Herald endorsement: Miami-Dade County Commission District 2 | Opinion

In the race for the Miami-Dade County Commission District 2 seat, incumbent Marleine Bastien faces two challengers: Miguel ‘Skip’ Quintero, the owner of a trapeze business who ran unsuccessfully for Miami-Dade mayor in 2024, and Ernst Jean Louis, who has raised just $400 so far.

Our choice in the Aug. 18 election is Bastien. Her decades-long, grassroots experience in our community offers a much-needed perspective for the 13-member county commission as it faces everything from budget shortfalls and incinerator debates to the growing income inequality gap and housing policy.

Bastien is a founder and director of the Family Action Network Movement, or FANM. The nonprofit, which began as Haitian Women of Miami in 1991, has served a broad swath of low-income and working-class families for more than three decades, with adult literacy programs, immigration help, parenting classes and after-school care, among other services.

Bastien, 67, has held the District 2 seat on the county commission since she won a runoff in 2022, making her the first Haitian-American woman to win a seat on the board. That representation is important in South Florida, home to more than 300,000 Haitians, but it’s especially critical right now, as the federal government continues its push to end Temporary Protected Status and deport many Haitians living and working in the U.S.

Housing affordability is one of the top issues in this election, and that’s certainly true in diverse District 2, which covers much of North Miami and Opa-locka along with parts of Hialeah, Miami, North Miami Beach and unincorporated neighborhoods in Biscayne Gardens and Liberty City.

As the former longtime head of a nonprofit that assists low- to moderate-income families, Bastien said she still has a front-row seat to the struggles of working class residents who call her, whether they are in her district or not, because “they cannot pay for rent anymore.” She believes economic development is one way to address that, including a small business grant program she created. She also noted that there is a “new breed of homeless” people in her district, people who have one or even two jobs but cannot make ends meet.

She chairs the county commission’s housing committee and says she has pushed for projects, such as Poinciana Park in Liberty City, to offer true low-income housing rather than what frequently passes for it in Miami-Dade, often about 120% of area median income or about $104,000 for one person.

Bastien, a former social worker, has also helped lead a county effort, along with Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, to educate residents on how to participate in local government. The county’s Civics Academy is being held in various public libraries this summer. It can only help a community sorely in need of civic participation.

Her opponent, Quintero, who considers himself a “democratic capitalist,” emphasized the need for transparency in county government. He said that, if elected, he would put cameras in his office that would operate around the clock. He made a similar offer when he ran for county mayor. “It sends a powerful message: it’s not my office, it’s your office,” he said.

County commission seats are nonpartisan. If none of the three candidates secures more than 50% of the vote on Aug. 18, the top two vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 3 general election. If Bastien wins, she would serve her second and final term, under term limits.

With a housing affordability crisis looming, Bastien’s grassroots perspective on Miami-Dade County is needed on the commission.

The Herald endorses MARLEINE BASTIEN for the Miami-Dade County Commission in District 2.

This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 10:40 AM.