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Municipal elections in Miami-Dade County, Florida (2016)
2018 →
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| 2016 Miami-Dade County elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: June 24, 2016 |
| Primary election: August 30, 2016 General election: November 8, 2016 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: County mayor, circuit court clerk, county property appraiser, county commissioner, and special districts |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2016 |
The race for county mayor emerged as the most competitive race following the August primary due to clashes between incumbent Carlos Gimenez and challenger Raquel Regalado. Gimenez, who was first elected in 2011, touted his efforts to improve transportation, law enforcement, and business development in the county. Regalado, a county school board member and the daughter of Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, criticized Gimenez for a slow response to the Zika virus outbreak and delays in transit expansion. Gimenez defeated Regalado in the November 8 election. Learn more about these issues here.
The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 24, 2016. Elections for county offices are officially nonpartisan except for the circuit court clerk. Candidates for circuit court clerk appear on the ballot with their partisan affiliations.
Elections
County boards
County Commission
District 1
- ☑ Barbara Jordan
(i) (automatically re-elected without opposition)
District 3
- ☑ Audrey Edmonson (i) (automatically re-elected without opposition)
District 5
- ☑ Bruno Barreiro (i) (automatically re-elected without opposition)
District 7
- ☑ Xavier Suarez (i) (won re-election in primary)
- ☐ Michael Castro
District 9
- ☑ Dennis Moss (i) (won re-election in primary)
- ☐ Earl Beaver
District 11
- ☑ Joe Martinez (won election in primary)
- ☐ Felix Lorenzo
District 13
- ☑ Esteban Bovo Jr. (i) (automatically re-elected without opposition)
County officials
County Mayor
- ☑ Carlos Gimenez (i)
- ☐ Raquel Regalado
Defeated in primary
Circuit Court Clerk
- ☑ Harvey Ruvin
(i)
County Property Appraiser
- ☑ Pedro Garcia (i) (automatically re-elected without opposition)
Special districts
Midtown Miami Community Development District
District 4
District 5
South Dade Soil & Water Conservation District
District 2
- ☑ Thomas Davenport (i) (automatically re-elected without opposition)
District 3
- ☑ Louise King (i) (automatically re-elected without opposition)
District 4
- ☑ S. Cooper McMillan (i) (automatically re-elected without opposition)
Ballot measures
• Special Purpose District Control Measure: Miami-Dade County 
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of an amendment to the county charter allowing any special purpose district within a municipality to be the governing body in that municipality rather than the county commissioners. |
| A no vote was a vote against an amendment to the county charter allowing any special purpose district within a municipality to be the governing body in that municipality rather than the county commissioners. |
• Public Records Measure: Miami-Dade County
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of an amendment to the county charter requiring the availability of public records for copying by members of the public. |
| A no vote was a vote against an amendment to the county charter requiring the availability of public records for copying by members of the public. |
• Dade Heritage Trust Lease Measure: City of Miami
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of an amendment to the city charter allowing the city commission by four-fifths vote to execute a 30-year lease with Dade Heritage Trust for property at 190 Southeast 12th Terrace. |
| A no vote was a vote against an amendment to the city charter allowing the city commission by four-fifths vote to execute a 30-year lease with Dade Heritage Trust for property at 190 Southeast 12th Terrace. |
• Municipal Runoff Election Measure: City of Miami
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of an amendment to the city charter moving runoff elections for mayor and city council to the third Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years. |
| A no vote was a vote against an amendment to the city charter moving runoff elections for mayor and city council to the third Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years. |
• Civilian Investigative Panel Measure: City of Miami
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of an amendment to the city charter confirming the Civilian Investigative Panel's ability to investigate police policies, issue subpoenas, and manage executive staff. |
| A no vote was a vote against an amendment to the city charter confirming the Civilian Investigative Panel's ability to investigate police policies, issue subpoenas, and manage executive staff. |
• Charter Enforcement Measure: City of Miami
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of an amendment to the city charter providing residents with the right to pursue enforcement of charter provisions in court. |
| A no vote was a vote against an amendment to the city charter providing residents with the right to pursue enforcement of charter provisions in court. |
Issues
Mayoral election heads to runoff
