Miami Beach officials agree on election for new commissioner after Samuelian’s death
After weeks of impasse, Miami Beach city commissioners agreed Wednesday to hold a special election this November to fill a vacancy created by the death of Commissioner Mark Samuelian.
Mayor Dan Gelber, along with Commissioners David Richardson and Ricky Arriola, backed off their prior support of appointing a new commissioner and instead voted to hold an election to fill the seat on Nov. 8. Samuelian died June 22 of an undisclosed illness.
The vote was 6-0. The city charter required that the commission decide within 30 days of the vacancy whether to appoint a temporary replacement or call an election.
The commission will take a second vote July 25 to finalize the decision.
Richardson expressed concerns about possible low turnout in a runoff, which would take place in December if no candidate receives a majority of votes in November. He said it may not be possible to hold early voting before the runoff. But he said it was important for the commission to be unified on the issue.
Gelber added that the worst option would have been to do nothing this year and leave the seat open for more than a year until next November.
The winner of the election will serve until 2025, when Samuelian’s term would have ended.
Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, who argued in favor of the special election, celebrated the decision on Twitter.
“WE GOT AN ELECTION!” she wrote.
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 10:58 AM.
