Miami-Dade Election Results 2019: Winners And Losers

MIAMI, FL — Miami-Dade County voters in Miami, Miami Beach, Hialeah and Homestead went to the polls Tuesday to fill a number of local offices.

While voters elected some officials outright, others will face runoff elections, according to unofficial voting results.

With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, Miami City Commission Chairman Ken Russell was one of the lucky ones.

He appeared to best his three challengers on Tuesday with 3,756 votes — enough to avoid a runoff.

"I am thankful to receive 60 percent of the votes and recognize my responsibility moving forward," Russell told Patch late Tuesday night. "Miami has so much potential and we need to finish what we've started with affordable housing, the environment and sea level rise."

Challenging Russell for his District 2 seat were Jim Fried who earned 962 votes; Rosy Palomino with 855 votes and Javier Gonzalez with 723 votes.

Subscribe to Miami Patch's free email news alerts and newsletters

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who was not up for re-election, told Patch ahead of Tuesday's vote that he wanted to see Russell returned to office for another term.

"I’m supporting my chairman, Ken Russell, who I hope wins without a runoff," said Suarez.

Miami attorney David Winker, who served as moderator of a candidate forum sponsored by the Woman's Club of Coconut Grove, told Patch District 2 includes the waterfront communities of Coconut Grove, Brickell, downtown and the upper east side, which generates more tax revenue than the rest of the city combined.

"It was a robust debate, with the three challengers focused on incumbent Ken Russell's 'Let's finish what we started' campaign slogan," Winker explained. "They tried to show that Ken Russell, who had run on smart development, parks and traffic, had turned more pro development in office and cited his campaign contributions and support of the referendum to approve the unsolicited no-bid Melreese stadium deal." The stadium will house Miami's new Major League Soccer team, Inter Miami CF.

Winker said Russell appeared to anger fellow commissioner Wilfredo Gort by allowing the voter referendum on the soccer stadium and retail complex to proceed over Gort's objections, a decision that could have repercussions.

"Before that vote, there had always been a 'gentlemen's agreement' that projects would not be forced upon a commissioner," Winker said. "In other words, commissioners had an informal veto over things that happened in their district. This prevented the other four commissioners from ganging up to vote, for example, to place a waste facility or a jail in a commissioner's district over his objection."

Gort's District 1 seat was also up for grabs Tuesday but no candidate appeared to garner the necessary 50 percent plus one vote to win the race outright. Commissioner Gort had been barred from running in this election based on term limitations.

Vying for Gort's seat with 100 percent of precincts reporting were Alex Diaz de la Portilla with 2,487 votes; Miguel Angel Gabela with 1,335 votes; Eleazar Melendez with 1,127 votes; Horacio Aguirre with 682 votes; Francisco Pichel with 332 votes; Verania "Betty" Hermida with 261 votes and Yanny Hidalgo with 187 votes.

Since no candidate appeared to garner the necessary 50 percent plus one vote, the top two vote getters — Diaz de la Portilla and Gabela appeared headed for a runoff.

Both seats on the Miami Commission are considered non partisan.

District 4 Commissioner Manolo Reyes was also up for re-election this year but no one filed to run against him by the deadline.

MIAMI BEACH

Miami Beach Commissioner Ricky Arriola is headed to a runoff election to keep his Group V seat. Vying for Arriola's seat were Stephen Cohen, Raquel Pacheco and Jonathan Welsh.

"I am going to be in a runoff despite winning by 21 points," Arriola told Patch Tuesday night.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Arriola received 4,159 votes. Pacheco had 2,244 votes. Cohen had 2,096 votes. and Jonathan Welsh had 683 votes.

The runoff will be between Arriola and Pacheco, who owns a translation service.

"We have accomplished a lot over the past four years — completed the convention center, strengthened our city's resiliency against sea level rise, created a citywide free trolley system and begun a renaissance of North Beach," Arriola told Patch ahead of the vote. "There is sill a lot to be done and the city needs leadership that is willing to use their expertise to see all the projects through to completion."