The race for Miami-Dade County mayor pitted incumbent Carlos Gimenez against county school board member Raquel Regalado. Gimenez entered the August 30 primary with expectations of outright victory based on internal polling showing 54 percent support for his campaign.[7] Regalado, the daughter of City of Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, reached a November 8 general election with Gimenez as the most recognizable of the six challengers to the incumbent. Gimenez and Regalado sparred over the city's response to the Zika virus, public safety, and transit projects.[8]
Polling
| 2016 Miami-Dade County Mayoral Election (Runoff) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Poll | Carlos Gimenez | Raquel Regalado | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Bendixen & Amandi/WLRN/Univision 23 (October 15-16, 2016) | 55% | 33% | 12% | +/-3.99 | 600 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Primary debate
On August 14, 2016, Gimenez and Regalado participated in a mayoral debate on Channel 10 that revealed tensions between the candidates. Regalado criticized Gimenez for failing to secure federal funding for an expansion to the county's transit system. Gimenez responded that the county needs to solve its own problems without seeking federal help. Gimenez accused Regalado of homestead-exemption fraud related to $4,000 in back taxes from an exemption claimed on a home she moved out of in 2012. He argued that Regalado could not manage a county budget exceeding $7 billion if she was unable to deal with her personal finances. Regalado countered that the tax issue and foreclosure that followed were consequences of a difficult divorce and a bank error.[8]
The candidates debated the county's response to a Zika outbreak that began in July 2016. Regalado criticized the county's decision to deploy mosquito control personnel based on complaints rather than a proactive approach to cover all neighborhoods. Gimenez responded that his administration adhered to federal standards for mosquito control and estimated that the county spent up to $8 million on mosquito control through September 2016, exceeding the $1.5 million included for mosquito control in the 2016 budget.[8]
Candidates on the issues
Gimenez and Regalado offered their views on major issues facing the county on their campaign websites. The following table includes excerpts from the candidates' websites.
| Position summaries for mayoral candidates | ||
|---|---|---|
| Issue | Carlos Gimenez | Raquel Regalado |
| Economic development | "Mayor Gimenez is committed to continue enhancing the quality of life for all Miami-Dade residents. Less than a month after taking office, Mayor Gimenez approved the largest tax cut in Miami-Dade County history. This tax cut resulted in saving of approximately $1 billion dollars, or $1,000 per average homeowner. Since 2011, Miami-Dade County has added over 150,000 new jobs in the private sector and has led the state in job creation. Under Mayor Gimenez's leadership, the unemployment rate has dropped from around 12% to about 5.9%." | "As an attorney and a school board member, I have successfully lobbied in Tallahassee and Washington for our school system. As Mayor of Miami-Dade County, I will take Miami-Dade County’s agenda to Tallahassee and Washington and advocate for what is important for our residents from economic incentives to infrastructure investments. Here at home, we must also reorganize and restructure the Beacon Council so that it does what it was created to do, which is to assist local, small businesses and create zones of economic empowerment—not just give out awards. We need to look beyond temporary constructions jobs and offer developers and corporations the skilled work force that they need to succeed in Miami-Dade." |
| Public safety | "Mayor Gimenez has hired over 130 police officers in the last fiscal year, surpassing the county's goal, while also continuing to replace the county's police-vehicle fleet and modernizing its real-time crime center. Mayor Gimenez championed and implemented a system of 1,000 police body cameras, and helped secure a $1 million federal grant to launch the camera program in Miami-Dade. This system will bring enormous benefits to our community, keeping everyone safe and showcasing our police officers' good work. The police body cameras will be an effective tool to connect the county's police department with our community. Under Mayor Gimenez's leadership, the Miami-Dade Police Department introduced a community program to combat crime across the county reaching out to at-risk youth. The 25 police officers selected for the "Youth and Community Safety Initiative" are responsible for mentoring at-risk youth with the goal of giving them better alternatives and steering them away from crime and violence. The unit will also help their families, by providing family counseling, job placement and substance abuse treatment." | "There is a direct connection between the recent shootings that have claimed dozens of young lives in our community, and the drastic cuts to the Miami-Dade County Police Department made by the current mayor. As part of his 2014 ‘restructuring’ Carlos Gimenez eliminated special units like the Gang Investigation Unit, and placed some of those officers in homicide and narcotics. Today, he deflects by claiming that disbanding the unit wasn’t his idea, but the reality is that it could not have been done without his input or approval. Our children’s safety has always been and will remain my priority. This is why on my first day in office as Mayor of Miami-Dade County, I will restore the Gang Investigation Unit because it is a vital cross-jurisdictional division that needs to work with municipalities to reduce and prevent violent crime. As your Mayor, I will work to proactively stop gang violence, instead of just reacting to it. You will never hear me say that it is not my problem, because the safety of the residents of Miami-Dade County is and will always be my priority." |
