17 candidates vied for four Miami-Dade School Board seats. Who made it to the runoff?
Three races for Miami-Dade County School Board will continue on to November.
Four seats out of nine were on this year’s ballot (not counting the District 1 seat, which incumbent Steve Gallon won automatically facing no challengers). But of those four seats, three incumbents chose not to run again.
That invited qualified candidates to swarm in and help lead the fourth-largest school district in the nation.
The School Board of Miami-Dade County controls a $5 billion budget and oversees 392 schools, 345,000 students and 40,000 employees, the largest workforce in the county. They are in charge of matters beyond education, including overseeing the awarding of contracts to local and minority businesses. Many School Board members go on to higher political office.
Each of its nine members represents a section of Miami-Dade County, and each has an equal vote. Board members serve four-year terms.
It was an election field slated to head to the Nov. 3 runoff election, sure to get higher turnout with the help of the 2020 presidential race.
Voters in parts of Miami-Dade County whittled down 17 candidates in four races for Miami-Dade, sending six candidates off to three runoff elections.
One familiar face is returning to the nine-member dais. Incumbent Lubby Navarro dominated District 7, which includes Kendall and a large swath of Southwest Miami-Dade County.
District 3: Lucia Baez-Geller and Russ Rywell head to runoff
In a competitive race to take over Martin Karp’s seat, Miami Beach Senior High language arts teacher Lucia Baez-Geller emerged as the front-runner.
She described her lead as a dream. With 85 out of 87 precincts reporting, she won 27.52% of the vote, or 10,111 individual votes.
“I’m feeling great,” she said. “Very excited very happy for the support. ...It’s been absolutely amazing. The whole process, the journey has been absolutely rewarding for me.”
The November runoff election for District 3 will be a face-off between two highly effective Miami Beach Senior High teachers. Rywell received the second-most amount of votes, earning 25.90% of the total vote and 9,517 ballots.
“I’m excited that my voters thought me worthy of the runoff and I’m looking forward to winning the election,” said Rywell. “I want a teacher to sit on the board so I’m happy one of us will be the eventual winner.”
Three other candidates competed for the District 3 seat, which extends from Aventura down to the beaches and includes a slice of downtown Miami.
Joshua Levy, a lawyer, came in third place with 22.83% of the vote, or 8,304 votes. Raquel Bild-Libbin, a psychologist, won 13.11% of the vote, or 4,767 votes, and social worker Marcela Gomez-Bogomolni earned 10.60%, or 3,854 votes.
District 5: Mara Zapata, Christi Fraga head to runoff
Christi Fraga and Mara Zapata were in a tight battle all night for the District 5 race. Susie Castillo’s former seat envelops Doral and Miami Springs.
With 79 out of 93 precincts reporting, Doral’s vice mayor, Fraga, won 38.75% of the vote, totaling 13,220 votes.
“We’re very encouraged,” said Fraga. “We feel extremely thankful, humbled with the community for showing up to vote.”
She will face Zapata, who won 38.66% of the vote, or 13,187 ballots.
“I’m very pleased with the results,” she said, adding that she expected a runoff. “There’s lots of energy, lots of positivity.”
The August primary election leaves behind Michel Diaz Suarez, a former Miami Dade College professor, who won 13.71% of the vote, or 4,678 ballots, and Jaime Petralanda, a middle school teacher and Miami Springs councilman, who won 8.88% of the vote, or 3,029 votes.
District 7: Lubby Navarro reelected to third term
The only incumbent in this election, Navarro swept the Kendall and Southwest Miami-Dade district, eliminating challengers Marie Flore Lindor-Latortue, a Miami Dade College professor and media personality and Lorraine Real, a retired school district administrator.
Navarro ran away with the vote, amassing 54.63% of the vote with 48 out of 103 precincts reporting as of 8:25 p.m. With 48 out of 103 precincts reporting, Flore Lindor-Latortue came in second place with 29.17% of the vote, which translates to 12,347 votes, and Real won 16.20%, or 6,859 votes.
“I’m so humbled and I thank my community,” Navarro said, declaring victory. “It’s been a long two weeks of sun and the rain.”
In a brief phone call, Navarro touted the success of the A-rated Miami-Dade County public school system, which she said has taken care of District 7.
This is Navarro’s second election. She was appointed to the vacated District 5 seat by Gov. Rick Scott in February 2015.
District 9: Dennis Moss, Luisa Santos head to runoff
In a crowded race for a district that stretches from Pinecrest to Homestead, term-limited county commissioner Dennis Moss and homegrown small business owner Luisa Santos rose as the top two vote-getters.
“I am so thankful that the residents of School Board District No. 9 felt that I was worthy of their vote,” Moss said, “and as a result I’m in the runoff and I look forward to getting to that and representing them in south Dade.”
The highly competitive race featured several big names.
Esther “Shelly” Fano, a Miami Dade College administrator and mother of former lieutenant governor Carlos Lopez Cantera, received 9% of the vote as of 8:15 p.m. with six precincts reporting. Justin Koren, a beloved administrator at Miami Killian Senior High, won 20.35% of the vote. And Nancy Lawther, the candidate anointed by predecessor Larry Feldman, received 21.73%, just shy of Santos’ 21.92%.
With 51 out of 118 precincts reporting, the race for District 9 now comes down to Moss, with 27% of the vote and 10,038 ballots, and Santos, with 8,151 votes.
“I am incredibly inspired by District 9’s support of a vision for equity for our district,” said Santos, “and the way that every corner from Florida City to Pinecrest came out and got behind centering student and teacher voice and ensuring that students who need more support in our schools is at the forefront to serve our community.”
