In Miami Beach Group VI, the Herald recommends candidate with a more-solid vision | Opinion
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Editorial Board Miami Beach 2023 Election Recommendations
In advance of the upcoming Miami Beach elections on November 7, 2023, the Editorial Board interviewed political candidates to better understand their views on various issues and how their policies will affect their constituents. The goal is to give voters a better idea of who’s the best candidate for each race. Read our recommendations for Miami Beach below:
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In Miami Beach Group VI, the Herald recommends candidate with a more-solid vision | Opinion
The race for Miami Beach Commission Group VI features two candidates with roots in the city and a good understanding of its main issues. Voters might have a hard time determining who has the best vision for the Beach, but Marcella Novela, the Herald Editorial Board’s recommendation, has the edge.
Novela, 45, is the founder of Art Conductor, an art advisory company. She’s a past member of the board of trustees at the Perez Art Museum and currently chairs Miami Beach’s Art in Public Places Board.
Group VI is one of four races on the ballot in Miami Beach on Nov. 7. Early voting starts on Oct. 26.
Novela’s vision is to elevate the city through arts and culture. That goal is in line with voters who approved last year a general obligation bond to improve and renovate cultural facilities. Miami Beach is home to Art Basel, the New World Symphony, theaters and museums. Elected officials should work to grow the city’s reputation as a cultural destination.
Novela faces Joe Magazine, 40, vice president of Loop Capital, an investment bank and brokerage firm. Magazine serves on the Miami Beach Planning and Zoning Board and calls himself an “expert in government finances.”
Magazine’s knowledge and passion were clear during an interview with the Board but we have questions about his temperament. In 2016, in the wake of the death of five police officers in Dallas, he wrote on social media he was “sick of hearing a bunch of f---ing morons talk about whose lives matter.”
“To me, my family’s lives matter, my life matters,” Magazine wrote. “And if anyone decides to try and jeopardize that, they’ll see how little their life matters to me.”
He later told a Herald reporter the post was “worded poorly.”
We particularly liked Novela’s approach that not every issue requires a one-size-fits-all solution, which shows an open mind.
Both candidates agree that over development is a top issue and that the conversion of residential units into vacation rentals contributes to the city’s lack of affordable housing. Novela said Miami Beach must create incentives for property owners to maintain their properties residential.
“I think there has to be some monetary compensation because it has to make economic sense to [property owners],” Novela told the Editorial Board. “If we can figure out how to subsidize and... give them tax breaks, there are so many different ways.”
Besides incentives, Magazine wants a moratorium on the conversion of long-term rental units to short-term. We’re skeptical that a moratorium would sustain a legal challenge because state law bans local governments from regulating vacation rentals.
On the 2 a.m. alcohol sales rollback that voters supported two years ago, Novela and Magazine share similar stances. They believe night clubs and bars should be treated on a case-by-case basis. Novela said the city shouldn’t force places like night club Twist, a mainstay of the LGBTQ community, out of business.
On Spring Break, Novela is against the city hosting events at Lummus Park and burdening law enforcement. Magazine wants to shut down municipal garages after a certain hour but it’s unclear whether that would work. The city has increased the costing of public parking with little effect on crowd sizes.
Novela has had past financial issues. There are three now-dismissed foreclosures, which she said are the result of a divorce that began in 2015 and her ex-husband not paying the bills. There were more than a dozen liens for unpaid stormwater bills against a Homestead property she co-owned with her sister. She said her parents put the property in her name and she didn’t know about the unpaid bills until this year, when she said she paid them.
Novela didn’t disclose her foreclosures in a questionnaire the Editorial Board asked candidates to fill out. She said she didn’t know about them because her ex-husband’s name was on a mortgage. Novela should have been more forthcoming but we believe Magazine’s past comments are a bigger issue.
Novela is now married to Ricardo Dunin, a real-estate developer behind the Ritz-Carlton Residences in Miami Beach. Novela said she would recuse herself from any votes involving her husband but said he’s vowed not to work on any projects in the city.
Beach candidates linked to developers tend to face criticism, but we don’t believe she should be judged by who her husband is but by her vision for the city.
The Herald recommends MARCELLA NOVELA for Miami Beach Commission Group VI.
This story was originally published October 20, 2023 at 12:00 AM.