| Transportation | "Mayor Gimenez is committed to continue providing our residents and visitors with a clean, safe, reliable, accessible and convenient transportation system. The mayor's commitment to cutting red tape led to the creation of the new Department of Transportation and Public Works. This streamlined department has proven to be an effective way of coordinating county efforts with the Florida Department of Transportation, Metropolitan Planning Organization, and others. Mayor Gimenez's plan has increased mobility and will ease congestion. The mayor's proposals also include enhancing county buses and eliminating certain stops so trips are faster. The county is also identifying express bus routes to take residents to and from different parts of the county faster. Mayor Gimenez has also made progress synchronizing traffic lights, by implementing a new system using modern technology. Focusing on promoting mass transit and making it one of his priorities, Mayor Gimenez proposed and advocated for the SMART plan for transit, which calls for six corridors to travel across Miami-Dade. By constructing a system for the future, the mayor's vision is to leave a better public transportation system for our children and grandchildren." | "For years, Gimenez has been using the People’s Transportation Plan half-penny tax funds to fill operating gaps in transit department instead of investing in the transportation infrastructure that voters approved that tax for. He says that there is no federal money for transit infrastructure, but fails to inform residents that Miami-Dade County has not applied for available federal funding in his five years in the mayor’s office. He has spent millions on articulated buses, but failed to synchronize our lights. And he has championed large scale development near residential areas, while he refused to demand that said projects invest in and expand public transit options. Well, I’ve been at the school board roughly the same amount of time that Gimenez has been mayor of Miami-Dade County, and in my first term as a School Board member, I proposed and championed a five-year plan to replace old and inefficient school buses. At the time the economy was in a tail spin and the state of Florida was threatening to eliminate transit funding. Our old buses were breaking down regularly and costing us a small fortune, so we sold them, replaced them with energy efficient buses that exceed the state’s safety requirements, reorganized routes and saved taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in operational and maintenance costs; proving that hard economic times are not an excuse for inaction but an opportunity to innovate." |
About the county
- See also: Miami-Dade County, Florida
The county government of Miami-Dade County is located in Miami, Florida. The county was first established in 1836. It covers a total of 1,897.72 square miles in southern Florida.[9]As of 2010, its population was 2,496,435.
County government
- See also: Government of Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is overseen by a 13-member county commission. Each supervisor is elected by district to a four-year term. Residents also elect a county mayor, circuit court clerk, and county property appraiser.
Demographics
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Miami-Dade County, Florida | ||
|---|---|---|
| Miami-Dade County | Florida | |
| Population | 2,496,435 | 18,801,310 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 1,899 | 53,651 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 75.1% | 75.1% |
| Black/African American | 17.4% | 16.1% |
| Asian | 1.6% | 2.7% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0.1% |
| Other (single race) | 4% | 3% |
| Multiple | 1.7% | 2.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 68.5% | 25.6% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 81.4% | 88.2% |
| College graduation rate | 29.8% | 29.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $51,347 | $55,660 |
| Persons below poverty level | 17.1% | 14% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Miami-Dade County Florida election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Miami-Dade County, Florida | Florida | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Miami-Dade County, "2016 Election Results," accessed October 6, 2016
- ↑ Miami Herald, "In Miami-Dade mayoral race, a bitter contest breaks new ground," October 30, 2016
- ↑ ABC 10, "Miami-Dade County mayoral race heads for runoff election in November," August 30, 2016
- ↑ Miami Herald, "For Miami-Dade mayor, a winning plan until the upset," August 31, 2016
- ↑ Miami Herald, "AFL-CIO endorses Raquel Regalado in Miami-Dade mayoral race," June 30, 2016
- ↑ Gimenez for Mayor, "NEW ENDORSEMENTS: #TEAMGIMENEZ KEEPS GROWING!" accessed October 6, 2016
- ↑ Miami Herald, "In mayoral race, loyal donors asked to give again — to the enemy," September 2, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Miami Herald, "Harsh words fly as Gimenez and Regalado meet for first time," August 14, 2016
- ↑ Miami-Dade County, "About Miami-Dade County: History," accessed August 31, 2016
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