{"id":305793,"date":"2026-06-12T22:56:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:56:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/305793\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T22:56:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T22:56:08","slug":"with-no-opponent-brett-moss-will-be-key-biscaynes-next-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/305793\/","title":{"rendered":"With no opponent, Brett Moss will be Key Biscayne’s next mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Architect and former council member Brett Moss is now Key Biscayne\u2019s mayor-elect, after the filing period closed at noon Friday with no opposing candidates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Moss\u2019s victory comes as little surprise after he received support from current Mayor Joe Rasco and former mayors Mike Davey and Mayra Pe\u00f1a Lindsay. Many other former council members backed him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite filing only on May 29<\/a>, the swift endorsements gave Moss a commanding position in the race that would\u2019ve been difficult for any challenger to compete with. In November, he will assume the position of mayor.<\/p>\n

\"\"Clerk\u2019s office in Key Biscayne, June 12, 2026. Only one candidate \u2013 Brett Moss \u2014 filed papers to run for mayor. Moss will become mayor in November. (KBI Photo\/Mahogany Brim)<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve Key Biscayne again,\u201d Moss told the Independent. \u201cThis island is my home, and my immediate priority is to listen to our residents, collaborate with the council, and focus entirely on the issues that matter most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moss previously announced a bid for Mayor in 2022 but withdrew before the filing deadline, citing deliberations with his wife and family.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got 100% my support,\u201d said Rudy Leschhorn, 56, an executive producer and resident of Key Biscayne. \u201cGreat person with a fair approach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moss\u2019s opposition to the Big Dig, a project aimed to protect the island from rising sea levels and flooding, signalled his willingness to remain independent. Initially a supporter of the Big Dig plan, Moss began to oppose the project due to its cost estimate of $80 million for Zone 1.<\/p>\n

The Village shut down the Big Dig project in April after spending $8 million despite never starting construction. Key Biscayne has shifted to a plan that would use shallow injection wells to manage flooding.<\/p>\n

As Moss returns to a government role, this time as mayor, he will face the continued challenge of resolving the Village\u2019s stormwater system, as well as other key infrastructure concerns like moving power lines underground to prevent outages.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI am ready to get to work in November,\u201d said Moss.<\/p>\n

One challenge will be the impact of a property tax amendment on the November ballot. Backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the policy would raise Florida\u2019s homestead exemption from $50,000 to $250,000 by 2028. If approved by voters, it would lower taxes for \u2018homesteaded\u2019 property owners, shifting the burden to renters and businesses. It could also significantly reduce local governments\u2019 budgets, which rely heavily on property tax revenue. About one-third of the island properties are \u2018homesteaded.\u2019<\/p>\n

With no opposing candidates, Moss avoids traditional campaigning such as canvassing and candidate forums, preventing residents from probing the Mayor-elect on his views and plans for the Village.<\/p>\n

Still, Key Biscayne residents appear to have confidence in Moss\u2019s governing abilities. Retired dentist Elsa Dominguez, 76, says she\u2019s \u201csuper happy\u201d Moss will be the Village\u2019s next mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll be excellent,\u201d said Dominguez.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mahogany Brim<\/p>\n

MAHOGANY BRIM is a student at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is the KBI’s 2026 intern journalist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Architect and former council member Brett Moss is now Key Biscayne\u2019s mayor-elect, after the filing period closed at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[31765,52983,2927,1375,123,125,124,8191],"class_list":["post-305793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-big-dig","tag-brett-moss","tag-flooding","tag-mayor","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-property-tax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}