By Howard Cohen
Isaac Aelion credits his years of experience in Sunny Isles Beach affairs. Jeniffer Viscarra champions her background as an attorney and for having “independent judgment.”
Both seek Sunny Isles Beach’s Commission Seat 4, the South Central residential area, a seat held by Roslyn Brezin who is termed out.
The two candidates compete in a runoff election on Dec. 7.
Viscarra, 37, led the general election on Nov. 2 with slightly more than 37 percent of the vote compared to Aelion’s pull of nearly 36 percent of the 3,138 votes cast in a three-person race. Isaac Feldman finished in third place.
Viscarra’s lead amounted to 61 votes.
Since no one topped 50 percent, the city’s charter requires a runoff race.
Viscarra, a 10-year resident and attorney who specializes in immigration and family, believes the commission needs someone new.
“My entire living is based on critical thinking, that’s what I bring to the table. I bring independent judgement,” Viscarra said. “I don’t owe anyone any favors, I’ll evaluate each issue one at a time. I’m someone looking at everything carefully with [residents] in mind.”
Both candidates point to a hot button issue in the community: A proposed city-owned aquarium and park on the grounds of a strip mall near Collins Avenue and Sunny Isles Boulevard. Wometco, the Seaquarium’s owner, would finance construction of a $25 million aquarium and entertainment complex, which it would lease from Sunny Isles Beach.
Aelion said he isn’t ready to sign off on the project until traffic studies are complete but leans in its favor.
“The economics of it look sound,” he said. “It’s not going to cost one penny to the city to have this structure built. The city will get a $380,000 lease.”
Viscarra also is concerned with potential traffic issues and cites a lack of parking spaces. She hasn’t decided on the aquarium, either, “but based on what is out there so far, I would have to say no,” she said.
“My constituent’s big nightmare is this vision of bus loads of people being brought in. People don’t want that.”
Viscarra said the chief concerns in Sunny Isles, like elsewhere, are jobs, the economy, how tax dollars are spent and traffic.
“Creating shops and jobs is all good . . . but right now it doesn’t look like the feasibility studies are up to par,” she said. “…we don’t want to be on the oops end of a multimillion [dollar] project in the middle of 163rd Street.”
In the general election Viscarra, Jeanette Gatto and mayoral candidate Michael Schnitzer ran as a team and opposed sitting mayor Norman Edelcup who won election over Schnitzer. Gatto, however, defeated Robert “Bob” Welsh for Seat 2, the central residential area.
“I have a lot of respect for Norman,” Aelion said. “A lot of credit has to go to him and the commission in developing the city.”
Viscarra realizes the campaign was combative — “This is the nature of the beast” — but she said she could work with Edelcup and the commission.
“My primary responsibility is to the voters.”
Read the complete article at: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/29/1948910/two-candidates-face-off-in-sunny.html#ixzz16psUTXwz