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• Table | Miami-Dade election results (Excel)

Homestead mayoral candidates claim they can lead the way

Homestead voters will go to the polls Tuesday to vote for a mayor in the middle of the city's worst budget crisis in decades.

The city saw a 24.7 percent drop -- a nearly $1 billion loss -- in its tax base this year, the steepest in Miami-Dade County.

As foreclosed Homestead homes sit empty, economic issues have repeatedly come up during the debates between the two mayoral candidates -- incumbent Mayor Lynda Bell and former City Council member Steve Bateman.

Homestead voters oust all but one incumbent

Blame it on higher taxes, the brouhaha over a rebel flag, big-ticket items, even dissent at council meetings.

Homestead voters swept four of five incumbents out of City Hall Tuesday -- handing Mayor Lynda Bell and her political slate a stunning defeat.

``I've never seen a race where all the incumbents lost by that margin,'' said Melvin McCormick, who lost to the Rev. Jimmie L. Williams III.

Homestead mayoral candidates face serious challenges if elected

As voters cast ballots for Homestead's mayor on Nov. 3, they will choose between two veteran lawmakers, who offer different visions for a city that prospered during a housing boom and now is struggling in the aftermath of that growth.

The next mayor -- Lynda Bell or Steve Bateman -- will lead a city council whose main challenge is to provide services for residents and businesses when property taxes, permit and impact fees and other sources of revenue are diminishing.

Compounding the problem: the ongoing slide of property values because of foreclosures -- people started walking away from their properties after their homes suddenly were worth less than their mortgages -- and short sales. Homestead has the highest foreclosure rate in Miami-Dade County, with one out of every 49 homes in some stage of foreclosure in September.

Mayor, foe debate taxes, other issues

Keys Gate Charter School intended the Homestead mayoral debate to be a learning experience for its students, but that didn't stop things from getting heated between the two opponents as they scrapped over the city's budget, property tax rate, jobs and a proposed charter school.

Mayor Lynda Bell and her challenger Steve Bateman spoke in Key Gate's cafeteria Thursday to more than 250 residents and students.

City Council candidates also were given five minutes at the event to introduce themselves, their platforms and their stance on building the new charter school. Most council candidates were not aware of the proposal and were hesitant to go into detail, but they all said they favored building it.

Homestead City Council to discuss city's manager's future

The newly elected Homestead mayor and council will face their first major decision at 7 p.m. Monday when they meet to discuss the future of their top employee -- City Manager Mike Shehadeh.

He has been controversial in some circles. The city's new Vice Mayor Judy Waldman, for one, has clashed with Shehadeh and wants to replace him.

In September, she said he could have cut more from the budget rather than raising the property tax rate nearly 18 percent for this upcoming budget year -- $6.29 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.