Aventura voters to weigh in on term limits, ethics, charter review in mail election
Aventura voters will decide whether to approve three amendments to the city charter in a mail-only election that ends April 27, including one change that could allow Mayor Enid Weisman to run for city commission after her mayoral term limits expire next year.
In 2018, voters approved a charter tweak to let city commissioners run for mayor after two consecutive four-year terms without waiting four years in between. Now, the reverse scenario is on the ballot, asking whether a mayor should be allowed to run for city commission directly after serving eight years as mayor.
Weisman’s second four-year term expires in November 2022, meaning she would become eligible to run for city commission at that time if the proposed amendment passes. It would mean all elected officials in Aventura could serve up to 16 consecutive years.
Weisman said she had nothing to do with getting it on the ballot. The proposed charter changes were put forward by the city’s independent charter revision commission, and the city commission had no power to amend or reject them, she said.
“I was actually quite surprised,” Weisman said of the proposed term-limit change. She said she’s still ambivalent about whether to run for commission next year if it’s allowed.
“Right now I’m being mayor,” she said. “Anything else I’ll have to deal with at that time.”
Still, Weisman has encouraged residents to vote “yes” on the measure.
“This amendment will allow experienced leaders to continue their service to Aventura,” she wrote in a letter to constituents.
Elected officials and lawsuits
The second referendum would prevent city commissioners from simultaneously serving as officers or governing board members of community associations, including condo boards, that are engaged in a lawsuit against the city of Aventura.
The issue has come up once in the past for current Commissioner Robert Shelley, who is also president of the Williams Island Property Owners Association board of directors.
When the association sued the city several years ago, Shelley recused himself from a vote that could have posed a conflict.
“That, to me, should be sufficient,” Shelley told the Miami Herald. “We’re grown-ups.”
He said he would support a ban on individual commissioners suing the city while in office, but not the proposed rule to force commissioners to resign from community association positions “where they do so much good.”
“I’m not in favor of the way it was written,” Shelley said.
In her letter to constituents, Weisman called the proposal “an enhancement to Aventura’s ethical policies.”
Charter Review Commission
The third and final proposed amendment would have the charter review commission meet every six years, rather than every five, in an effort to align votes on charter changes with the city’s even-year municipal elections. It’s a cost-saving effort, said Weisman, given that holding a special election like the one happening next week can cost the city as much as $60,000.
Other than Shelley’s objection, the three proposed amendments have garnered support from the city’s seven elected officials. The amendments need a simple majority of “yes” votes to pass.
There has been some public opposition to the first and second questions. In a post on Facebook, former Commissioner Gladys Mezrahi urged residents to reject “the entrenchment of power of an officer being in power for 16 years.”
And on question two, Mezrahi said the ethics rule should apply to board members at schools, hospitals and nonprofits, not just community associations.
“This change should apply equally to everyone,” her post said.
Ballots were sent out April 7 and can be returned by mail or in person to the Miami-Dade Elections Department at 2700 Northwest 87th Avenue, Miami, FL 33172.
The deadline for ballots to be received is 7 p.m. April 27.
The city chose to restrict the special election to mail ballots only, which is allowed by Florida law for citywide referendum votes.
This story was originally published April 22, 2021 at 11:28 AM.
