Two candidates seeking one seat on Bal Harbour council

A lone Village Council seat is up for grabs in this fall’s Bal Harbour election.

Fresh faces Jordan Cohn and Seth Salver will be vying for the District 1 seat. Election Day is Nov. 4, but early voting started Monday.

Incumbent council member Patricia Cohn, and newcomer Gabriel Groisman were automatically elected to represent districts 3 and 5, respectively, after no one else enrtered the races.

The seats will be for four-year terms. Under Bal Harbour’s system, the council appoints one of its members to serve as mayor.

Salver, 26, is the son of Isaac Salver, a council member in nearby Bay Harbor Islands. Seth Salver has lived in Bal Harbour for two years. He was appointed to the Bal Harbour village budget committee in 2013 and was selected as the committee chairman this year.

He said his priorities would include infrastructure and services.

“Bal Harbour is an iconic community with a rich history. I believe that if we wish to maintain our standing as a global destination we need to invest in our infrastructure and the services we provide to our residents and guests,” he said in an email. “Bal Harbour is the only place in the world where you have the finest shopping, dining, resorts, condominiums, and homes within yards of pristine beaches.”

He is a certified public accountant currently working for HBO-Latin America. He says he will bring his expertise to the village.

“I plan on utilizing my strong financial background to ensure that our hard-earned tax dollars are spent in a prudent and responsible manner,” he said.

Meanwhile, his opponent is Jordan, 79, who has lived in the village for 10 years and is a retired businessman and, educator. He has served on condominium association boards in the village and Miami Beach. He has several items he would like to focus on, including “the proposed expansion of the Bal Harbour Shops and how it may impact the residents of the village, traffic on Collins Avenue, especially public safety, and emergency services.”

Another issue he’d like take a closer look at is the village’s budget and a new proposed sewer system.

“A legal opinion is needed to determine who is financially responsible for the sewer system and allocate construction and maintenance costs,” he said.

This story was originally published October 20, 2014 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Two candidates seeking one seat on Bal Harbour council."