Miami Beach residents have elected a new mayor, former Commissioner Steven Meiner.
In a runoff election on Tuesday with more than 10,000 ballots cast, Meiner won with 54% of the vote compared to his opponent, former Commissioner Michael Gongora, who received 46%.
“Reducing crime, a safer city, mitigating traffic, responsible development, not overdevelopment, resiliency issues that we need to address,” Meiner said of his plans for the city. “I just kept talking about it and talking about it, and I really believe we have great residents, we have great voters, and I believe that would resonate and the proof is in the pudding, We are standing here right now celebrating.”
He will replace Dan Gelber, who’s held the position since 2017 but was prevented from running again by term limits. Meiner, who served as Miami Beach’s Group 4 commissioner since 2019, gave up his post to run for mayor.
A 20+ year career as an attorney
The new mayor has worked as an attorney in public service fighting against fraud for over two decades. Since 2007, when he moved to Miami Beach, he has served as a civil law enforcement attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Prior to the SEC, he practiced law in New York City handling complex financial litigation cases for prestigious international law firms Dewey Ballantine and Mayer Brown.
Meiner has also been devoted to helping his community and was honored as Man of the Year by a local civic organization in 2012. He was also appointed to serve on a City of Miami Beach advisory panel and is also active with a number of local charitable organizations.
Meiner has been married to his wife Shanyn for 18 years and they have two young children, Matisyahu and Michal. He earned his J.D. Cum Laude from Brooklyn Law School, and graduated Summa Cum Laude with his B.A. from Brooklyn College with Phi Beta Kappa honors.
