MIAMI — Less than a year after the Champlain Towers South collapsed in Surfside, the town’s voters have ousted their mayor.
Business owner Shlomo Danzinger was elected Tuesday to replace Mayor Charles Burkett, who came in third place in the election despite amassing the largest war chest of all candidates.
In the first election since the June 24 condo collapse that killed 98 people and thrust the small town of less than 6,000 residents onto the national stage, Danzinger won a surprise victory against two current elected officials who were in office during the tragedy.
Burkett and Vice Mayor Tina Paul lost the mayoral race by less than 40 votes.
“We got much higher than we thought we were going to get,” Danzinger told the Miami Herald after the results were announced at Town Hall.
He said voters were tired of the political bickering on the current commission, which has mostly been between Burkett and Commissioner Eliana Salzhauer.
Voters booted Salzhauer from office as well after her two-year tenure was most notably marked by her flipping her middle fingers to Burkett during two meetings. That earned the town media attention, Danzinger noted.
“If we don’t end up in the newspapers in the next two years, that’ll be an accomplishment,” he said.
Danzinger, who lost his run for commission in 2020, said he wants to promote more walkability in town and address traffic issues. He said the commission should also consider adding new parking to deal with the growth of the town.
“The voters have their own ideas and I’m happy with the determination of the voters,” Burkett said. “That works for me just fine.”
Voters reelected Commissioner Nelly Velasquez and elected three new commissioners: home builder Jeffrey Rose, and town committee members Fred Landsman and Marianne Meischeid.
Rose, who received the most votes among the commissioners, will be the new vice mayor.
Voters approved a referendum to issue $40 million in general obligation bonds to put the town’s utility lines underground, which will result in a new tax for homeowners.
The candidates in the election and their supporters gathered at Town Hall as staff projected the election results on a large screen in the commission chambers.
All five seats on the Town Commission were up for grabs and voters also weighed in on five ballot questions.
They rejected increasing elected official salaries from $1 to $12,000, but supported the four other ballot questions. They approved preserving 6-foot hedges in the single-family neighborhood, adding a prohibition on overnight beach furniture storage to the town charter, and limiting beachfront building height and density.
The newly elected mayor and commission will be sworn in Wednesday at Town Hall.
The new commission will oversee the planning of a public memorial on 88th Street near the site of the former Champlain Towers South building.
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