(LE FLORIDIEN) — Incumbents Philippe Bien-Aimé and Mary Estime-Irvin have both held their seats in office. Bien-Aimé kept his mayoral seat and Estime-Irvin held onto her District 3 Council seat, as reported by the Miami-Dade elections department website for the May 11 North Miami Election results.
Compared to North Miami’s 2017 election, as in 2019, this year’s turnout was even more disappointing. Numbers from the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office show that only 16% (5,457 out of 34,084) registered voters in North Miami went to the polls.
Bien-Aimé knocked out his only opponent in the mayoral race, former City Clerk Michael Etienne, to win a second two-year term. The former tax preparer and car sales rep beat Etienne by a large margin. Bien-Aimé earned 63.86% (3,334 votes) of the total votes to Etienne’s 36.14% (1,887 votes).
Bien-Aimé was first elected as Councilman of District 3 in 2013. He was reelected for a second term in 2017. The former Vice Mayor resigned from his post earlier in 2019 to run for Mayor. To win his first two-year term as Mayor, Bien-Aimé came out on top of a four candidate race, winning with 51.92% of the total votes cast over contenders Mac-Kinley Lauriston, Hector Medina, and Danielle CJ Beauvais.
Many local political analysts and observers believe that the City of North Miami Mayor would throw his hat into the-already crowded Miami-Dade District 2 Commission seat race, which is due for August 2022, to replace Jean Monestime, who made political history in November 2010 to become the first Haitian-American to ever serve on the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners.
Mary Estime-Irvin hardly knocked out her three opponents to win a second term as the Representative of District 3. She collected 897 votes (50.11%) out of the total of 1,790 votes cast. District 3 has a total of 8,137 registered voters. Her challengers, Laura B. Hill gained 444 votes (24.80%), Wancito Francius won 238 votes (13.30%), and Jean Rodrigue Marcellus, who occupied the seat previously, came in last with 211 votes (11.79%).
Incumbent Estime-Irvin did not win a second term without a contest, though. After already celebrating her victory at a North Miami restaurant with family members, close friends and supporters, the councilwoman -who won the race by a mere 6 votes over the 50% minimum required to win outright learned that her opponent Laura B. Hill (who came in second) has challenged the results and therefore officially requested a recount of all votes through her lawyer.
At the recount process in the Miami-Dade County elections headquarters in Doral (Southwest Miami), activist Laura B. Hill who basically had no chance to win the seat, if she had a run-off approved, would likely have lost, since incumbent Estime-Irvin would have more likely gained the votes of the other two Haitian-American candidates (Wancito Francius and Jean Rodigue Marcellus) in the District 3 race. Ms. Hill claimed that she wasn’t in favor of a recount, but that the other two Haitian-American candidates had promised to campaign with her in the eventual run-off and implied fraud in the absentee ballots.
It’s a common tragedy within our community when competing Haitian-Americans will attempt to undermine another’s victory, even going so far as to claim fraud (that clearly wasn’t in evidence). Ms. Hill appears to have been used and manipulated by these two other candidates.
The race for the District 2 seat ended in a runoff with former North Miami Public Information Officer Kassandra Timothe finishing on top among a total of seven candidates, gaining 477 votes (33.95%). North Miami’s former Mayor Kevin Burns came in second with 334 votes (23.77%). Timothe or Burns will replace term-limited Councilwoman Carol Keys. The runoff election is scheduled for June 1, 2021. Chances are the City of North Miami will be governed – for the first time – by four Haitian-American council members (out of five). Of course, this would be another political history.
Haitian-Americans have an opportunity to create even more influence in their local political government. While it is vital to select candidates based on their policies, beliefs, and community support and care, the Haitian-American candidates and leaders who have already been elected continue to succeed in building a better community for all.
Our community needs to do better at honoring the incredible gift of the right to vote and get out and help elect the men and women they want representing them in government. When we band together, there is no force on Earth that can stop us. Turnout must improve if South Floridians truly desire to be a beacon of light and hope to the rest of the country and, possibly the world.
D. Ferdinand / LE FLORIDIEN