Candidates for Miami's District 2 commission seat will speak with voters tonight to share their platforms in advance of the upcoming special election on Feb. 27.
This Monday at 6:30 p.m., 13 candidates for the District 2 seat — which oversees downtown, Brickell, Coconut Grove, and much of the city's waterfront land — will meet at the Woman's Club of Coconut Grove for candidate interviews.
According to Coconut Grove Spotlight, an online newsletter for Grove residents, in-person registration for the event is sold out. Zoom registration, however, is still open. Anyone looking to join the meeting and speak with the candidates online can register and join the meeting at this link.
Coconut Grove Spotlight also posted a PDF with each candidate's brief biography and personal statement.
Mel Meinhardt, one of the organizers behind Monday's event, told WLRN that residents will submit questions for the candidates in advance online and in-person moderators will present the questions to each candidate in what will amount to more of a structured interview than a formal debate.
"This group got together to try and organize an opportunity for voters to understand more about these candidates," Meinhardt said. "There are a lot of candidates that people don't really know who they are, and that's just not good representative democracy."
Over a dozen candidates have qualified for the District 2 special election, which was triggered following the resignation of former Miami Commissioner Ken Russelllate last year. The remaining commissioners argued at length about whether to appoint Russell's replacement or call for an election, but ultimately decided to let the voters choose.
Meinhardt said that attendees can speak to the candidates one-on-one after the meeting ends at 8 p.m.
A candidate only needs to win by a "plurality" to nab the District 2 seat, meaning they only need to get a higher number of votes than their opponents, rather than a majority of over 50% of the votes.
Early voting for the special election will be held on Feb. 23 and Feb. 24 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday Feb. 25 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registered voters in District 2 can vote early in person at Miami City Hall, Lemon City Branch Library and the Stephen P. Clark Government Center.
For more information on voting, visit Miami.gov.
