Public safety and overdevelopment among issues at core of Miami Beach mayor's race

Public safety and overdevelopment are among the key issues at the core of the Miami Beach mayor's race.

Mayor Dan Gelber has termed out and four men are looking to replace him in the Nov. 7 election.

Among them are Michael Gongora, who served nine years on the Beach Commission; Mike Grieco, who served two terms on the panel and represented the city in the State House of Representatives; Bill Roedy, a political newcomer; and Steven Meiner, who is giving up his Beach Commission seat to run for mayor.

Meiner, like others, has a focus on public safety.

“You have to make sure all aspects of the judicial system are working, prosecution, police, and if it’s not you're going to have a problem,” Meiner said in a recent interview.

Gongora, the former vice mayor and commissioner, is also looking to focus on policing and public safety.

"We’ve seen it in Mid-Beach and North Beach residential neighborhoods, more break-ins, burglaries,” said Gongora. "Problems infiltrate in one area, but then they move throughout the rest of the city."

Miami Beach has its challenges, with a rowdy South Beach, during high impact periods, getting much of the attention.

Roedy says other neighborhoods need attention too.

“There’s trafficking of drugs, there’s too much gun violence, and the streets are dirty, and there’s too much noise,” he said.

For Grieco, Tallahassee is one of the city’s biggest hurdles. He says state lawmakers are taking powers away from local elected officials.

"We are under attack by developers, we are under attack by Tallahassee bureaucrats and elected officials that essentially want to take our postcard away and take away our ability to make our own decisions," Grieco said.

Overdevelopment, traffic and quality of life are all items the future mayor will tackle.

If one candidate does not receive a majority, 50% plus one vote on election night, then the two top vote-getters will go into a runoff two weeks later.