Mayoral election in Miami, Florida (2017)
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| 2017 Miami mayoral elections |
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| Election dates |
| Filing deadline: September 23, 2017 |
| General election: November 7, 2017 Runoff election: November 21, 2017 |
| Election stats |
| Offices up: Mayor and city board of commissioners |
| Total seats up: 4 (click here for other city elections) |
| Election type: Nonpartisan |
| Other municipal elections |
| U.S. municipal elections, 2017 |
Miami, Florida, held a general election for mayor and the District 3 and District 4 seats on the city's board of commissioners on November 7, 2017. With incumbent Tomás P. Regalado not eligible to run for re-election due to term limits, Miami voters elected a new mayor in 2017. District 4 Commissioner Francis X. Suarez defeated Williams Armbrister Sr., Christian Canache, and Cynthia Mason Jaquith to claim the seat in the general election.
One theme of Miami's 2017 races was political family ties. Three of the seven candidates for the open District 3 seat on the city's board of commissioners had relatives who held office in Miami or Miami-Dade County as of the 2017 election. Mayoral candidate Suarez and District 5 incumbent Keon Hardemon were also related to political officeholders in the state. Click here to read more about the connections between the 2017 candidates for city office and other city, county, and state officials.
In addition to the District 3 and District 4 seats on the board of commissioners, the District 5 seat was up for election in 2017. Incumbent Hardemon won re-election automatically when no other candidates filed to run against him by the September 23 filing deadline.[1][2] Click here to read more about the 2017 races for Miami Board of Commissioners.
Elections[edit]
General election[edit]
Mayor[edit]
Incumbent Tomás P. Regalado was not eligible to run for re-election due to term limits.
☐ Williams Armbrister Sr.
☐ Christian Canache
☐ Cynthia Mason Jaquith
☑ Francis X. Suarez
[3]
Campaign finance[edit]
The table below presents the campaign finance information available for the mayoral candidates as of October 25, 2017. The figures are presented as reported by the Miami city clerk's office.
Ballot measures[edit]
• Bond Proposal: Miami General Obligation Bonds 
• Charter Amendment: Miami Aligned Bayshore Lease Extension Charter Amendment
• Charter Amendment: Miami Independent Auditor General Charter Amendment
• Charter Amendment: Miami Independent Auditor General Employees
• Charter Amendment: Miami Elected Office Vacancy Procedure
Additional elections[edit]
- See also: Florida elections, 2017
The election for mayor of Miami shared the ballot with elections for two seats on the Miami Board of Commissioners.
Issues[edit]
Political family ties[edit]
Mayor Tomás P. Regalado was not eligible to run for re-election in 2017, but the name "Tomás Regalado" still appeared on Miami voters' ballots. The mayor's eldest son, Tomás N. Regalado, ran for the open District 3 seat on the city's board of commissioners.
That election was the most crowded of Miami's 2017 races, and Regalado was not the only one of the seven contenders with political family ties. Joe Carollo, who previously served on the board of commissioners and as the mayor of Miami, ran to succeed his brother, term-limited District 3 Commissioner Frank Carollo, on the board.[4] The District 3 field also included Zoraida Barreiro, the wife of Miami-Dade County Commissioner and former state Rep. and City Commissioner Bruno Barreiro.[5]
The other two board of commissioners races also featured political links. District 5 incumbent Keon Hardemon, who won re-election automatically in 2017 when no other candidates filed to run against him, is the nephew of state Rep. Roy Hardemon.[6] The other election was for the District 4 seat Francis X. Suarez vacated to run for mayor. With his win in the mayoral race, Suarez followed in the footsteps of his father, Xavier Suarez.
The elder Suarez, who was the District 7 representative on the Miami-Dade County Commission at the time of Miami's 2017 elections, served as the mayor of Miami from 1985 to 1993 and 1997 to 1998.[7] He was both preceded and succeeded as mayor in the 1990's by 2017 board of commissioners candidate Joe Carollo. Carollo won the seat in a special election in 1996 and reclaimed it in 1998 following a legal challenge to Xavier Suarez's 1997 regular election win.[8][9]
About the city[edit]
- See also: Miami, Florida
Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. As of 2010, its population was 399,457.
City government[edit]
- See also: Mayor-council government
The city of Miami uses a "mayor-city commissioner plan." In this form of municipal government, an elected board of commissioners serves as the city's primary legislative body while a mayor serves as the city's chief executive. The mayor appoints an administrative executive called a city manager to oversee day-to-day municipal operations and implement city policies.[10]
Demographics[edit]
The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.
| Demographic Data for Miami, Florida | ||
|---|---|---|
| Miami | Florida | |
| Population | 399,457 | 18,801,310 |
| Land area (sq mi) | 35 | 53,651 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White | 76.1% | 75.1% |
| Black/African American | 16.8% | 16.1% |
| Asian | 1.1% | 2.7% |
| Native American | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 0% | 0.1% |
| Two or more | 1.7% | 2.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 72.7% | 25.6% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate | 78% | 88.2% |
| College graduation rate | 29.6% | 29.9% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income | $39,049 | $55,660 |
| Persons below poverty level | 23.4% | 14% |
| Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019). | ||
| **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Recent news[edit]
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Miami mayor election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also[edit]
| Miami, Florida | Florida | Municipal government | Other local coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Miami Commissioner Hardemon Automatically Wins Four More Years," September 23, 2017
- ↑ City of Miami City Clerk's Office, "Important Dates and Deadlines," accessed August 11, 2017
- ↑ City of Miami, "City of Miami General Municipal Election (11/7/2017)," accessed September 25, 2017
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Former Miami Mayor Joe Carollo to Run for Brother's Commission Seat," January 5, 2017
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Election 2017: A Miami Game of Thrones," April 29, 2017
- ↑ Miami Herald, "A Miami Tradition: Electing Troubled Candidates," August 31, 2016
- ↑ The New York Times, "Fraud Ruling Invalidates Miami Mayoral Election," March 5, 1998
- ↑ Sun Sentinel, "Carollo Rises Again, Winning Miami Mayor Post," July 24, 1996
- ↑ CNN, "Court Reinstates Carollo as Miami's Mayor," March 11, 1998
- ↑ Miami City Charter, Sec. 4a, accessed October 22, 2014
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