Jorge Fors wins runoff for Coral Gables Commission seat

Lawyer Jorge Fors has narrowly defeated former Coral Gables Commissioner Ralph Cabrera in a runoff election for the Group IV seat on the Coral Gables Commission.

That unofficial results show that with all precincts reporting, Fors led Cabrera 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent.

Neither candidate reached the necessary 50 percent of the vote during the April 9 election. That night’s results saw incumbent Coral Gables Mayor Raúl Valdes-Fauli narrowly re-elected over former Coral Gables Commissioner Jeannett Slesnick.

Cabrera and Fors were the top-two performing candidates on April 9, allowing them to move forward to the runoff. But Fors was able to flip a deficit from April 9. On that night, Cabrera was the top vote-getter with 40 percent, while Fors received 31 percent.

Fors is also the former president of the Coral Gables Bar Association.

In the original tally, Carmen Olazabal, an engineer and former Coral Gables assistant manager, placed third with 26 percent of the vote. She was followed by real estate agent Jackson “Rip” Holmes at just 3 percent.

The race for Group IV became open when Commissioner Frank Quesada decided not to seek re-election.