MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami Beach residents on Tuesday hit the polls and elected a new mayor. It was decision night on Miami Beach and Commissioner Steven Meiner will now be the city’s next mayor.
“We never doubted it,” Meiner said. “I just kept hammering on the message, talking about what our residents care about.”
Out of more 10,000 ballots that were casted, Meiner won with 54% of the vote compared to his opponent, former Commissioner Michael Gongora, who received 46%.
The attorney ran on a law and order platform.
“Protecting our residents, reducing crime, a safer city,” he said.
Meiner also hopes to focus on infrastructure and development.
“Mitigating traffic, responsible development, not over-development,” he said. “Resiliency issues that we need to address.”
The election lead to this Thanksgiving week runoff after the top two candidates didn’t secure enough votes to win the seat earlier in November.
Gongora said some words for his opponent Tuesday night.
“I wish him my heartfelt congratulations and I look forward to continue to work with him, our residents, the Commission for the good of Miami Beach,” Gongora said.
But the race was not without controversy.
Days before this election, the Miami Herald withdrawing it’s endorsement of Meiner after reporting “…at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where Meiner has been an enforcement attorney in the Miami office since 2007, three former female colleagues told the Miami Herald that Meiner made unwanted advances toward them…..”
These were allegations which Meiner denied.
“It’s politics, unfortunately,” he said, ” things get thrown out there and I think our residents are smart enough to weed through the noise, and reflect on the person that I am, the person that I’ve been and the person I’ll continue to be.
Now, his focus is on the city he will serve.
“The first Commission meeting, I wanna hear from our police chief, our transportation director, our sanitation, code compliance,” he said.
Meiner said he has a plan for his first 30 days in office, which starts on day one by meeting with the city’s police chief to outline a public safety plan.
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