Incumbents swept Miami-Dade government elections Tuesday, with Mayor Carlos Alvarez and six commissioners rebuffing challengers to win four-year terms.

The results bring stability -- opponents would call it stagnation -- to a government that has not seen an incumbent ousted at the polls since 1994.

''I do think people are unhappy with county government and the commission, but people like their commissioner,'' said Marco Rubio, Florida's outgoing speaker of the House, now a political analyst and teacher at Florida International University. ``They do things like community outreach, they're involved and, come campaign time, they have a bank of goodwill.''

For Alvarez, the easy victory over former teacher Helen Williams was yet another boost for a mayor who has consistently enjoyed public support. Many top county administrators were among some 250 supporters at his West Kendall victory party, as were former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferré, U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and state Sen. Alex Villalobos.

''He's a no-nonsense gentleman who cares about children,'' said Yehuda Kaploun, a former advisor to New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani who now lives in South Florida and attended the victory party.

Coupled with his successful 2007 bid to increase the mayor's power, Alvarez is in his strongest position yet to control Miami-Dade's agenda.

''I'm looking forward to the next four years,'' Alvarez said during a brief speech. ''There are a lot of challenges, but I'm very optimistic,'' he said.

While not traditionally one for spotlights or big projects, he will surely spend some of that political capital on the massive downtown development deal that includes a new ballpark for the Florida Marlins and debt payments for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. That so-called mega-plan featured in one of Alvarez's campaign ads.

''I think he's in a very strong position -- the question is: What is he going to do with it?'' said Dario Moreno, one of South Florida's most prolific pollsters. ``Right now, I think he's going to try to push through the mega-plan.''

The reelection of Commissioners Barbara Jordan, Audrey Edmonson, Bruno Barreiro, Dennis Moss, Joe Martinez and Natacha Seijas leaves the dais stocked with seasoned politicians.

For many, attention will quickly turn to 2012, when term limits will force Alvarez from office.

''The posturing will immediately start happening,'' Rubio said.

An early indication of the jockeying will come later this year when the commission selects its next chairman. Barreiro, who has held the gavel for almost two years, has already filed a bill that would allow him to serve longer. Moreno said Martinez and Rebeca Sosa are also on the early radar to eye a campaign.

''Every commissioner is going to be thinking about who's going to be the next mayor,'' Moreno said Tuesday. ``That starts tomorrow.''

Turnout appeared to be low, which usually means well-organized candidates drew out supporters while the disaffected and disillusioned stayed home.

Val Screen, a long-time lobbyist who now represents the Virginia Key Trust, spent the last afternoon of her campaign against Edmonson searching for votes while riding around in a van with a megaphone.

Few, however, could be found. By Tuesday afternoon, a poll worker at Deliverance Tabernacle Church on Biscayne Boulevard and 76th Street said fewer than 30 people had voted.

''No matter how much we talk about how dissatisfied we are, people are reluctant to give change,'' said Larry Handfield, former chairman of the Public Health Trust, which runs Jackson Memorial Hospital. ``I don't think we're going to see innovative ideas to deal with our problems.''

On one level, the results seem unusual in a county where polls and other indicators consistently show widespread dissatisfaction with local government, especially the commission.

But none of the challengers had won an election, and most had never run for office. They had minimal name recognition and raised relatively little money for advertising.

Moreover, the commission shares a reputational disconnect with the Legislature and Congress: People give the body poor marks, but generally like their own representative.

''These districts are very pleased with the commissioners, even if they don't give the whole body straight A's,'' said John Rivera, president of the county police union, which endorsed all the incumbents.

Ferré had a different interpretation, comparing Miami-Dade voters to abused spouses. ''Why don't battered women leave the guys who are beating them up?'' he asked.

He predicted voters would act on their frustration over the next few years, using petition drives to reshape the county charter and recall some commissioners from office.

''There are a lot of angry people,'' he said. ``You will see, within the next four years, major organized recalls of commissioners -- not one, but in a bunch.''

The last attempt to recall a commissioner failed spectacularly when Seijas won support of nearly two-thirds of her Northwest Dade district. Real-estate developer Lourdes Aguirre was one of its organizers.

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