Aventura voters reject change that would have let mayor run for commission next year
Aventura voters have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed charter change to allow the mayor to run for city commission directly after serving as mayor, according to the unofficial results of a mail-only election posted Tuesday night.
With most ballots counted, the Miami-Dade elections department reported that voters said “no” to the change in an election that ended Tuesday.
Voters, though, showed strong support for two other ballot measures, including one that will prevent city commissioners from simultaneously serving as officers of community associations that are suing the city. That proposal was billed by supporters as an effort to strengthen the city’s ethics rules.
The third referendum, which also passed, will mean the city’s charter review commission meets every six years instead of every five. The change was a cost-saving effort to align votes on charter changes with the city’s even-year municipal elections.
Strong opposition to mayoral term-limit tweak
In 2018, voters approved a charter change to let city commissioners run for mayor after two consecutive four-year terms, eliminating a requirement that they wait four years in between. In Tuesday’s election, the reverse scenario was on the ballot, asking voters whether a mayor should be allowed to run for city commission directly after serving eight years as mayor.
Enid Weisman’s second four-year term as mayor expires in November 2022, meaning she would have become eligible to run for city commission at that time if the proposed amendment had passed. It would have meant all elected officials in Aventura could serve up to 16 consecutive years, split between their time as mayor and as a commissioner.
Instead, Weisman will now be term-limited as an elected official in the city next year.
Weisman told the Miami Herald last week that she had nothing to do with getting the item on the ballot, although she encouraged voters to approve it. She said she was still considering whether she would run for commission if the amendment passed.
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 8:52 PM.
