The runoff for Miami Beach Commission Group 1 ended Tuesday almost before it began.
With more than 71% of the vote going to Monica Matteo-Salinas in the first show of results, the race was basically a coronation. And Monica didn’t wait for the last crumbs of precincts to roll in before declaring victory — which, honestly, who would? That kind of margin is what Ladra likes to call a political blowout.
She will replace former, termed-out Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, who lost a mayoral bid Nov. 4 against Steven Meiner.
Matteo-Salinas put out a polished victory statement thanking the “families, seniors, small business owners, first responders, and neighbors from every background” who she says inspired her to run. She said she’s “humbled and deeply grateful,” which is the required winner’s ritual, but to her credit she also hit on the reason she resonated with voters: She actually knows how City Hall works.
And that, amigos, may be the biggest difference in this race.
Read related: Miami Beach commission runoff: Two women, one seat — and the city’s future
Monica is no outsider parachuting in with glossy mailers and mystery donors. She’s a longtime Miami Beach resident, a PTA mom, and someone who’s spent years helping people navigate the bureaucratic maze as an aide to two different commissioners. 
Say what you want about insiders, but in this town, somebody who knows which department actually calls you back on a Friday afternoon? That’s gold.
Matteo-Salinas also had the support from Commissioners Alex Fernandez, who was her boss for a while, and Laura Dominguez, who celebrated with her on Tuesday and both called it a “landslide victory” on social media.
Her campaign leaned heavily on competence and calm — “solutions-focused leadership,” “public safety,” “mobility,” “neighborhood protection.” Very Miami Beach Greatest Hits. But it worked. Because it drew a contrast to the MAGA attorney with very conservative support.
Which brings us to Monique Pardo Pope, who… well… probably wishes she never ran for office in the first place.
Pardo Pope never recovered from what Ladra lovingly calls the Dexter chapter of this political novela: the barrage of questions about her serial killer dad, Manuel Pardo — executed by lethal injection in 2012 — and her social media posts hailing the Hitler fan as her hero. Then she was hit with a Florida Bar inquiry — which only happens in one of four complaints — after she spread lies about activist and award-winning documentary filmmaker Billy Corben.
Read related: Miami Beach Commission hopeful hit with bar inquiry days before runoff
The truth is, the more attention the race got, the worse Pardo Pope looked. And the more voters learned about Matteo-Salinas, the safer she looked — like the grown-up in the room.
By Election Day, the writing was so firmly on the seawall that even the pigeons could read it.
Monica Matteo-Salinas didn’t just win. She got more than twice as many votes in every single category — vote-by-mail, early voting and Election Day — and earned the runaway margin by running a clean, competent, resident-focused campaign while her opponent got swallowed by her own credibility problems. Miami Beach voters may be quirky, but they know when someone isn’t ready for prime time.
Now Matteo-Salinas says she’s “ready to get to work,” and with a mandate this big, she’d better hit the ground running. The city has plenty of issues — from crime and nightlife chaos to mobility messes and stormwater nightmares — and the residents who handed her this landslide will be expecting results.
But for tonight, the newest commissioner-elect can bask in it. Seventy-one percent.
Even Ladra has to howl a little at that.
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Monica Matteo-Salinas coasts to big win in Miami Beach commission runoff added by Ladra on
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