Four candidates running for Opa-locka mayor, eight for two commission seats
When Matthew Pigatt stepped down as Opa-locka mayor in late 2021, he made allegations of a corrupt government and mismanagement as the reasons for his departure.
Four candidates are now vying for the mayoral seat, which will be vacated by Mayor Veronica Williams, who is not seeking reelection. Two of those candidates serve on the commission — Vice Mayor John H. Taylor and Commissioner Chris Davis — and another one, Christina Banks, is a retired government employee. Little is known about the fourth candidate, Justo J. Rodriguez, 61, who did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.
A small primarily Black community in North Miami-Dade, Opa-locka’s main issues include public safety, infrastructure and the need for transparency amid the current state financial oversight, which has been in place since 2016. The city has also received more than $6 million in federal funding due to COVID-19 with another nearly $4 million due in the fall. Such a rare, influx of cash means the city has the opportunity to do something very special, Davis, 35, said.
“The city really has an opportunity to allocate those funds in a correct manner and really make the sort of investment that has been neglected in our community for years,” Davis added. He then listed roads, flooding and “infrastructure as a whole” as issues that need to be addressed which “will simultaneously create economic opportunity.”
Having been elected in 2018, Davis is the longest serving member on the city commission. “My combination of education and expertise is what the city needs right now,” he said. He has a master’s degree in public administration from Florida Atlantic University and is a former grant writer. Davis said he would leverage the COVID funds to apply for more grants “to improve the quality of life,” while also recognizing that building “a financially solvent city” must come first.
“We need to get out of financial recovery,” Davis said. Addressing the city’s high property taxes, creating more social programs for the youth and seniors and holding more community forums to increase transparency were also important, he added.
Davis points to his accomplishments of advocating for the $2.1 million in CARES Act funding and repealing the city’s saggy pants law.
Banks, who has worked in the city manager’s office and several other city departments, wants to use her own institutional knowledge to improve how the government functions. She has proposed a total overhaul of city staff and the police departments, which she says would improve Opa-locka’s image.
“There needs to be change in the upper management and coming from an HR background, it’s necessary to make that change first of all,” Banks, 70, said. She also suggested improvements to the city’s parks and recreation to “get kids off the street.”
Taylor, a current Florida Health Department inspector who was elected in 2020 and appointed vice mayor in 2022, said the idea of unifying the community led to his campaign. Opa-locka’s Hispanic population has increased roughly 41%, according to the Census, and Taylor, 31, touted his creation of the Conga Loca Hispanic Street Festival as evidence of his commitment to “bring us all together.” Taylor also listed the digitization of city records and the ratification of a contract with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union as his accomplishments.
“Bringing the politics and government to the people, letting them know they have a voice here with me” is part of his plan, Taylor said. Other issues he planned to address were simplifying the permitting process, reducing property taxes and fixing the flooding issues.
Taylor was named as a defendant in former city manager John Pate’s ongoing lawsuit that alleges he was fired for not doing favors for commissioners. The lawsuit claims that Taylor’s father called Pate and asked him to overlook an incident involving Taylor’s brother, a police officer who was deemed at fault for rear-ending a car while operating a city-owned vehicle. Taylor declined to comment on the matter, noting that the ethics complaint that Pate filed to the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust was dismissed in June.
“We’ll let the process play out,” Taylor said.
Opa-locka commission race
Eight candidates are in the race for two spots on Opa-locka’s city commission, including two incumbents — Commissioners Audrey Dominguez and Sherlean Bass. Another, Dorothy “Dottie” Johnson, previously served on the commission.
Security company owner Randolph Aikens, 66, tax preparer Natasha Ervin, 53, Teen Up-Ward Bound executive director Jannie L. Russell, 65, and executive sous chef George Suarez Jr., 49, and Sandra Espinal, 68, account for the rest of the field. Espinal was the only one who did not respond to attempts to contact her.
Each candidate was sent a questionnaire, six – Aikens, Dominguez, Ervin, Johnson, Russell and Suarez – returned the form. Their biggest issues were the city’s financial situation, policing, the lack of senior and youth programming, failing infrastructure and the dearth of small businesses.
In addition to Taylor, Dominguez and Bass were also named as defendants in Pate’s lawsuit.
