trust with all of our residents. And that trust starts with believing that the people in a fair democracy can decide their own future.”
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(Daphne Campbell)
Daphne Campbell, Hector Medina and Naomi Blemur (L-R) declared their candidacy for mayor of North Miami before the election was postponed 18 months by ordinance instead of voter referendum.
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(Facebook)
Daphne Campbell, Hector Medina and Naomi Blemur (L-R) declared their candidacy for mayor of North Miami before the election was postponed 18 months by ordinance instead of voter referendum.
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(Florida Democratic Party)
Daphne Campbell, Hector Medina and Naomi Blemur (L-R) declared their candidacy for mayor of North Miami before the election was postponed 18 months by ordinance instead of voter referendum.