Here’s who’s in the runoff for Doral city council in the 2020 election
A real estate agent favored by the political establishment and a businessman who sees himself as an independent voice are vying to be the next member of Doral’s city council in the Dec. 8 runoff election.
Oscar Puig, a 53-year-old real estate agent, and logistics professional Juan Carlos Esquivel, 54, won the most votes in the Nov. 3 election, but neither captured the 50% plus one to win outright. Puig won about 44% and Esquivel won about 33%. A third candidate, Alberto Chavez, won about 22%.
Esquivel and Puig will face off for Council Seat 3 on the elected body that sets Doral’s property tax rate, controls the city’s zoning laws and administers municipal parks and trolleys.
Puig, who has been civically involved since before Doral incorporated in 2003, is endorsed by recently reelected Mayor J.C. Bermudez and the rest of the city council. He’s been a president or board member of several civic groups over the last two decades, including One Doral, Doral Community Council, Doral Community Foundation, the city’s economic development advisory board and charter review commission. Puig serves as the state director of the Florida Association of Realtors.
“I want to continue the work of a transparent, solid, well-managed city,” Puig said, complimenting the city’s direction under Bermudez.
Among Puig’s priorities: Marketing Doral’s growing mixed-use communities, along with more established dining and shopping options. He said economic development should be a top concern as the city emerges from the downturn spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the city could streamline the process for proprietors starting new businesses “from the moment they apply for building permits to once they are up and running.”
Esquivel also listed business development as a primary issue. He said the city’s current permitting problems have stymied growth to the point where entrepreneurs lose their investments while waiting more than a year to receive necessary approvals to open their doors. He supports studying why the city’s workforce can’t deliver approvals faster to see if the issue is productivity, lack of staff, or both. He also wants to review city processes to shorten timelines.
“The process is very bureaucratic, and it needs to be revised,” he said. “It needs to be checked on.”
Esquivel criticized his opponent for the support from all the sitting council members. He said if Puig were elected, the council would essentially be a rubber stamp for Bermudez.
“Electing my opponent to the city council, we will definitely have a dictatorship,” Esquivel told the Herald. “Everything will be ‘Yes ma’am. Yes sir.’”
Puig rebutted the comments while saying he will remain independent even if his vision aligns with the current council.
“I call that unity, and unity for the better,” Puig said. “If my opponent says that, it’s fine. What I can say is I’ve never been a puppet of anybody. They know it. Anybody knows it.”
Esquivel has worked for more than 30 years in logistics, working for two South Florida shipping lines and running his own Doral-based company, Universal Freightways, for about a decade. He serves as the treasurer for his church, Ekklesia Miami.
He called for a more aggressive approach to demanding better transit options, which would have involved other government agencies since several of the city’s roads are owned by the state or Florida or Miami-Dade County. He said the city’s leadership too often blames other agencies for traffic and transit woes.
“Well, get up from your chair. Go fight for it,” Esquivel said, adding that the city’s trolley system, free for riders, needs to be improved to provide more frequency for riders who rely on the service to get to and from work.
Puig said the city’s membership on the countywide transit board, where Bermudez has a seat, will lead to improvements in Doral. He favors a study of where Doral’s commuting workforce lives, to understand the flow of traffic in and out of the city, and using that study to partner with neighboring cities and the county to propose mass transit projects.
“I think it’s a regional problem that has to be solved as a region,” Puig said.
A balanced approach to real estate development, Puig said, would also limit road congestion. Less strictly commercial development in favor of more residential development, would help. Esquivel said attracting more business and less home development, which he said is “overpopulating the city,” would alleviate traffic and lessen the burden on City Hall to deliver more services such as trash pickup.
Doral’s voting precincts will open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Dec. 8 for the runoff election.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 2:09 PM.
