Miami Beach voters reject Michigan Avenue lease; Svechin keeps Sunny Isles Beach mayor's seat

Miami Beach voters turned down the proposed lease extensions at 1691 Michigan Ave. on Tuesday, 15,336 to 9,157, or 63% to 37%, according to unofficial results from the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections with all 21 city precincts reporting.

The results below are as of the county’s 9:31 p.m. update. Some mail ballots are still being counted countywide, and results are not official until the county canvassing board certifies them. Red Sidewalks will update this story tonight.

Miami Beach

The “no” vote means the city’s ground lease with RK Rivani LLC stays as it is: no two 20-year extension options and no 47,000 square feet of new building above the garage. The City Commission meets Nov. 16 to accept the results.

Sunny Isles Beach

Mayor Larisa Svechin won a new term with 56% of the vote (3,430), ahead of former Mayor Dana Goldman with 35% (2,157) and Robert J. Spence III with 8% (504), with all five city precincts reporting.

Carolina Cruz Gonzalez won Commission Seat 4 over Magaly “Maggie” Gordo, 66% to 34%. In the four-way race for Seat 2, Steve Hirsch finished first with 39% (2,150), followed by Alex Brisk with 22% (1,233), Robert Balciunas with 21% (1,173) and David Vergel with 18% (970). Both seats were open.

State House and Congress

In House District 106, which includes Miami Beach, Democrat Lucia Báez-Geller led Republican Rep. Fabián Basabe 54% to 46% (30,759 to 26,266), with all 47 precincts reporting.

In the 25th Congressional District, Democrat Jared Moskowitz led Republican Scott Singer 53% to 45% in the Miami-Dade part of the district (67 of 68 precincts), with Libertarian Peter Jassenoff at 2%. The district also reaches into Broward County, whose votes are counted separately, so these numbers are not the whole race.

County Commission

In the runoff for County Commission District 5, which includes South Beach, Commissioner Vicki L. Lopez beat Rob Piper 61% to 39% (27,250 to 17,729), with all 55 precincts reporting. Lopez was appointed to the seat last year after Eileen Higgins vacated it, and she finished first in the August primary without the majority needed to win outright, WLRN reported. The district also takes in PortMiami, downtown Miami, Brickell and Little Havana.

County questions

Miami-Dade voters, with 759 of 768 precincts reporting, were approving county charter changes on commissioners’ residency (77% yes), filling vacancies by election (74%), the county constitutional offices (69%), technical changes (63%) and an independent salary commission (52%, the closest question). They were rejecting more advertising in county parks (60% no). The school district’s property tax renewal for safety and security was passing with 82%.

Surfside, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands and North Bay Village had no local races or questions on Tuesday’s ballot.