Miami

Early Voting Underway: Meet the 13 Candidates Vying for Miami's District 2 Commission Seat

The seat has been vacant since former commissioner Ken Russell resigned from the seat to run for Congress.

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The seat for Miami City Commission in District 2 has not been represented since January but is set to be filled in a special election come Monday.

Thirteen candidates have qualified. Some are familiar names, but others are long shots.

Candidate Sabina Covo is well aware of the diversity in the district.

“I want to make sure we have one community advocate within our office for each of the neighborhoods, because the needs, for example, in Edgewater, are not the same as the needs of Coconut Grove,” she said. “I think we all have in common that we need to become more climate resilient.”

Martin Zilber, a former judge, has public safety on his radar.

“Citywide, which is one of my biggest issues, is more policing and safety for everybody,” Zilber said. “We have the same number of police officers on the street today as we did 10 years ago with almost double the population.”

District 2 is home to some of the most affluent communities in Miami, like Virginia Key, Coconut Grove, Downtown and Brickell, then stretching north into the Edgewater and Morningside neighborhoods.

A huge slice touches Biscayne Bay, making the district the most vulnerable to climate change, especially sea level rise.

Former commissioner Ken Russell resigned from the seat to run for Congress.

This election strayed from politics as usual, with mudslinging and petty personal attacks taking a back seat to neighborhood issues.

NBC 6's Steve Litz is live from Miami with the latest on early voting for the vacant commission seat for Miami District 2.

Candidates Michael Goggins and Javier Gonzalez were at Miami City Hall Thursday, one of the early voting sites, seeking shelter from the sun under a tree and campaigning together. 

“Traffic congestion is the number one issue, everybody talks about it,” said Goggins. He added how bicycle safety, sunny day flooding, and infrastructure issues are all big challenges.

For Gonzalez, it’s all about the bottom line: the city budget.

“Tops for us, for me and particular, is the budget," Gonzalez said. "Remember the budget is coming up in September, and District 2 is a donor District, it’s always been a donor district, and I think we really have to work towards getting our fair share.”

Candidate Eddy Leal’s priority is unfinished city development projects.

“We have good personnel, but we need good leadership to actually advance and move forward many of the projects that are stagnant,” he said. “Particularly, the resilient ones that affect the Grove, Brickell, Edgewater, and Morningside."

Some candidates, like Lior Halabi, have a list of items they feel are not getting attention.

“Besides the housing issue, it is a big issue here, there is also traffic congestion. There are also issues of no green spaces,” he said. “I don’t think the city has given the infrastructure and the services for the residents that live now, plus the new residents coming.”

Candidate James Torres is enjoying his endorsement from the Miami Herald announced today.

"I think the homeless issue is number one," he said "And then, of course, transportation, and the thing that I have been able to identify is the green spaces. We don’t have enough of that."

Candidate Mario Vuksanovic is also making homelessness a priority.

"There are many empty buildings that we can convert into affordable housing, fast," he said. "I’m talking about within the next few months. We can take about 1,000 to 2,000 homeless people off the street quickly."

Early voting is happening Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Election night is Monday, with a top vote-getter winning the seat.

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