Jesse Scheckner
For the next two years, Walter Fajet will have a stronger voice in dictating the future of Miami Springs.
Voters picked him over former City Council member Bob Best to serve as Mayor.
Fajet, a three-term sitting Council member, beat Best with nearly 66% of the vote. Because of the city’s term limit rules, he can only serve as Mayor for a single two-year term.
“I’m happy the residents of Miami Springs had the confidence in me to lead them,” Fajet told Florida Politics, adding that he looked forward to building on the progress he’s made in the past six years.
“We’ve made a lot of changes. We have a new City Manager, a new Public Works Director, a new Chief of Police, we have a positive trajectory for our city, and we’re going to continue that for my final term.”
Joining Fajet on the five-member Council are new members Joseph Dion and Fabian Perez-Crespo, who respectively won the Group 2 and Group 4 seats Tuesday.
Dion took 50.5% of the vote to defeat Irma Matos and MaryJo Mejia Ramos. Perez-Crespo, meanwhile, received 64.5% of the vote to secure victory over Tom Hutchings.
“I’m humbled by the support of my community, my family, and my future colleagues,” Dion said by text. “Can’t wait to get to work on supporting our police, making 36th Street safer, and exploring ways to bring businesses into the community to help our taxpayers. More importantly, finding ways to strengthen our elderly and regain our ‘tree city USA’ title.”
The race marked Perez-Crespo’s first run at public office, and he leaned on his experience fundraising for local scout troops and the Miami Springs Women’s Club.
“I’m used to asking people for donations. Engaging with people was natural to me. But running for office was a whole ‘nother level, and I’m so grateful for the citizens of Miami Springs believing and trusting in me,” he said. “From here on, we’re moving forward to do the people’s work.”
Miami Springs election rules dictate that no matter the number of candidates in each contest, the candidate with the most votes wins. There is no requirement that a candidate receive more than half the votes, and there are no runoffs.
The winners of Tuesday’s nonpartisan election won two-year terms.
Best and Fajet faced off for the right to succeed Mayor Maria Puente Mitchell, who is leaving office due to term limits.
Best, a 72-year old Democrat, is a past Council member who has been out of office since 2013. Fajet, a 52-year-old Republican, has served in the Group 3 seat for three consecutive terms.
A U.S. Air Force veteran, Best worked in the aerospace industry and owned a local landscaping company.
He vowed, if elected, to support targeted development that doesn’t significantly alter the city’s character, protect green spaces, improve local safety initiatives and improve the city’s parking situation — an issue most candidates cited as problematic.
Best told MiamiSprings.com that running for Mayor was “the next logical step” for him, politically.
“I have the experience. I worked with three or four City Managers, three Mayors,” he said. “I’ve got the leadership skills to bring forth certain experience.”
Through March 27, Best raised $3,705, including a $1,000 check from United Teachers of Dade and a $500 self-loan.
Fajet, a charter school principal and Miami Springs resident for more than 40 years, ran on a platform prioritizing increased police funding, lowering the city’s millage rate, halting expansion of Miami Springs’ Overlay District, addressing parking issues and getting more funding for senior services.
He told the Miami Herald that Miami Springs needed to capitalize better on development opportunities while preserving the city’s “small-town feel, beautiful tree canopy and idyllic way of life.”
“My policy platform is rooted in a deep commitment to the City of Miami Springs and the best interest of ALL its residents,” he said in a statement.
Fajet stacked up $40,401 by March 27. His donors included Management Hospitality, the Miami Association of Realtors and the political committees of Miami-Dade County Commissioner Juan Carlos Bermudez, Miami-Dade School Board member Daniel Espino and Florida Highway Patrol trooper Joe Sanchez, who ran for Sheriff last year.
The race to replace outgoing Council member Jacky Bravo in Group 2 featured two Republicans, Dion and Matos, and one Democrat, Mejia-Ramos.
Dion, a 44-year-old process server and small-business owner, had a platform prioritizing crime prevention and preserving the city while embracing “thoughtful planning and sustainable development.”
He told the Miami Herald the most pressing issues in Miami Springs are the city’s high property taxes, crime on 36th Street, traffic and parks accessibility.
Dion carried an endorsement from the Miami Realtors Global and raised $22,670.
Matos, a 69-year-old author, real estate investor and entrepreneur who serves as President of the Wings II Townhouse Apartments Condominium Association, made crime prevention a centerpiece of her campaign.
She hoped, if elected, to support police and combat human trafficking, preserve Miami Springs’ character, clean up 36th Street, attract more businesses to the city and start a campaign called “Save the Children” to combat human trafficking and child predation.
Matos raised $1,025, most of it her money.
Mejia-Ramos, a 55-year-old former University of Miami’s Jackson Health System employee, came to Election Day with an edge in campaign experience. In 2023, she mounted an unsuccessful City Council bid, but lost to Santin. She is also a member and planner of the city’s 2026 Centennial Celebration and a longtime member of the Miami Springs Women’s Club.
Her platform focuses included improving the city’s economic stability, balancing its budget, fostering commercial development on Northwest 6th Street and Abraham Track, and safeguarding the city’s tree canopy.
She raised $9,824, including $3,000 in self-loans. Her donors included the Florida Democratic Party and former state Rep. Robert Asencio, among others.
Two years after losing a race for the Group 4 seat by 20 votes to outgoing Council member Victor Vázquez, 61-year-old Republican Tom Hutchings made another run at it this year.
Perez-Crespo, a 57-year-old with no party affiliation, denied Hutchings victory.
An Emmy Award-winning multimedia pro and life coach, Perez-Crespo will make the jump from civil volunteer to elected official. Before running for office, he served as a member of the Miami Springs Historical Society and Miami Springs Women’s Club.
He promised, if elected, to protect Miami Springs from overdevelopment, strengthen the city’s business corridor, support local small businesses, cut taxes, support police, champion Parks and Rec programs, promote effective parking solutions and further rejuvenate the city’s tree canopy to “reclaim” its “Tree City USA” title.
Perez-Crespo reported raising $7,930, with sizable donations from the Miami Realtors PAC and EB Hotel.
Hutchings, a restaurateur, told MiamiSprings.com he wanted to preserve the city’s “small-town charm” while redeveloping some of its older areas that are in need of modernization.
Reducing crime, cracking down on through-traffic speeders and working with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department to provide more after-school activities to youths are also high on Hutchings’ to-do list.
He raised $6,100, $1,500 of it self-loaned.
Races for two of the Council’s five seats were decided last month, when Group 1 Council member Jorge Santin coasted back into office and Orlando Lamas won Fajet’s Group seat unopposed.
Election Day voting for the 2.9-square-mile municipality of nearly 14,000 residents was held at the Miami Springs Golf & Country Club from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
