Editorials

Herald endorsement: Our pick in the Miami-Dade County Commission District 7 runoff | Opinion

By the Miami Herald Editorial Board

Updated November 2, 2024 11:41 AM

Miami-Dade County Commission District 7 candidates incumbent Raquel Regalado and Cindy Lerner. Provided

Editorial Board’s General Election Endorsements

In advance of the upcoming general elections on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, the Editorial Board interviewed and researched 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.

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The nonpartisan race for Miami-Dade County Commission District 7 is a runoff and a rematch.

Incumbent Raquel Regalado beat former Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner in 2020. Lerner is again challenging Regalado in the Nov. 5 General Election. They were the top two candidates in a three-way August primary. Regalado finished first with almost 49% of the votes, just shy of the 50% plus one she needed to avoid a runoff, and Lerner received 42%.

Regalado was the Herald Editorial Board’s choice in August and she is again in the runoff.

District 7 covers the southern portion of the city of Miami, parts of Coral Gables and Kendall, as well as Key Biscayne, Pinecrest and South Miami.

This race has turned personal and contentious. In a campaign video, Lerner tried to link Regalado to other Cuban-American officials embroiled in political scandals, such as former Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, arrested last year on corruption-related charges. Regalado — daughter of former Miami mayor and property appraiser Republican candidate Tomas Regalado — has never been accused of corruption and said Lerner’s ads were anti Cuban-American.

Regalado, 50, is a lawyer and former school board member who describes herself as a “happy workaholic.” She has deep policy knowledge and is well versed on what’s happening in local government. For example, she was among the first commissioners to urge her colleagues to create a framework to transition the Miami-Dade Police Department to a new sheriff’s office.

Regalado has had an extensive list of accomplishments during her first term. She has worked to accelerate the removal of septic tanks that can pollute Biscayne Bay, to pass a moratorium on the sale of county property that isn’t connected to a sewage system and to create new septic-tank standards that make them less likely to leak waste into waterways.

She sponsored legislation to allow accessory dwelling units (aka efficiencies) in single-family homes in unincorporated Miami-Dade to create more affordable housing options and co-sponsored a “Tenant Bill of Rights” to grant more rights to renters. She touts her work to bring Tri-Rail to downtown Miami while she was heading the tri-county board that oversees the rail service. The mother of two young adults on the autism spectrum, she also created autism-sensitivity training for county employees.

Regalado and Mayor Daniella Levine Cava are trying to evict the Miami Seaquarium from county land on Virginia Key after a string of federal animal welfare violations. Regalado vowed she won’t support the sale or lease of the land to developers and said the county requires the property to remain recreational.

Lerner, 71, accuses Regalado of being too friendly to developers. On occasion, she’s been right.

Regalado flipped her vote in 2022 to approve a concerning plan to expand Miami-Dade’s Urban Development Boundary (UDB) to allow a South Dade logistics and warehouse district that could impact Biscayne Bay restoration. She said she changed her mind after developers agreed to donate more than 200 acres to the county’s environmental lands program. She also supported, to the chagrin of many of her constituents, the conversion of the Calusa golf course in Kendall into a 550-home development. She said she helped negotiate a requirement for the monitoring of a rookery on the property that was an environmental concern.

Lerner opposes both projects.

Lerner, a former Democratic state representative, touted her environmental record as Pinecrest mayor, including a climate action plan to reduce carbon emissions and the introduction of a free transit service. She agreed that the Seaquarium should be evicted and said the property should become a marine animal sanctuary. She criticized the lack of public transit in West Kendall and said she would like to open a district office in the area to serve constituents who are unheard.

We have questions about Lerner’s ability to deal with opposing views. In the 2020 elections, an attack ad compiled footage of Lerner berating citizens during Pinecrest village council meetings. She has tried to spin that into a positive, saying in a campaign video she’s angry about corruption.

Lerner’s criticism of Regalado’s record at times is valid, but the incumbent’s accomplishments are many.

The Herald Editorial Board endorses RAQUEL REGALADO for Miami-Dade County Commission District 7.

BEHIND THE STORY

Who decides the political endorsements?

In advance of local and state elections, Miami Herald Editorial Board members interview political candidates, as well as advocates and opponents of ballot measures. The Editorial Board is composed of experienced opinion journalists and is independent of the Herald’s newsroom. Members of the Miami Herald Editorial Board are: Amy Driscoll, editorial page editor; and editorial writers Isadora Rangel and Mary Anna Mancuso. Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.

What does the endorsement process look like?

The Miami Herald Editorial Board interviews political candidates to better understand their views on public policy and how their policies will affect their constituents. Board members do additional reporting and research to learn as much as possible about the candidates before making an endorsement. The Editorial Board then convenes to discuss the candidates in each race. Board members seek to reach a consensus on the endorsements, but not every decision is unanimous. Candidates who decline to be interviewed will not receive an endorsement.

Is the Editorial Board partisan?

No. In making endorsements, members of the Editorial Board consider which candidates are better prepared to represent their constituents — not whether they agree with our editorial stances or belong to a particular political party. We evaluate candidates’ relevant experience, readiness for office, depth of knowledge of key issues and understanding of public policy. We’re seeking candidates who are thoughtful and who offer more than just party-line talking points.

This story was originally published October 7, 2024 at 5:54 PM.