Miami Beach voters have re-elected Mayor Steven Meiner and city commissioner Laura Dominguez for second terms, according to official election results. Both incumbents won by significant margins over their challengers.
Mayor Meiner secured 51 percent of the vote, defeating city commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez by about 350 ballots. Commissioner Dominguez received more than 60 percent of the vote against Fred Karlton, a spec home developer. During the campaign, Karlton and city commissioner David Suarez criticized Dominguez for alleged ties to real estate developers in Miami Beach. However, she prevailed despite these claims.
Commissioner Alex Fernandez also retained his seat with a wide margin, earning 84 percent of votes against Luidgi Mary.
The contest for the commission seat vacated by Rosen Gonzalez will go to a runoff next month between Monica Matteo-Salinas, a former city commission aide who garnered 23 percent of votes, and attorney Monique Pardo Pope, who came in second with 20 percent. Pardo Pope led hotel investor Brian Ehrlich by less than one percentage point. If that margin drops below half a percentage point, an automatic recount would be triggered.
Financial support from Miami Beach’s real estate and hospitality sectors played a role in the mayoral race. Notable donors to Mayor Meiner’s political action committee (PAC), Miami Beach First, included Lennar co-CEO Stuart Miller with $50,000; Michael Simkins contributed $25,000; David Grutman provided $20,000; Alex Kleyner gave $18,000; Scott Robins donated $10,000; and Naftali Group led by Miki Naftali added another $10,000.
In the race between Dominguez and Karlton, industry support was evident on both sides. Karlton self-funded his campaign with $150,000. Meanwhile, Dominguez’s individual campaign attracted maximum donations from several major figures: developer Michael Shvo; Jose and Diego Ardid of Key International; James LeFrak from LeFrak Organization along with an affiliate entity; and two executives from OKO Group.
During her first run in a special election in 2022, Dominguez raised funds through her PAC Coastal Communities Matter but did not do so this year.
For the upcoming runoff commission race, Brian Ehrlich was favored by real estate and hospitality interests. His campaign received maximum contributions from Arnaud Karsenti of 13th Floor Investments and his wife Rebecca Karsenti; the Catalina Hotel at 1732 Collins Avenue; as well as two entities managed by Jimmy Resnick. Ehrlich’s PAC Miami Beach in Focus collected $25,000 from hotelier Shawn Vardi and $5,000 from Christopher Cuomo.
