Jesse Scheckner
Council members Stephanie Bruder and Molly Diallo are running to keep their jobs at Bay Harbor Islands Town Hall.
Political newcomer Dave Sanchez is running to make them only half successful.
Voters will choose between Bruder, Diallo and Sanchez in the town’s General Election on Tuesday. The election is at large and nonpartisan, with voters picking between all three candidates. The two biggest vote-getters win seats.
Shortly after, the Town Council will select a new Mayor and Vice Mayor. Council terms are four years and staggered so that only a portion of the panel is up for election yearly.
The candidates agreed that traffic congestion is a top issue for the two-island municipality bordering Bal Harbour, Indian Creek Village and Surfside. They also concurred that more local programming is needed for the town’s nearly 6,000 residents.
Bruder, a 60-year-old Democrat, has lived in Bal Harbor Islands since 1997 and manages several businesses with her husband. She previously owned a learning center for children with special needs and worked at a nonprofit, where she led programs for seniors and after-school activities for kids.
She has served at Town Hall for more than a decade, including as Mayor and Vice Mayor. If re-elected, she said she’ll support lobbying efforts to secure grants for local infrastructure projects, particularly for bridge improvements and a municipal complex, and add more youth, family and senior programming.
“Bay Harbor Islands is the perfect blend of small-town charm and coastal beauty,” she said in a statement. “I love its sense of community, walkable streets, and peaceful, yet vibrant atmosphere.”
Bruder won endorsements from the Fraternal Order of Police and the South Florida Police Benevolent Association. She also carries the largest war chest in the contest, having raised $47,000, of which $30,000 came from her bank account.
Her donors included numerous local businesses and frequent state-level givers such as Sunshine Gasoline Distributors and Akerman.
Diallo, a 50-year-old Democrat, has lived in Bay Harbor Islands since she moved to South Florida in 2004 and served on the Town Council since 2021, when she won unopposed.
She is the Vice President of Education of Junior Achievements of Greater Miami, where she leads youth financial literacy, entrepreneurship and career readiness programs. In 2018, while working as a social studies teacher, she was named Miami-Dade Public Schools’ “Teacher of the Year.”
Diallo is running on a platform that prioritizes public safety, expanding community services and recreation, enhancing the town’s infrastructure and strengthening communication between Town Hall and residents.
“My family and I have always been proud to call Bay Harbor Islands home,” she said in a statement. “It has been a tremendous honor to serve on the Town Council for the past four years, and I’ve deeply enjoyed connecting with residents in this role.”
Diallo raised $14,110 through March 14, $1,100 of which was her money. Her donors included The Dade County Police Benevolent Association, Sunshine Gasoline Distributors and Akerman.
Sanchez, a 20-year-old Bay Harbor Islands native, is a first-time candidate and full-time student majoring in cybersecurity.
State records show he registered as a Republican in 2022 and remained one for the next two years. He is now registered with no party affiliation.
His platform includes preserving the town’s existing character while leveraging revenue from new development, including construction of a new Town Hall, to improve local infrastructure.
He also wants to expand youth activities, improve civic engagement, enhance accessibility to online services, shore up the town’s resiliency and make it easier for residents to attain public records.
“I have lived for all my life in this town, and I won’t ever want to move away,” he said in a statement. “It’s an incredible location adding to the uniqueness of the town. I aim to keep and preserve such character which long-term residents have come to adore.”
Sanchez reported raising $2,172. But his contributions ledger shows $3,000 in donations from 1050 LLC, a company whose principal is Francis Neuhut, a past Town Council candidate who filed complaints with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust against Bruder, Mayor Joshua Fuller and Town Attorney Frank Simone. All were tossed for lack of legal sufficiency.
