The council in South Miami changed significantly Tuesday when a new mayor and two new council members were elected. Mayor Javier Fernandez, a former state rep, and Council members Steve Calle and Lisa Bonich were sworn in on Wednesday.
Former Mayor Horace Feliu was rejected by voters once again — for the fourth or fifth time — giving Fernandez 63% of the vote. The new mayor is seen as someone who can bring energy and ideas and, importantly, someone who listens to the residents and will champion their priorities.
“We need a better downtown and Sunset Place,” Fernandez told Ladra Wednesday. “And number two is we need more traffic enforcement and mitigation.
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“I’m going to bring those priorities to the forefront from Day 1,” he said.
Is he using this position as a stepping stone to get back to Tallahassee, as Feliu alleged during the campaign? Fernandez says he has no interest in higher office.
“I’ve had plenty of opportunities to do that. I have been asked,” he said. “But this is an opportunity to do something tangible, make an impact.”
He also wants to stay home so he can spend more time with his daughter, a 14-year-old at Lourdes, and his son, a 12-year-old at Epiphany. He missed too much time with them when he was in Tallahassee, he said. Last year, he coached his son’s football team.
“And it was more rewarding in many ways than serving in the legislature.”
Fernandez will likely have an ally in newly-elected Councilman Steve Calle, a real estate investor and developer who also wants to make the downtown a priority.
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“We all bring different skill sets,” he said about the council members. “I’m more of an executor. I will be working with developers and making sure we get that progress… making sure the community is involved in revitalizing the downtown.”
This is Calle’s first race, and he beat incumbent Commissioner Luis Gil 51% to 49%. He won by a scant 100 votes.
Calle said he knocked on 2,700 doors over four months and connected with voters. Many did not know who the incumbent was, Calle told Ladra.
He also said that former Mayor Phillip Stoddard stayed out of the race and that made a difference.
In the other council contest, arts enthusiast Lisa Bonich, who was made vice mayor at a short meeting Wednesday, beat longtime resident Michelle Readon 52% to 48%.
The new mayor knows both of them. Bonich’s brother-in-law coached his daughter’s flag football team. And Calle and Fernandez have college friends in common.
“South Miami is a small city,” Fernandez said, adding that he was happy with the mostly positive tone of the election.
It was also the first city election to take place in November, with the rest of the ballot, instead of in February. More than twice as many voters — a total of 4,485 — turned out compared to the last election in February of 2020.
According to the city clerk’s web page, the new council’s first meeting is Nov. 15.
South Miami has new mayor Javier Fernandez and 2 new council members added by Ladra on
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