Four people running for Miami Gardens mayor to succeed term-limited Oliver Gilbert

Three elected officials and an activist are running to succeed Oliver Gilbert as mayor of Miami Gardens, the third-largest city in Miami-Dade.

After the filing deadline passed Thursday, the four candidates who qualified for the Aug. 18 election are: Lisa Davis, who is a member of the City Council; Lavern Deer, an activist on youth issues; Rodney Harris, a council member and the city’s vice mayor; and Sharon Pritchett, a member of the Florida House whose district runs through the city.

Another declared candidate, Florida Sen. Oscar Braynon II, didn’t file qualifying papers and won’t be a candidate. “I wanted to be more involved with the family,” Braynon said Friday.

The four candidates will face each other in a nonpartisan primary in August, as will the candidates for three council seats. If one candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote in a race, the contest ends. If not, the top two finishers will compete in a runoff on Election Day in November.

Davis said she wants to continue her priorities as a City Council member. “My work is not over in Miami Gardens,” she said. “I want to help continue our economic development, and fight and curtail our crime.”

Deer, a project coordinator in Broward County government, pointed to her advocacy work for a state law that brings sex-trafficking education to Florida schools as helping motivate her to run. “Sometimes if you want change, you have to pursue it yourself,” she said.

Harris and Pritchett were not immediately available for comment Friday.