It was a historic night in the City of Miami on Tuesday after several runoff elections, and a newcomer in the world of politics won big.
Rolando Escalona was running for Miami District Commissioner against Frank Carollo, who previously served eight years as a commissioner and is a former District 3 Commissioner, Joe Carollo’s brother, who ran to replace his brother, who was term-limited.
Back in November, Carollo came in first in the Nov. 4 election but didn’t win a majority, meaning he and Escalona would go into a runoff.
Escalona built his career in the restaurant business and ended up as a general manager at a high-end eatery in Miami
He said he has seen what’s been happening at City Hall, and he wanted to bring some integrity to the commission 3 seat.
“What is first?” he said. “Have the team. If you don’t have the right team, you won’t be able to do what you need to do. I want to make the right team and then get to work.”
The next step in the process is that the election will be certified, and then Escalona will be sworn in as the new Miami City Commissioner.
Also celebrating a historic victory is Eileen Higgins, who won Miami’s mayoral runoff over President Trump-backed Emilio Gonzalez, becoming the first Democrat in nearly 30 years to be elected Miami’s mayor.
Higgins, a former county commissioner, and Gonzalez, who previously served as the Miami City Manager and Chief Administrative Officer, had been the top two finishers in the November election.
Several other races in Miami-Dade County, including Miami Beach, where Monica Matteo-Salinas defeated Monique Pardo Pope, who were running for an at-large commission seat being vacated by Kristen Rosen Gonzalez.
And in Hialeah, two council seats were being decided. In group 3, Gelien Perez defeated Jessica Castillo, and in group 4, William “Willy” Marrero won over Javier Morejon.
See live result updates here:
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