{"id":33597,"date":"2025-11-05T00:52:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T00:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/33597\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T00:52:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T00:52:09","slug":"steven-meiner-repels-lone-challenger-wins-second-term-as-miami-beach-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/33597\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven Meiner repels lone challenger, wins second term as Miami Beach Mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner is keeping his job for another term.<\/p>\n

With 20 of 21 precincts reporting, Meiner had 51.8% of the vote to defeat his lone challenger, Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, and secure two more years as the city\u2019s most prominent elected official.<\/p>\n

As of 7:30 p.m., 489 votes separated the candidates.<\/p>\n

Voters in Miami Beach headed to the polls well-acquainted with the two mayoral candidates. Meiner, a former federal government lawyer and ex-Commissioner, has held elected office in the city for the better part of a decade. Rosen Gonzalez, a sitting Commissioner, Miami Dade College professor and longtime preservation advocate, served on the dais from 2015 to 2018 and again since 2021.<\/p>\n

Each brought distinct voices to the contest.<\/p>\n

Both supported the city\u2019s 2023\u00a0homelessness ordinance<\/a>\u00a0that allows police to arrest people sleeping in public after shelter offers are refused. Both wanted a\u00a0long-floated<\/a>\u00a0water taxi link<\/a> between Miami and Miami Beach.<\/p>\n

But the two sparred over crime statistics. Meiner cited mid-year police data showing overall crime down and a successful prosecution rate of 92% since 2022.<\/p>\n

Rosen Gonzalez insisted aggravated\u00a0assaults were still up<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meiner ran on a platform of \u201claw and order<\/a>\u201d highlighting his crackdown on Spring Break mayhem<\/a>, work to reduce recidivism by successfully prosecuting criminals and efforts to keep flood control projects on track.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also touted a recent property tax rollback that he calls proof of fiscal discipline.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy commitment remains to make Miami Beach the best and safest city in America,\u201d he said in an Oct. 10 campaign video. \u201cMajor crimes are down 15.5% across Miami Beach. This represents real improvement for your daily safety and peace of mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosen Gonzalez said Meiner\u2019s clampdowns on disruptions during Spring Break and other high-traffic periods drove away tourists and small businesses. She told Local 10<\/a>\u00a0last month that year over year, Miami Beach was down $4 million in tourism tax revenue, representing $100 million in economic activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe told the entire world not to come to Miami Beach,\u201d she told\u00a0WSVN<\/a>. \u201cBut we\u2019ve never really told them to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Accordingly, Rosen Gonzalez\u2019s platform centered on reviving tourism. She also vowed to cut red tape for local businesses, foster more affordable housing and improve the city\u2019s transit provisions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(L-R) Steven Meiner and Kristen Rosen Gonzalez. Images via the candidates.<\/p>\n

Each candidate faced controversy, though one saw trouble far more recently.<\/p>\n

Meiner\u00a0drew national criticism<\/a>\u00a0in March for trying to evict a nonprofit theater in the city after it screened the Oscar-winning documentary about the Israel-Palestine conflict, \u201cNo Other Land,\u201d which he called antisemitic and a public safety issue.<\/p>\n

He ultimately withdrew the measure.<\/p>\n

He also entered Election Day battling a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0an anti-Israel Jewish activist group filed against Miami Beach and its officials alleging he stifled pro-Palestinian protests.<\/p>\n

Last year, he\u00a0resigned<\/a> from his job as a lawyer for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission amid an internal investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against.<\/p>\n

Rosen Gonzalez, meanwhile, has been the subject of five ethics complaints\u00a0that led to no findings against her and faced a sexually charged defamation lawsuit that her\u00a0insurer has since settled<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She also carried a history of headline-grabbing moments, including\u00a0comparing<\/a>\u00a0a former Mayor to\u00a0Vladimir Putin\u00a0and falsely\u00a0calling herself Hispanic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Notably, those issues happened years ago. Rosen Gonzalez told the Miami Herald that she is \u201cwiser\u201d and more collaborative now.<\/p>\n

A poll Plantation-based\u00a0MDW Communications<\/a>\u00a0conducted in May, before Meiner formally entered the race, showed Rosen Gonzalez leading Meiner by 6 percentage points, though more than a third of respondents reported being undecided in the contest.<\/p>\n

Meiner, a 54-year-old with no party affiliation, carried endorsements from outgoing Miami Mayor\u00a0Francis Suarez, Sunny Isles Mayor\u00a0Laura Svechin, Miami Beach Commissioners\u00a0Joe Magazine\u00a0and\u00a0David Suarez, and former Miami Beach Mayors\u00a0Dan Gelber\u00a0and\u00a0Philip Levine.<\/p>\n

He also had support from the Miami Beach Fraternal Order of Police and Miami Beach firefighters union IAFF Local 1510.<\/p>\n

Rosen Gonzalez, a 52-year-old Democrat, had endorsements from Bower, LGBTQ advocacy group SAVE Action PAC and several unions, including AFSCME Florida, GSAF Local 100 and UNITE HERE Local 355.<\/p>\n

In terms of fundraising, Rosen Gonzalez was the front-runner. Her campaign account reported raising $158,000 and $6,500 worth of in-kind contributions.<\/p>\n

The nearly $156,000 she spent through Oct. 3 was about $36,500 more than Meiner reported raising altogether. He spent $93,500 by the end of last month.<\/p>\n

Miami Beach\u2019s elections are nonpartisan, but party politics frequently factor into races.<\/p>\n