Low turnout in Miami special election so far with Election Day 24 hours away

Early voting for the Miami special election to fill the vacant commission seat ended Saturday, with a scant 851 voters casting ballots in person since Thursday at three locations: City Hall, County Hall downtown and the Lemon City Library Branch.

Another 3,312 voters have mailed in their ballots.

That means 4,066 people have voted so far — or 8 percent of the 49,195 registered voters in Miami’s District 2. Election Day is Monday, due to the city’s election deadlines, which is weird for everyone and people likely think it’s Tuesday. So turnout is expected to be low Monday, too. There will be no runoff. Whoever of the 13 candidates gets the most votes wins. The winner will serve the rest of Ken Rusell‘s term, filling in for the commissioner who resigned to run for congress (he lost the primary to Annette Taddeo who lost to Maria Elvira Salazar).

But whoever wins Monday also has an incumbent advantage in November. Each of the 13 candidates have indicated they could run in November. None has said they won’t.

And that is why there is so much money being invested in this race and so many attack ads against the front runners.

Former (read: disgraced) Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Martin Zilber has the most of both, with a little more than half a million raised between his campaign account and his political action committee, Beautify Grove Miami, as of the last report which recorded transactions through Feb. 23. He is the establishment pick, with endorsements from three commissioners and the police and fire union.

He’s also been hit the most, with the very true facts about his hurried resignation from the bench after an investigation found that he mistreated his staff and also stole from the taxpayers by missing 51 days that he was paid to be working. Zilber admitted the wrongdoing and agreed to a suspension and a $30,000 fine, but the Supreme Court didn’t think it was enough. He resigned before they could discipline him further.

There is an ABZ sentiment — Anyone But Zilber — among many voters and active and engaged groups who fear he would be nothing but a rubber stamp for commissioners Joe Carollo and Alex Diaz de la Portilla. Has anyone asked Commissioner Christine King why she is backing Zilber?

The three other front runners — in terms of money and attacks — are:

TV journalist and communications consultant Sabina Covo, who has consulted for Melo Development, has raised $98,021 between her campaign account and her PAC, Dream Miami. She has endorsements from the Miami-Dade Democratic Party as well as former Sen. Annette Taddeo and former Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who won the election for Florida Democratic Party chair Saturday (more on that later). She is also Russell’s candidate, so that will work both for and against her. But the attacks have focused on a bankruptcy she filed years ago.
Eddy Leal, a city of Miami attorney attached to the mayor on unpaid leave, raised $39,225 in his campaign account. A PAC associated with him, Citizens for Florida Prosperity, got $125,000 from another PAC, Florida First Forever, which is how candidates hide their money. The Miami Herald reported that Florida First Forever got $201,000 that was connected to Piquet Realty, the company owned by condo king Cristiano Piquet.
Downtown Neighbors Alliance James Torres has raised $111,205 between his campaign account and his PAC, Roundtable Miami. Last week, he was endorsed by the Miami Herald. A couple of weeks before that, he was accused of being a “Puerto Rican criminal transplant” and child abuser. Torres explained to Ladra that he was in the midst of a nasty divorce and custody case where accusations where later dismissed.

Traditionally, Coconut Grove voters have been key to elect the District 2 commissioner. Grove residents have historically been more politically engaged and active than residents of other parts of Miami. Many of the 13 candidates are from the Grove and the last three commissioners, at least, have been elected from Coconut Grove.

And they’re pissed off now that the commission has divided the grove into three districts.

“As we saw in the redistricting decision last spring, powerful forces are trying to weaken the Grove,” reads the Coconut Grove Spotlight, a voice for Coconut Grove and an advocate for maintaining the Grove’s unique character and integrity. “Some Coconut Grove residents will not be able to vote on Feb. 27 because they no longer live in District 2. It’s all about power, and our community’s power has been diminished.”

The Spotlight has created a document with brief biographical summaries and position statements from the candidates. Download the document here.

One Grove, a group of activists and organizations that formed in opposition to the redistricting, has endorsed Leal, who owns several properties in the downtown. They say he is the most knowledgeable on Grove issues, particularly the fight to preserve the Coconut Grove Playhouse.

Others, however, worry that Leal was planted in the race by Mayor Francis Suarez to steal votes from Torres. After all, Leal’s boss is backing Zilber.

Torres showed no knowledge or inclination on the question of the Playhouse, but that is probably because it’s not his issue. Not yet, anyway. He is far more proficient on downtown issues, where he represents about 30,000 residents. If only 5% of them vote, he could be sitting pretty.

But the low turnout could also help someone with a political machine, like Zilber, who has run for countywide judicial office and has at least four different consultants as well as the aid of Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla — who would handle him — and Covo, who has Christian Ulvert helping.

District 2 election, Martin Zilber

Low turnout in Miami special election so far with Election Day 24 hours away added by Ladra on February 26, 2023
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