Four candidates vie to succeed the late ‘Bicycle Bob’ in special South Miami election
.jpg "Former South Miami Planning Board member Zach Mann, left, and current board members Mary Ann Ruiz and Brian Corey are running to replace Vice Mayor Robert “Bicycle Bob” Welsh in an April 20 special election for the Group Three seat. Henry Tien, not pictured, is also running.")
Four candidates will compete in a special election next month to replace South Miami Vice Mayor Robert “Bicycle Bob” Welsh, who died in February of complications related to skin cancer.
The deadline to make the April 20 ballot passed Friday, with two members of the city’s planning board, a former commission candidate and a fourth South Miami resident making the cut.
Voters who want to participate in the election must be registered to vote by March 22. Mail ballots must be requested by April 10.
Running to fill out the remainder of Welsh’s term is Mary Ann Ruiz, 39, the chair of the planning board. Ruiz said the experience has made her a proven community leader, as she leads meetings often attended by speakers, presenters and residents of South Miami.
According to her campaign website, her top priorities as a commissioner would include opposing tax increases, advocating for sustainable development, finding affordable housing solutions and maintaining the city’s parks and green spaces.
She also said she hopes to make South Miami more inclusive of younger Hispanic families like her own by encouraging events and street festivals to energize the downtown.
“We have an opportunity in our city to have that kind of representation on our commission, which I think is really important in general,” she said.
Ruiz was born just north of South Miami and attended Our Lady of Lourdes Academy. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Florida International University and attended law school at the University of Miami. Ruiz bought her house in South Miami in 2012, where she now lives with her husband, two young daughters, two terriers, three cats and “numerous yard animals” she has tended to since the pandemic began.
Ruiz runs a Coral Gables-based boutique real estate litigation firm, specializing in the representation of high net worth condo owners, according to her website.
Also running is Brian Corey, 36, who like Ruiz serves on the city’s planning board. He was appointed in 2019.
Corey and his brother run a digital marketing and advertising firm based in South Miami.
Corey was born in South Miami, and attended Columbus High School. He attended Hiram College in Ohio before returning to Miami. He said he decided to run after being encouraged to do so by residents and commissioners, including Commissioner Josh Liebman, whom he considers a friend.
According to his campaign website, Corey’s top priorities as a commissioner would include environmental issues such as storm resiliency, increasing the city’s tax base with development projects, creating new green spaces and building safer paths for cyclists and pedestrians in South Miami.
He is also “bullish” on keeping density and height where it is in residential and nearby commercial areas.
“People move to South Miami because it’s a small town,” he said. “I want to promote progressive and smart development.”
Ruiz and Corey appeared as if they might be in a two-person race until Friday, when Zach Mann and Henry Tien filed to seek Welsh’s seat.
Mann, 60, is a retired federal law enforcement officer who has lived in South Miami since 1988. He was born and raised in the city of Miami, and so was his mother. His grandfather, Treadwell Covington, was the mayor of Surfside in 1940. Mann attended the University of Florida.
In the early 2000s, Mann spent around eight years on South Miami’s planning board and ran unsuccessfully for the city commission.
Now, he says he has the time to focus on working toward developing a long-term plan for South Miami, so that it can maintain the “hometown environment” that has kept him in the city so long. Mann raised his two children, both professional musicians, in the house he now shares with his wife and rescue dogs and cats.
“I have the time, which is key, to address issues and concerns of the citizens and business owners, and come up with the best solutions,” he said. “I have the experience to help the city move forward.”
Mann joked that his campaign recalls the essence of Welsh, who was known for riding his bicycle around town to distribute fliers and meet residents. When Mann ran in 2006, he rode a red bicycle with his name on it to get the word out. He plans to get back on the bike and continue the tradition for his 2021 campaign.
Tien, 64, did not respond to a request for comment. According to his qualifying paperwork, Tien lives in a four-bedroom house in South Miami owned by his mother, Ming Tien.
This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 7:50 PM.