A race-by-race look at last week’s voting results from five polling locations in Coconut Grove.
Voter turnout was low, and there were no real surprises on Election Day last week.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava easily won a second term, Miami residents voted to hire a new cop to police City Hall, and Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo once again outmaneuvered his political opponents.
Still, the primary election on Tuesday August 20 set the stage for the general election to come in November when Coconut Grove voters will pick a president, select a sheriff, and choose a candidate to represent them in the halls of Congress.
So, given the stakes, how did Coconut Grove vote last week?
Here’s a race-by-race look at vote results from five polling places where voters cast their ballots in Coconut Grove.
County Commission District 7
County Commissioner Raquel Regalado and former Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner are headed for a runoff in November after neither won a majority. Regalado bested Lerner 49% to 42% but a third candidate, Richard Praschnik, denied both frontrunners an outright victory by winning 9% of the vote.
Had voters in the Grove determined the outcome, Lerner would have won outright. The former mayor captured 57% of the ballots cast in Coconut Grove. Regalado won 36% of those votes, and Praschnik collected 7%.
U.S. House District 27, Democratic Primary
Miami-Dade School Board member Lucia Baez-Geller will challenge two-term Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar in November after defeating former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey 54% to 46% in the Democratic primary.
Grove voters preferred Davey, 51% to 49%.
Miami-Dade School Board District 3
Former state Rep. Joe Geller and Martin Karp, a former school board member, will compete in a November runoff for the District 3 school board seat vacated by Lucia Baez-Geller (see above). Both candidates captured a third of the ballots cast last week in the five-way race (33% for Geller; 32% for Karp). Grove voters favored Geller over Karp by a 2-to-1 margin.
Miami-Dade County Sheriff
Republican voters in the Grove backed Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz, assistant director at the Miami-Dade Police Department, over former Miami City Commissioner Joe Sanchez in the Republican primary, just as voters did countywide. Cordero-Stutz will face Miami-Dade Public Safety Chief James Reyes, the Democratic candidate, in November. Reyes was supported by a majority of Grove voters in his primary race.
Office of the Independent Inspector General
Miami voters sent a loud message about corruption at City Hall, voting overwhelmingly (79%) to hire an independent inspector general to ferret out corruption and self-dealing in city government. The idea was even more popular among Grove voters (84% in favor).
Outdoor Gym Equipment in Maurice Ferre Park
Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo demonstrated once again why it’s never a safe bet to count him out. After downtown residents and rival Commissioner Damian Pardo appeared to win the battle over outdoor gym equipment in Maurice Ferre Park, Carollo took the issue to voters with an innocuously worded referendum.
Not surprisingly, voters endorsed the outdoor gym (Carollo’s position) with 79% in favor. Grove voters were a bit less enthusiastic, with 68% in support.
Voter Turnout
Primary elections in August typically elicit a large yawn from voters. Last week’s election was no exception. Voter turnout countywide was 19.57%. Grove voters were more engaged, if only marginally. There are 15,408 people registered to vote at five locations in the Grove (Christ Episcopal Church, Elizabeth Virrick Park, Plymouth Congregational Church, Miami City Hall and Vizcaya Village Garage). Turnout at those locations was 24.43% based on the number of ballots cast in the District 7 county commission race.
