Miami Herald reports that Miami-Dade County voters will not get to choose the next commissioner for District 5—at least not immediately. The remaining 12 commissioners ended a fierce debate over voter choice versus cost on Tuesday by voting 7-5 to appoint State Representative Vicki Lopez to fill the vacant seat.
Lopez, a Republican member of the Florida House, is the newest Miami-Dade County commissioner for the district that stretches from South Beach west to Little Havana. She takes the seat vacated by Democrat Eileen Higgins, who resigned effective November 5 to qualify as a candidate for Mayor of the City of Miami. Higgins is headed to a runoff election on December 9.
The choice to appoint Lopez settled a major divide among the commissioners. One side, led by Commissioner Kionne McGhee, argued strongly for holding a special election to allow District 5 residents to choose their own representative. Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, however, successfully argued for the appointment, noting that a special election would cost county taxpayers an estimated $1 million.
The item on Tuesday’s commission agenda (252261) called for an appointment, moving forward after five people submitted their names as applicants. In addition to Lopez, the applicants included Joe Sanchez, a former Miami city commissioner; David Richardson, a Miami Beach commissioner and former state representative; Bruno Barreiro, who previously held the District 5 commission seat; and Miami businessman Antonio Diaz.
Lopez was elected as the State Representative for District 113 in 2022. She is a former member of the Lee County Commission and has been appointed by three different Governors over the years, specializing in education, criminal, and juvenile justice issues.
In the Florida House, Lopez served as Vice Chair on the Select Committee on Health Innovation and held memberships on several budget and policy subcommittees, including Children, Families & Seniors, and PreK-12 Appropriations. She is also the owner of the Miami-based VLL Consulting LLC. For more background information on Vicki Lopez, click here.
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