Pacheco, who is running for the first time, told Patch earlier Tuesday that she focused on getting to know Miami Beach residents and various neighborhood issues during the campaign.

"I'm also very concerned about the environment," she asserted. "Those are my biggest concerns — water quality, keeping our beaches clean and dealing with the rising sea level."

In addition to Arriola's seat, voters considered replacements for outgoing Group IV Commissioner Joy Malakoff and Group VI Commissioner John Elizabeth Alemán. Neither commissioner sought re-election.

Vying for Malakoff's seat with 100 percent of precincts reporting were former Miami Beach Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez who garnered 3,700 votes; Michael “Mike B” Barrineau with 2,316 votes; Steven Meiner with 2,315 votes and Rafael A. Velasquez with 1,374 votes.

Since no candidate won the necessary 50 percent plus one vote, this race will also be decided in a runoff between Rosen Gonzalez and the number two candidate. As of late Tuesday night, Barrineau was leading by a single vote over Meiner.

"There is a runoff but the people of Miami Beach spoke. I am grateful to them," Rosen Gonzalez told Patch late Tuesday night. "We have a lot of hard work ahead of us. Tomorrow morning back to knocking on doors."

Earlier she told Patch she worked hard to get her message across.

"Miami Beach has a runaway over development," she explained. "We want to focus on water quality, keeping our city safe and not just building all the time."

Running for Alemán's seat with 100 percent of precincts reporting were David Richardson with 4,618 votes; Adrian Gonzalez with 3,627 votes; Blake Young with 879 votes and Mohammed Rafiqul Islam with 330 votes.

This race will also be decided in a runoff since no candidate won the necessary 50 percent plus one vote. The runoff will be between Richardson and Gonzalez.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber would have been up for re-election this year but no one qualified to run against him.

Longtime Miami Beach resident Leonard Wolfson told Patch he was looking for one thing when he voted on Tuesday.

"Someone that's honest and someone that's going to actually put the city ahead of their own personal interests," he explained. "I hope I did a good job. I tried."

HOMESTEAD

Former Homestead mayor Jeffrey D. “Jeff” Porter was hoping to get his old job back Tuesday after stepping down to run for statewide office and losing in the primary.

Porter faced Steve Losner, who ran on a "residents first" platform with respect to taxes, spending, traffic and public safety.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Losner appeared to win the unofficial vote with 1,841 votes compared to 1,480 for Porter.

Sean L. Fletcher appeared to win the unofficial vote in the race for Homestead Council Seat 2. with 1,882 votes compared to 1,379 for Dennis Ray Maytan Jr.

Incumbent Larry Roth also appeared to carry the unofficial vote in the Council Seat 3 race with 1,800 votes compared to 1,484 votes for William “Bobby” Rea.

HIALEAH

In Hialeah, Monica Perez appeared to upset incumbent Councilwoman Lourdes Lozano by an unofficial margin of 6,810 votes 4,860 in the Group I Council race.

In the Group II council race, Jesus Tundidor received 4,015 votes compared to 3,526 for Luis Gonzalez; Fernando Godo with 1,989 votes; Angelica Pacheco with 1,909 votes and Salvador “Para Bailar” Blanco with 1,120 votes.

Since no candidate received the required 50 percent plus 1 vote, the Group II race appeared headed for a runoff election between Tundidor and Gonzalez.

The Group III Council race also appeared headed to a runoff election between Jackie Garcia-Roves and Milly Herrera.

Garcia-Roves received 4,975 votes; Herrera received 2,704 votes followed by Eduardo A. Macaya with 2,111 votes and Ricardo Rodriguez Blanco with 2,040 votes.

In the Group IV Council race, Oscar De la Rosa appeared to defeat Mike Horgan by a margin of 6,948 votes to 4,798.

All results are considered unofficial until certified by the canvassing board.