Sunny Isles Beach voters opted to keep the Miami-Dade Fire Department contract in the City Charter, but overwhelmingly voted in favor of the other five proposed amendments. The official results can be found at: http://www.miamidade.gov/elections/results/ele060413/060413-c.pdf. Easier to read results can also be seen on the SIB website at: http://www.sibfl.net/results-of-the-june-4-2013-special-election-on-proposed-charter-amendments/.
SIBR Summary:
- Amendment #1 was supported by 98.7% of voters. As a result, future candidates will have to give something more than their word to prove residency in their district.
- Amendment #2 was supported by 85.5% of voters. As a result, the City Manager can no longer hire and fire the Chief of Police without the input of the City Commission.
- Amendment #3 was supported by 76.5% of voters. As a result, the once-a-decade Charter Revision Commission can now select its own Chairperson.
- Amendment #4 was supported by 76.6% of voters. As a result, the Charter Revision Commission now has 120 days to submit proposed amendments to the City Commission.
- Amendment #5 was opposed by 56.5% of voters. As a result, it did not pass, and the Miami-Dade Fire Department will remain the mandatory provider of service for Sunny Isles Beach.
- Amendment #6 was supported by 94.5% of voters. As a result, our Charter will undergo its first grammatical tune-up.
Amendment #2 received the highest number of votes (for and against), with a total of 462. Amendment #6 received the lowest number of votes (for and against) with a total of 44o. Given that this was a special election with very little coverage, high voter turnout was not expected. Sunny Isles Beach voters should, however, make a better effort to make their voices heard. Otherwise, important decisions are left in very few hands, and the outcome may not reflect the opinions of our citizens as a whole. We do not think that was the case in this particular election, given that the amendments that passed did so with very large margins, and Amendment #5 was the only truly contested issue. We always knew it would be close, and it was. Therefore, we are confident that this small sample of SIB voters does reflect the voice of the larger group. However, since we have no way of knowing who will actually come out to vote, we cannot take comfort that others will vote for our desired results in the future. There are no guarantees. The only thing we can do to try to ensure a particular outcome is to exercise our right and privilege to vote. Please keep that in mind for next time.