Miami-Dade, Broward school board races are among the most contested on the 2020 ballot

This is a big election year for the Miami-Dade County School Board. Five out of nine countywide seats, a majority, are up for grabs. Three incumbents are vacating their seats and candidates have swarmed in.

The races for those empty, nonpartisan seats are among the most contested on the local 2020 ballot. The contests will be decided on the August primary ballot, unless no candidate in a race wins at least 50% of votes. In that case, a runoff will force the election to the November ballot.

School Board District 1 — North Miami-Dade

As qualifying ended at noon Friday, Steve Gallon faced no challengers and was automatically reelected to his District 1 seat. He will continue to represent the areas of Miami Gardens, Opa-locka and North Miami in his second term on the board.

School Board District 3 — Northeast Miami-Dade and the beaches

After four terms on the board, Martin Karp withdrew his paperwork for reelection last summer. Here’s who wants to represent the areas of North Miami Beach, Aventura, the beaches and Brickell in this particularly crowded race.

Candidates: Lucia Baez-Geller, Raquel Bild-Libbin, Marcela Gomez-Bogomolni, Joshua Levy and Russ Rywell.

School Board District 5 — West Miami-Dade

Susie Castillo decided not to run again after two terms. She represented Doral, Miami Springs and a slice of Hialeah.

Candidates: Christi Fraga, Jaime A. Petralanda, Michel Diaz Suarez and Mara Zapata.

School Board District 7 — Southwest Miami-Dade

Lubby Navarro is the only incumbent on this ballot to face a challenger. Since 2015, she’s represented the lion’s share of Kendall and South Miami Heights.

According to the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections website, her sole opponent who was marked as qualified is Marie-Flore Lindor-Latortue.

School Board District 9 — Southeast Miami-Dade

Larry Feldman wants to spend more time with family and has chosen to end his 12-year tenure on the School Board. The race for District 9, the broad area representing Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay down to Homestead and Florida City, has heavy-hitting candidates. Term-limited county commissioner Dennis Moss threw his hat into District 9’s already crowded and heated ring on Wednesday.

Candidates: Moss, Esther “Shelly” Fano, Justin A. Koren, Nancy Lawther and Luisa Santos.

Broward School Board

Four out of nine Broward County School Board seats are on the ballot. There are only two countywide seats on the board, one of which — Robin Bartleman’s District 9 seat — is on this year’s ballot. The other seven seats are single-member districts, and three of those are up for grabs.

Broward County School Board, District 2 — Southwest Broward

Patricia Good faced no challengers for her District 2 seat. She was elected to the board in 2010 and will continue to serve the areas of Miramar, Pembroke Pines and west.

Broward County School Board, District 3 — East Broward

Incumbent Heather Brinkworth faces one challenger, Sarah Leonardi. Brinkworth has represented the coastal cities of Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park and Wilton Manors since 2014.

Broward County School Board, District 5 — Central Broward

Incumbent Rosalind Osgood sails on to her third term on the School Board. Her sole active challenger, Debra Sue Peterson, did not qualify by the deadline, according to the Broward County Supervisor of Elections website. Osgood represents Central Broward, including Lauderhill and Plantation.

Broward County School Board, District 9 — Countywide

Bartleman’s vacated seat is the most sought after in Broward County. Bartleman, the longest-serving current member of the School Board, is running for a Florida House seat. Among the candidates vying for that seat is Debra Hixon, the widow of athletic director Chris Hixon, who was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Candidates: Hixon, Narnike Grants, Jeff Holness, Joyce Williams-Bryan and Jimmy Bernard Witherspoon.

This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 12:15 PM.