Miami Beach mayoral race is heading to a runoff. Here are the results

Michael Gongora and Steven Meiner are headed to a runoff to become the next mayor of Miami Beach after none of the four mayoral candidates received more than 50% of votes in Tuesday’s election.

Miami Beach voters also selected three new city commissioners. Tanya Bhatt defeated Andres Asion with about 57% of votes. David Suarez beat Mitch Novick with about 53% of votes. And Joe Magazine edged out Marcella Novela by just 66 votes, avoiding a recount by winning by barely more than the required 0.5% margin.

Meiner received slightly more than 30% of the vote in the mayor’s race. Gongora received about 28.5% of the vote. The difference between them was about 240 votes.

Voter turnout was about 30% with more than 13,000 votes counted. The four city races were the only items on the ballot in Miami Beach.

Tuesday was the culmination of a grueling election cycle in which voters were bombarded with negative ads about the candidates, several of whom spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on their campaigns.

The results will help chart the future course for a city grappling with concerns about public safety, development, traffic and flooding.

None of the candidates were incumbents. Mayor Dan Gelber and Commissioner Ricky Arriola are term-limited, Commissioner David Richardson is giving up his seat to run for county tax collector, and Meiner chose to vacate his commission seat to run for mayor.

Mayoral candidate Bill Roedy, a former MTV executive and a political newcomer, reported spending nearly $3 million of his own money, a remarkable sum for a local election. But he came up short with about 21% of the vote.

Mike Grieco, a former city commissioner and state representative, was also unsuccessful in his mayoral run. He had about 20% of the vote.

READ MORE: Miami Beach will vote for new commissioners. What you should know about the candidates

Meiner has billed himself as the “law and order candidate” for mayor. His success in Tuesday’s election may reflect voters’ concerns about crime and public safety in the city.

He also steered clear of negative campaigning and pledged not to take donations from developers.

“Sometimes I felt like I was playing a different game,” Meiner told the Miami Herald after Tuesday’s results were announced. “I just focused on the issues. I think the voters noticed that, even though I raised far less money than anybody else.”

Gongora, a former city commissioner, told the Herald he was “thrilled” to be advancing to the runoff and “looking forward to continuing to share my vision and hopes for the future of Miami Beach.”

In a statement, he touted a history of “environmentally sustainable policies, promoting inclusivity, putting limits on excessive development that causes traffic congestion and strains our infrastructure, and improving and expanding public safety measures.”

Two-week sprint to runoff election for mayor

Gongora and Meiner will now embark on a two-week battle for the mayor’s seat. Early voting will take place Nov. 17-19 before Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 21.

Gongora, 53, is a condo board attorney who served three terms on the Miami Beach City Commission. He was first elected in a special election in 2006, serving a partial term, and was elected again in 2009 and 2017.

In 2021, Gongora sued the city to challenge a voter referendum that limits a commissioner’s time in office to two complete terms, but a judge ruled against him. Shortly afterward, Gongora filed to run for mayor.

This is his second mayoral run. The first was in 2013, when he placed second to former Mayor Philip Levine. If Gongora wins, he would become the first openly gay mayor of Miami Beach.

Meiner, 52, is an enforcement attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Before moving to Miami Beach in 2007, Meiner was a private practice litigator in Manhattan.

He was elected to the Miami Beach City Commission in 2019, securing a spot in a recount by a two-vote margin before defeating Kristen Rosen Gonzalez in a runoff election for her old commission seat.

READ MORE: Miami Beach will elect a new mayor. What you should know about the four candidates

A new mayor and three new commissioners will be sworn into office Nov. 28. All of the positions are at-large representing the entire city.

The mayor serves a two-year term with a maximum of three terms. Commissioners can serve up to two four-year terms.

The city’s day-to-day operations are overseen by a city manager, Alina Hudak. The mayor has a vote on the City Commission and oversees its meetings to set policy direction, while also taking on ceremonial duties.

Miami Beach elected officials typically continue to work full-time jobs while in office. Salaries for commissioners and the mayor are $6,000 and $10,000, respectively, though that does not include monthly stipends and car allowances. Including those benefits, compensation is around $39,000 per year for commissioners and $40,000 for mayor.

The new commissioners

Bhatt, 56, is a 20-year resident of Miami Beach and runs her own marketing firm, LaunchBrand. She previously worked in marketing and branding for several companies, including a six-year stint as the director of global marketing for Converse.

She has held several roles, including president, for resident advocacy group Miami Beach United. She serves on the city’s planning board and as a board member for the Miami Design Preservation League, which advocates for historic preservation.

Suarez, 39, is the marketing director for skin care company LifeCell. He has served on the board of the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority since 2021. In recent years, he has spearheaded efforts to prevent short-term rentals in the South of Fifth neighborhood.

His campaign, Save SoFi, led to a ban on apartment hotels in the area and a city investigation into permitting issues.

Magazine, 40, is a vice president at Loop Capital, a global investment services firm. He previously worked for Deutsche Bank, Barclays and Merrill Lynch.

Magazine is also a member of the Miami Beach planning board. Since moving to the city about a decade ago, he has been a regular at city meetings.