“It’s all about collaboration and results,” Gimenez, an incoming member of Congress said. “People want their leaders to work together for a greater good.”
Term limits voters imposed in 2012 are days away from forcing retirements, creating a churn in power atop county government not seen since the 1990s. Along with a new mayor after Gimenez’s nine years in office, Miami-Dade will seefive new commissioners take office Nov. 17, and a sixth set to arrive by early 2021 once Levine Cava’s seat is filled.
That still leaves seven incumbents until the next wave of open seats arrives with the 2022 commission elections. In a county where incumbents rarely lose, the turnover has no precedent under the modern system ofMiami-Dade government created in 1992when a judge abolished countywide commission elections.
At Monday’s three-hour farewell ceremony held in a cavernous Port Miami terminal, commissioner Dennis Moss recalled a teenage intern asking for a meeting. Moss agreed and the young man told him: “One day I’m going to be sitting in your seat. And I’m going to be the District 9 commissioner.”
Kionne McGhee was right. Now 42 and the outgoing Democratic leader of the Florida House,McGhee won the District 9 seatTuesday with Moss’ endorsement.
Three sitting elected officials take commission seats on the 17th.
They are McGhee; Miami Gardens MayorOliver Gilbert, replacing Barbara Jordan, who has held the District 1 seat for 16 years; and Miami City CommissionerKeon Hardemon, replacing board Chairwoman Audrey Edmonson, who represented downtown Miami and neighborhoods north of it for 15 years as the District 3 commissioner.
The other two new commissioners held office before: former school board memberRaquel Regalado, replacing Xavier Suarez after nine years as the District 7 commissioner representing parts of Miami and areas south of the city; andRené García, a former state senator replacing Esteban “Steve” Bovo Jr., leaving the Hialeah-area District 13 seat after nine years.
Daniella Levine Cava won the mayoral election against Steve Bovo, a Republican, in a contest that saw both candidates amplify party loyalty.
Though Levine Cava was required to resign her seat to run for mayor, as a commissioner from an even-numbered district she still had two years left in her second term before being required to leave. Levine Cava takes office in November 2020.
The Miami Herald,It’s been decades since power shifted this much in Miami-Dade. What’s next?,(Nov. 6, 2020, 6:35 PM)https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article247003572.html
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