Miami Shores council will have a Black majority for the first time in 89-year history
Three political newcomers won seats on the Miami Shores Village Council Tuesday, giving the village its second Black mayor and first majority-Black council in its 89-year history.
Top vote-getter Sandra Harris will be sworn in April 20 as the second Black mayor in Miami Shores’ 89-year history, replacing current Mayor Crystal Wagar, who will stay on the council.
Four candidates were vying for three seats on the council. The three winners defeated the lone incumbent in the race, Jonathan Meltz. He finished just 22 votes behind Katia Saint Fleur, who will become the first-ever Haitian-American woman on the council.
“That shows me the forward progress that we as a village have made,” Wagar said. “I couldn’t be more proud of that progress.”
After results were posted Tuesday, a machine recount was still possible. Out of almost 2,000 ballots cast in the election, six were rejected for mismatched or missing signatures and could have been cured by Thursday and approved by the county’s canvassing board Friday. That could have triggered an automatic recount if the cured ballots swung in Meltz’s favor and narrowed the margin between him and Saint Fleur from its current 0.51% to less than 0.5%.
But Miami-Dade Deputy Supervisor of Elections Suzy Trutie said Friday that none of the rejected ballots were cured by the deadline, meaning Tuesday’s results will stand.
The margins between the other candidates were also thin. Harris, the former director of the city of Miami’s transportation department, came in first place with 1,154 votes, just 23 votes (0.53%) ahead of attorney Daniel Marinberg.
Marinberg led Saint Fleur, a former legislative aide for State Sen. Oscar Braynon, by 94 votes, or about 2%.
The candidate who receives the most votes in Miami Shores’ odd-year elections is traditionally appointed as mayor by the village council, although the provision is not written into the village charter.
“I am honored by the trust that the people placed in me,” said Harris, 56. She downplayed the significance of the council’s racial and ethnic makeup. Miami Shores is about 15% Black and 70% white, according to U.S. Census data. “I think we’re all focused on the work of the village, not so much on the ethnic breakdown of the council,” Harris said.
Harris and Marinberg, as the top two vote-getters, will serve four-year terms, while Saint Fleur will serve a two-year term because she finished third.
This article was originally posted April 13 and updated April 16 to reflect the status of rejected ballots that, if cured, could have forced a recount. None were cured.
This story was originally published April 13, 2021 at 8:53 PM.
