Category: Politics

City of Miami voters approved two charter questions in Tuesday’s special election, agreeing to shift municipal elections to even-numbered years and clearing the way for a private operator to reopen the long-shuttered Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key.

The election date change passed with about 60% of the vote, while the Marine Stadium measure drew support from more than 68% of voters, according to unofficial results reported by WLRN. The city had scheduled the two questions for a referendum special election on Aug. 18, coinciding with the statewide primary.

The election-date measure aligns Miami’s city contests with federal and statewide elections, a change supporters argued would boost chronically low turnout in off-year municipal races. The switch does not take effect until 2034, so no current officeholder gains or loses time in office, and candidates elected in 2031 and 2033 will serve shortened three-year terms to bridge the transition.

“This initiative was always about more than changing a date on the calendar,” Commissioner Damian Pardo said, according to WLRN. “It’s about ensuring more Miamians have the opportunity to participate in the elections that shape our city’s future.”

A Court Fight Set the Stage

The vote closes a chapter that began in 2025, when the City Commission tried to move election dates on its own without voter approval. A circuit court ruled that changes to the city charter must go before voters, forcing the question onto this year’s ballot. Ahead of the vote, legal experts told Local 10 the referendum was the proper path for changing when city elections are held.

The second question authorizes the city to enter a management agreement with Spectra, a venue management company, to operate the historic Marine Stadium for 40 years. Under the deal, the city receives 93% of revenues, and Spectra plans to open a temporary “flex park” with tents and staging on the site to generate funds toward restoring the stadium itself.

Designed by architect Hilario Candela and opened in 1963, the waterfront stadium hosted performers from Sammy Davis Jr. to Jimmy Buffett before the city closed it after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, deeming the structure unsafe. The venue has sat vacant for more than three decades despite repeated restoration campaigns.

Both measures had been previewed by WLRN as the only questions facing city voters this cycle. With passage, attention now turns to how quickly Spectra can activate the Virginia Key site — and to the 2034 ballot, when Miami voters will elect city leaders alongside a presidential midterm electorate for the first time.

Miami-Dade County voters settled two of three contested County Commission races Tuesday and set up a November runoff in the third, capping a low-turnout primary that will reshape the board’s lineup heading into next year.

In District 2, Commissioner Marleine Bastien cruised to a second and final term, capturing 78% of the vote against two challengers. Miguel “Skip” Quintero finished second with 13%, and Ernst Jean Louis took 9% in the district, which covers portions of Miami, Hialeah and North Dade.

In District 8, Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins also avoided a runoff, winning re-election with just over 55% of the vote. Former Palmetto Bay Mayor John DuBois drew about 28% and Martha “Vega” Hero roughly 17%.

The night’s closest contest came in District 5, where no candidate cleared the majority required under county rules. Commissioner Vicki Lopez, who was appointed to the seat, led the field with 42.3% and will face Rob Piper, who finished second at 29.5%, in a Nov. 3 runoff. Former Miami Commissioner Joe Sanchez was eliminated after taking 28.2% — a margin of just 211 votes separated Piper and Sanchez with 53 of 55 precincts reporting.

Turnout Lags Countywide

Because commission races are technically nonpartisan, candidates needed more than half the votes cast to win outright; otherwise the top two finishers advance to the Nov. 3 general election.

Participation was thin. Pre-Election Day turnout stood at just 12.5% of registered voters, with roughly 102,000 vote-by-mail ballots and about 58,000 early votes cast, according to figures reported by Political Cortadito. Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia described the turnout as “not optimal.”

The District 5 runoff is likely to draw significant attention this fall. The district stretches across some of the county’s most politically and geographically diverse territory, including Miami Beach and Brickell, and the seat has changed hands through appointment rather than election since its last occupant departed.

Five other commission candidates had already won new terms unopposed when qualifying closed earlier this year, leaving Tuesday’s three contests as the only commission races on the countywide ballot.

The runoff will share the Nov. 3 ballot with the governor’s race and a high-stakes statewide property tax amendment, which could push turnout in District 5 well above Tuesday’s levels.