Miami Beach mayor, commissioners sworn in after election wins. They call for civility
After winning their respective elections this month, Miami Beach’s newly elected and reelected city leaders took their oaths of office Monday and called for civility after a divisive campaign season.
Mayor Dan Gelber and Commissioner Mark Samuelian, who won reelection Nov. 2, were sworn into office along with two newly elected commissioners, Kristen Rosen Gonzalez and Alex Fernandez, who won runoff elections on Nov. 16. Rosen Gonzalez previously served as a commissioner from 2015 to 2018.
Residents, family members and elected officials from across Biscayne Bay packed Miami Beach’s Commission Chambers for the swearing-in ceremony, which was held during a brief commission meeting Monday morning in which commissioners adopted the results of the runoff elections. The results of the Nov. 2 election were adopted earlier this month.
“Congratulations to all of you that just got elected,” Gelber said prior to the swearing-in ceremony.
After being sworn in, the elected officials gave speeches thanking their supporters, outlining their vision for the city and calling for civility after an attack-filled election cycle.
Rosen Gonzalez, who defeated a candidate supported by Gelber and two other commissioners, said she had amassed several enemies during her time in office but that it was time to “put the negativity and toxicity behind us.”
“To my political foes, who are now my colleagues, constituents and who have always been my neighbors, I say give me a chance to use my skill set to make Miami Beach a better place,” she said from her seat on the dais. “Call me up, let’s have coffee, let’s meet and unite.”
As she spoke, someone in the crowd interrupted the speech to chastise Commissioner Ricky Arriola, one of Rosen Gonzalez’s biggest critics, for looking down during the remarks. Arriola later said it was “just an example of the crowd that KRG attracts,” using a common acronym for Rosen Gonzalez’s full name.
Gelber later called on the community to improve the political discourse in the city and practice disagreeing respectfully when he or his colleagues take a vote that goes against their wishes.
“We should be able to disagree without making it personal,” he said. “And you all in our public should be able to accept the fact that even if we’re not going to do what you want, you do have a right to be heard, but you don’t have a right to demand that we do exactly what you want or we’re a bad person.”
Commissioner David Richardson, who has had public spats with Rosen Gonzalez, echoed Gelber’s message and said he looked forward to working with his two new colleagues.
“We will have disagreements, but together we’re going to get the good work of the city done,” he said.
Commissioners foreshadowed some of those potential disagreements in their first official action as members of the new-look board, voting to defer action on a budget amendment related to two contentious issues, the fate of the South Shore Community Center and a proposed new library and aquatic center to replace the North Shore Branch Library.
The city administration recommended earmarking about $1.6 million in surplus funds from Fiscal Year 2021 for the build-out and lease costs to relocate a day-care center at South Shore Community Center, which is proposed to be demolished for the construction of a new fire station, and another $3.5 million of the funds for capital projects such as the proposed fire station or the 72nd Street library and aquatic center.
Rosen Gonzalez, who has advocated for “saving” the North Beach library and the South Beach community center, supported a motion from Samuelian to defer the item for the Dec. 8 meeting.
“What bothers me is that you have a building right now with a perfectly good day care that has a wonderful playground,” she said.
During her comments, Rosen Gonzalez looked down to her supporters and took a pause: “She said to take a deep breath.”
Gelber and Richardson, who agreed to defer the item, said they support building the new fire station because the current conditions at Fire Station 1 at 1045 Jefferson Ave. are “deplorable” and it is located too far from the South of Fifth neighborhood.
The commission voted 6-1 to defer the item, with Arriola dissenting.
This story was originally published November 22, 2021 at 6:10 PM.
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