Richard Praschnik, the Miami-Dade public schools police officer who captured 9% of the vote this month in the District 7 County Commission race, endorsed rival candidate Cindy Lerner this week. Lerner is seeking to unseat incumbent Commissioner Raquel Regalado in November. The winner will represent Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, South Miami, Coral Gables, Pinecrest and parts of Kendall on the Miami-Dade Commission.
Neither candidate won an outright majority in the August 20 election. Regalado captured 49% of the vote, outpolling Lerner but missing reelection by 419 votes. Lerner won 42% of the vote. Praschnik played the spoiler, forcing the two candidates into a runoff.
“Cindy shares my values when it comes to protecting our neighborhoods and putting community interests before special interests,” Praschnik said in a statement released by the Lerner campaign. Praschnik declined an interview request from the Spotlight.
Lerner, who lost narrowly to Regalado in a 2020 runoff election, predicted in an earlier interview that Praschnik voters would help her close the gap with Regalado in November. “This is a great sign of momentum for our campaign,” Lerner said in a statement announcing the endorsement.
Lerner trailed Regalado by 2,370 votes in the August 20 election – fewer votes than Praschnik won in his campaign (3,206 votes). Voter turnout is likely to be higher for the presidential election in November, however. Only 20% of eligible voters countywide cast a ballot this month. Regalado has pointed to higher turnout as a plus for her campaign in the runoff election. Mark your calendars. The election is November 5.
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