No matter whose side you stood on during the Miami Beach elections, everyone agreed that the controversial redevelopment plans for the Convention Center and area surrounding it — including the potential for using other nearby public properties — was a driving force that swayed many of the voters against the incumbents, all of whom lost. […]
You could tell right away that newly elected Miami Beach Mayor Philip “Fix It Phil” Levine got a little high on his sudden rush to power. He was quick to tell Commissioner Ed Tobin that it was his turn to control the meeting right after he was sworn in last week and actually got giddy […]
In what seems like a poetic turn, the Miami Beach Commission aide fired by newly elected Mayor Philip Levine on his first day is also a member of the city’s Charter Review Board — and he’s recommending an amendment. After Alex Fernandez read in the Miami Herald that Levine had told the reporter, via text […]
As expected, Alex Fernandez, the aide to Miami Beach Vice Mayor Deede Weithorn, was fired from his city job by the newly-elected mayor Tuesday for endorsing the opponent in the recent mayoral election. The city will defend its action by saying that Fernandez was an at-will employee. But everybody knows that it was because he […]
Several other electeds came from near and far to pay their respects and roll out the red carpet as the newly-elected mayor and commissioner were sworn in Monday at Miami Beach City Hall. They included Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez, his son, Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez (who let me kneel down next to him so I […]
New Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine thanked former Mayor Matti Bower and Commissioner Michael Gongora — who he ran a nasty campaign against — for their service to the city. Newly-elected Commissioner Michael Grieco thanked his predecessor, Commissioner Jorge Exposito. And newly-elected Joy Malakoff, who beat Bower in the runoff, said some words in Spanish […]
Dear Mayor Elect Philip Levine: In a matter of hours, you will take your duly elected office as the newly named mayor of Miami Beach and I would like to take this opportunity to extend an olive branch and make some recommendations and requests. I know my words may fall on deaf ears. After all, […]
Miami Beach Mayor Elect Philip Levine has not even been sworn in yet, and already he is cleaning house at City Hall. It’s natural that the staff in the mayor’s office and the losing incumbents’ offices would change. But the transition seems to be unnecessarily overreaching at least a little bit. The first one on […]
Miami Beach voters went for sweeping change Tuesday, throwing out both incumbents and choosing a fresh face over a longtime activist. But the change was cultural as well as political. Because for the first time in almost 20 years, there is not one single Hispanic elected official to represent the majority of the population in […]
The three winning candidates are not the only victors in Tuesday’s heated election in Miami Beach. There are a whole slew of people, organizations, firms and special interests who also won alongside the city’s newest commissioners, all newcomers to the dais — Attorney Michael Grieco, retired banker Joy Malakoff and Tallahassee wife Micky Steinberg. Ladra […]