Regalado ahead as Hardemon, Higgins and McGhee win Miami-Dade commission seats

A new-look Miami-Dade County Commission took shape after voters ushered into office a Miami commissioner and a state Democratic leader and gave an incumbent another term — though one race was so close, the trailing candidate refused to concede late Tuesday.

Raquel Regalado, the radio host and former school board member with a political pedigree, led her opponent Cindy Lerner, a former Pinecrest mayor and one-time state representative, by about 1% on Wednesday morning after all precincts reported results, an advantage of about 1,300 votes. Late Tuesday, Lerner said she still saw the race as too close to call. At the time, some mail-in ballots still had not been counted. When the Elections Department listed all ballots as counted on Wednesday morning, Regalado’s lead had grown slightly — from a little less than 1% to a little more than 1%.

The candidates were vying to succeed Xavier Suarez to represent District 7, which includes Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, Kendall, Pinecrest, part of Coral Gables.

Miami Commissioner Keon Hardemon, a 37-year-old attorney and former assistant public defender, handily defeated Gepsie Metellus, a longtime Haitian American activist and executive director of nonprofit Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, to win the District 3 seat being vacated by Audrey Edmonson. The district covers downtown Miami, Liberty City, Little Haiti, Wynwood, Allapattah and the villages of El Portal and Miami Shores.

In the District 9 race to represent large swath of South Dade, attorney Kionne McGhee, the outgoing Democratic leader in the Florida House, beat former Homestead councilman Elvis Maldonado. McGhee will replace outgoing commissioner Dennis Moss.

The settled elections preserved the demographic balance of the current commission, in that the two winning Black commissioners — Hardemon and McGhee — replace outgoing Black commissioners. The District 7 contest could reduce the board’s Hispanic representation by one if Lerner prevails in the contest to replace Suarez.

Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert and former state senator Rene Garcia both won their elections in the August primary by winning more than 50% of the vote — Gilbert replacing term-limited Barbara Jordan in District 1 and Garcia replacing term-limited Esteban “Steve” Bovo, who lost Tuesday’s mayoral election, in District 13.

District 3: Keon Hardemon and Gepsie Metellus

With 80 out of 81 precincts reporting in District 3, Hardemon stood far ahead of his opponent. He has served on the Miami Commission for seven years and will resign on November 17, a requirement for those who hold office and are running for another public office. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Herald.

At about 9 p.m., Metellus said that although the results were not official yet, she did not expect to win.

“He destroyed my reputation and my credibility,” Metellus said, blaming her loss on a mailer Hardemon sent claiming Metellus became a millionaire using $250,000 in taxpayer dollars meant to help victims of Hurricane Matthew, which struck Haiti in 2016. The Herald found no evidence that Metellus stole any money and her financial disclosures show she is wealthy but not a millionaire.

Mettlelus said Hardemon summed up more votes because he spent more money spreading false information and “people unfortunately believed him.”

However, Metellus said she doesn’t plan to concede.

“I’m pissed,” she said. “He does not deserve my concession. He doesn’t deserve congratulations; he deserves absolutely nothing.”

The result punctuated a campaign that grew bitter amid Hardemon’s accusations, which flooded mailboxes, radio and television ads.

The district covers the heart of Miami’s Haitian-American population, and several majority Black neighborhoods. Economic growth is a major issue for the district, which has longed for investment and redevelopment. Activists have sought a balanced approach, though, to prevent gentrification and displacement by major development.

Hardemon, who could not be reached Tuesday, said earlier this year that he believes the county should push for a combination of encouraging higher wages and enticing developments that include affordable housing.

“When you you have more affordable housing, when you have responsible wages, if you’re fighting poverty in that way, it gives you an opportunity to improve the wage gap,” he said.

District 5: Eileen Higgins and Renier Díaz de la Portilla

Incumbent Commissioner Eileen Higgins retained her District 5 seat, which covers South Beach, Little Havana, Downtown, The Roads, Shenandoah and parts of Brickell.

Higgins first won election in an upset victory during the 2018 special election. On Tuesday, with all precincts reporting, she won about 52% of the vote, and beat her rival, former school board member Renier Díaz de la Portilla. Two years ago, Higgins beat Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, Renier’s brother.

“I feel really good. I’m very grateful, and I’m very honored to continue serving,” Higgins said, adding she plans to keep working on affordable housing, as well as improving the bus system and helping small business owners thrive.

As of 10 p.m., Díaz de la Portilla had not called her to concede. She didn’t expect he would, either. He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from the Herald.

District 7: Raquel Regalado and Cindy Lerner

Regalado, daughter of former Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado, could not be reached late Tuesday for comment. Her slim lead in the race with Lerner led the former Pinecrest mayor to believe she could still close the gap.

There are “many vote-by-mail votes that are still outstanding,” Lerner said.

Regalado had previously run for Miaimi-Dade mayor, losing to Carlos Gimenez in 2016.

Regalado credited her narrow lead to support from independents in a contest between a Republican (Regalado) and a Democrat (Lerner).

“We worked really hard talking to the NPAs,” she said, using the acronym for voters listed as “no party affiliation.” “I never wanted to make it partisan.”

The results of the close race will determine whether Democrats maintain a majority on the non-partisan board. They currently hold seven seats, but the District 8 seat becomes vacant ahead of Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat, becoming mayor. The new commission can choose to appoint a replacement or call a special election to fill the seat.

Suarez is an independent, so a Lerner win would retain the one-seat advantage once Levine Cava departs. A Regalado win would give each party six seats.

District 9: Kionne McGhee and Elvis Maldonado

McGhee bested Maldonado, who spent 10 years on the Homestead City Counci. With all 79 precincts reporting, McGhee claimed about 53% of the vote.

The district spreads across Homestead, Florida City and South Dade.

They both saw traffic as a major issue for voters but disagreed on the area’s largest transit project: a $300 million rapid-transit bus system that’s being developed on the dedicated busway off U.S. 1. Maldonado supported the plan, but McGhee said he wanted the contract halted so the county could pursue rail instead.

“We still have time to have the discussion,” McGhee said during the campaign. “Nothing has been built yet.”