South Miami picks Brian Corey to succeed the late ‘Bicycle Bob’ in special election
.jpg "Former South Miami Planning Board member Zach Mann, left, and current board members Mary Ann Ruiz and Brian Corey were running to replace Vice Mayor Robert “Bicycle Bob” Welsh in an April 20 special election for the Group Three seat. Henry Tien, not pictured, was also running.")
Marketing specialist Brian Corey will be South Miami’s newest commissioner after winning Tuesday’s special election to replace Vice Mayor Robert “Bicycle Bob” Welsh, who died in February of complications related to skin cancer.
Corey won about 43% of the vote in a four-way contest, according to unofficial results from the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections. Corey led second-place finisher Mary Ann Ruiz, an attorney, by 173 votes.
Corey also beat Zach Mann, a retired federal law enforcement officer, and Henry Tien, who didn’t campaign.
Just over 1,600 of the city’s 8,371 voters participated in the election, scheduled after Welsh’s death. Corey will be sworn in Wednesday afternoon.
Corey, 36, runs a digital marketing and advertising firm based in South Miami, where he was born.
He attended Columbus High School and went to Hiram College in Ohio before returning home 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.
Corey said in talking to friends of Welsh’s, he was advised that the late vice mayor would have wanted Corey to be “absolutely, unapologetically yourself,” an attitude Corey says he took to the campaign trail.
“That was the best way to honor his memory,” he said. “I was very honest with people. I think it paid off.”
Corey raised $14,000 over the course of his campaign, though more than $11,000 of it was in self-loans. He was endorsed by former South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard and the Miami Association of Realtors.
Stoddard, who interviewed all the candidates except Tien, told the Miami Herald that “Brian clearly understood one of the issues that I thought was important,” referring to state preemption of local governments.
“When Bob first learned of his skin cancer, maybe six years ago, he asked me to help assure that a worthy successor would fill his place on the City Commission,” Stoddard wrote to voters in a letter endorsing Corey. “After the immense sadness of Bob’s death began to let up a little, I set about the serious task of honoring his request.”
Corey was appointed to the city’s planning board in 2019, and has said a top priority of his would be to keep the height and density of new buildings in check.
He said he also cares deeply about storm resiliency and water contamination, as well as parks and pedestrian projects to improve accessibility.
But before he takes up any projects or resolutions, he said he plans on going back to the residents.
“I have big ideas, but I have debts to pay,” he said. “I know I owe all that success to the people I talked to door to door.”
This story was originally published April 20, 2021 at 8:15 PM.