Coral Gables Attorney Wins Seat On Commission In Runoff Election

CORAL GABLES, FL -- Voters in Coral Gables narrowly elected attorney Jorge Fors on Tuesday to serve as the Group IV commissioner in a special runoff election.

Fors bested former commissioner Ralph Cabrera with 3,091 votes compared to 2,918. That amounted to 51.44% of the vote versus 48.56% for Cabrera, according to unofficial results compiled by Miami-Dade County Elections.

The induction ceremony will be held 11:30 a.m. Friday at Coral Gables City Hall, 405 Biltmore Way.

Fors and Cabrera were the top two vote getters in the city's biannual election earlier this month but neither candidate received the necessary 50% majority plus one vote as required in the city's charter to win the election outright.

Two other candidates were also vying for the Coral Gables seat but were not successful. Carmen Olazabal received 26.27% of the vote and Jackson Rip Holmes received 3.23% in the regular election.

Coral Gables Mayor Raúl Valdés-Fauli won a close re-election against former city Commissioner Jeannett Slesnick during the regular vote.