Doral re-elects Cabrera, passes $150M parks bond, but needs runoff for a council seat

Voters in Doral reelected one councilman Tuesday but will return to the polls for a runoff election for a second seat. They also approved a $150 million bond measure, to be spent largely on parks.

Staying on the dais will be Pedro “Pete” Cabrera, 60, an incumbent who raised more money than every other candidate combined. The race was a super tight one, with Cabrera winning the council seat with a close 50.3 percent of the vote.

This term is Cabrera’s last for at least four years because of the city’s term limits.

Cabrera was up against Carlos Pereira, 44, an Uber driver and Venezuelan activist known for his ventriloquist act with Gochirila the puppet. Also vying for the seat was Liliana Campa, 34, a former Miss Venezuela beauty pageant winner and local restaurant owner, and 51-year-old house flipper Jose Lorenzo.

Seat four, which was vacated when council member Ana Maria Rodriguez left to run for state House District 105, will require a runoff election on Dec. 11 after none of the candidates got more than 50 percent of the vote.

Digna Cabral, a 41-year-old research analyst for the University of Miami’s Department of Neurology, and 48-year-old Belinda Leon, an education consultant, will be on the runoff ballot.

Alexis Acosta, a 42-year-old employee of Chase bank, was eliminated.

Voters narrowly approved the young city’s first ever bond, a $150 million expansion of the city’s parks and amenities. The measure passed with a slim 52. 9 percent of the vote.

This story was originally published November 6, 2018 at 11:43 PM.