North Miami gets new mayor and moves election date, extending council members’ terms
The North Miami City Council appointed a new mayor and changed the month for city elections to align with the federal calendar, which extended the terms for council members in office.
The city’s municipal elections will move from May 2023 to Nov. 2024, when federal elections will be held. That action taken Tuesday evening will extend the terms of Councilman Scott Galvin and Alix Desulme, who was appointed mayor during the meeting, to end in Nov. 2024. Their terms previously would have ended in May 2023.
Councilwoman Mary Estime-Irvin and Kassandra Timothe’s terms were originally set to end May 2025, but will now end in Nov. 2026, City Attorney Jeff Cazeau told the Miami Herald. The council moved the city’s municipal elections from May of odd-numbered years to November of even-numbered years to align with the national election schedule and save the city money.
The council passed the election date measure 3-1 with Timothe as the dissenting vote. “As an elected official, we’re put here by the residents, and I’ve heard them loud and clear, received emails, phone calls, and they felt like their rights were being stripped away,” Timothe told the Herald on Wednesday afternoon. “And as leaders, we have to listen to them.”
Timothe had voted Nov. 7 in favor of changing the election date during a first reading, but now said she opposed it because of feedback from the community and potential candidates.
The council voted unanimously to appoint Desulme, District 4 councilman and vice mayor, to fill the seat of former Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime, who resigned Nov. 22 as a result of his unsuccessful campaign for Miami-Dade County Commission.
“Oh my God, it’s been a journey. You know, I don’t want to call any names and I don’t want to cry, but it’s been a journey,” Desulme said during Tuesday’s meeting. “They always say, you do what you need to do, and God will do the rest.”
In 2009, Desulme was elected as city clerk. He then ran for City Council in 2015, becoming the youngest member on the council at age 37. He won his bid for reelection in 2019.
Estime-Irvin was appointed vice mayor, and council members will appoint a person to fill the vacant District 4 seat.
This story was originally published December 14, 2022 at 2:18 PM.
