Editorial Board withdraws recommendation for Miami Beach mayor | 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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The Herald Editorial Board is withdrawing its recommendation of Commissioner Steven Meiner for mayor of Miami Beach.
Board members are deeply concerned by the credible allegations of sexual harassment of co-workers that were reported in the Miami Herald during the weekend.
We recommended Meiner, 52, from a group of four candidates, each flawed, on the strength of his resolute vision for a city that puts residents and their quality of life first. He was elected to the commission in 2019.
We added: “Meiner is not the most experienced public servant in the mayor’s race, but he appears to play it along the straight and narrow, ethically speaking, which heartened the Editorial Board.”
The Board now is disheartened. Meiner is an enforcement attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Herald reporter Aaron Leibowitz reported Friday that three women, once Meiner’s colleagues, said he made unwanted advances toward them.
One of them reported his alleged behavior to her supervisors, which triggered an internal review in 2016. According to documents reviewed by the Herald, Meiner told the woman that he wanted to get a second apartment to carry on an affair with her. A few years before, he allegedly tried to kiss a college-age intern when they went to dinner after work. Another former intern told the Herald that, while she was at the SEC during law school Meiner frequently texted her suggestive messages after her internship ended. She and her boyfriend texted him to stop.
Last week, Meiner told the Herald he was “not familiar” with events alleged. He said he is loyal to his wife and was “shocked” about the claims. On Friday, Meiner said in a statement that the allegations are “absolutely untrue and offensive.”
There has been no evidence of any conclusion to the SEC internal review. That’s unfortunate. For now, Meiner, though not found culpable or disciplined as far as the public currently knows, remains under this cloud. As in any such case with such allegations, the Board is not drawing any conclusion of guilt. That would not be fair. But, the allegations seem to reflect a pattern of unwanted behavior — and were corroborated by others in whom the women confided — and should not be ignored.
The 2016 accuser sent her supervisor an email saying: “I love my job and I look forward to returning to it when I am comfortable and can focus on work. Right now, because of what Steve did, I am unable to do that.”
This issue arose close to the election but, again, could not be ignored and had to be confirmed.
No recommendation
Though we have withdrawn our recommendation from Meiner, we cannot recommend his opponent in the runoff, Michael Gongora, a former Miami Beach commissioner.
As we recounted in our initial Oct. 23 editorial, Michael Grieco — a former commissioner and state legislator who lost his latest bid for mayor this month — secretly recorded Gongora saying that he and City Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez had met with developer Russell Galbut, who was “already with me and giving me money.”
As reported by the Herald, Galbut is on a list of developers prohibited from giving to candidates under city rules, though it remains unclear if any rules were violated.
In addition, although Gongora is no longer in office, he has presented official city proclamations at several private events on behalf of commissioners. One of them is his staunch ally Rosen Gonzalez, but another, Alex Fernandez, said he never gave Gongora the permission to present on his behalf.
When Gelber learned Rosen Gonzalez allowed Gongora to present proclamations Gelber had signed — the mayor routinely signs all proclamations — he asked the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust to weigh in. Executive Director Jose Arrojo recommended the city ban the practice, writing “At a very minimum, this practice creates an appearance of impropriety. Of course, the bright line rule is that municipal resources may never be used to support or oppose a candidacy.”
Gongora told the Herald at the time it was a non-story. We disagree. The proclamations gave Gongora the city’s credibility while he was running for mayor and could give voters the improper impression that he’s backed by City Hall.
In 2020, the Herald reported that the general manager of the Fillmore theater accused Gongora, a commissioner at the time, of raising the issue of the theater’s contract negotiations with the city after Gongora was told to pay for a ticket to see the band New Order and present a proclamation to the group.
Gongora denied bringing up the negotiations and said he paid for his own ticket, but the ethics commission later found probable cause that he had failed to properly disclose free entry to the show for a friend.
Together, those incidents paint the picture of someone who seems willing to use his position in ways that harm public trust.
Miami Beach voters suddenly have to decide, on the eve of the election, who is the least bad candidate in the mayor’s runoff. The Herald Editorial Board makes no recommendation in this race.
This story was originally published November 20, 2023 at 5:03 PM.