UPDATED: There is a God. And he smiled on Miami Beach Tuesday.
Kristen Rosen Gonzalez was elected to the city commission
against a much better financed candidate who was propped up by Mayor Philip Levine, who had already won commission races for two cronies.
Despite being outspent at least 3 to 1, Rosen Gonzalez won with 59 percent of the vote compared to Betsy Perez‘s 41 percent.
Supporters of the independent Rosen Gonzalez started to breathe easier after the absentee ballots were counted and she led 55% to 45%. She led in ABs in the first round, too. A scant 142 votes stood between them in ABs Tuesday.
That number grew to 390 when the early voting ballots were counted 
and Rosen Gonzalez pulled ahead to 56.5% of the vote.
And then the Election Day numbers came in and the margin grew to almost 20 points and almost 840 votes.
“It was hard work and a collective effort,” Rosen Gonzalez told Ladra Tuesday night. “So many people came together to help me, to say to Levine and company that enough is enough.
“I am so grateful to everybody.”
Read related story: In Miami Beach, one last gasp for checks and balances
Turnout was less than half what it was in the first round and this means that Rosen’s supporters were more motivated than Perez’s — or Levine’s, actually.
Perez would have made a superfecta for the mayor, who got re-elected and was able to help two of his candidates — Ricky Arriola and John Elizabeth Aleman — elected Nov. 3. He already has two others on the stacked dais: Commissioners Michael Grieco and Joy Malakoff. All of them share one common denominator and that is their campaign consultant, David Custin, who has become a very successful lobbyist in Miami Beach since electing Malakoff and Levine two years ago.
Perez would have been the cherry on top.
Instead, Rosen Gonzalez has to
stick like a thorn in Levine’s side and in Custin’s throat. Especially since the Dis-Custin consultant had the nerve to threaten the would-be candidate when she announced she was going to file.
The victory is especially sweet for the candidate — and sour for Levine and Custin — seeing as how Perez spent at least $238,600 — including $114,000 she raised in the last two weeks since the first round. That’s almost three times the $82,500 spent by Rosen Gonzalez. And that’s just as of the latest campaign reports filed Nov. 12. And that’s just the campaigns. Perez has at least two PACs helping her with another $200K.
If she spent just $400,000 on the 1,911 votes she got — and Ladra suspects Perez (read: Custin and Levine and the special interests behind them) spent much more than that — then it came to $209 a vote. I think that might be a record.
Read related story: Betsy Perez backed by Miami Beach special interests PACs
When you blow that kind of dough, there’s going to be some hard feelings. And there’s going to be an awkward start for Rosen Gonzalez, naturally. Commissioners Micky Steinberg and Joy Malakoff went by the victory party Tuesday night to stretch out an olive branch after the voters had spoken. And even though Perez had not called late into the night, Mayor Levine sent a text congratulating Rosen Gonzalez and saying he looked forward to working with her. But there’s going to be a period of adjustment. I mean, these are the same people who marginalized and slandered her and who were blasting her in emails only hours earlier.
Already a politician or public servant, you choose, Rosen Gonzalez said she can work with anybody as long as they have the same interest at heart — and that is the city of Miami Beach.
“It’s not about their ego or my ego, I have to do what’s best for everybody who voted for me,” Rosen Gonzalez said. “So many residents have already reached out to me with their concerns that I think I’m going to be busy fielding concerns for a while.”
Because, finally, people in Miami Beach have someone to go to.
Kristen Rosen Gonzalez wins in Miami Beach race added by Ladra on
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