Jesse Scheckner
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner has put months of speculation to rest. He’s officially running for a second term.
Meiner, a 54-year-old federal enforcement lawyer-turned-real estate investment executive, just filed paperwork to seek re-election to the office he won in November 2023.
He’s set to face at least two opponents: City Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, a Realtor and Miami Dade College professor, and Victor Rosario, an entrepreneur and U.S. Coast Guard veteran.
“I’m incredibly grateful to the residents of Miami Beach who put their trust in me two years ago,” Meiner said in a statement.
“Together, we’ve made great progress in restoring order, improving safety, and putting the needs of our residents and businesses first. But there’s more work to do, and that’s why I’m running for reelection — to continue fighting for a safer, stronger, and more vibrant Miami Beach for everyone who calls it home.”
A three-time Miami Beach Commissioner, Meiner won the mayoralty on a promise to fight overdevelopment, implement traffic management software to reduce road congestion, protect Biscayne Bay, reduce crime and provide free cross-bay ferry service to and from Miami.
He made some headway on those efforts, while others hit various snags, including state legislation that superseded local regulation of construction and property uses.
Meiner also made several headlines during his first two-year term as Mayor. In March 2024, Gov. Ron DeSantis cited a citywide ban on public camping Meiner supported as informative to a since-passed state law on homelessness.
A month earlier, the Miami Herald reported about allegations of harassment lodged against Meiner that his former employer, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, was investigating.
Meiner resigned from the agency in July 2024. As of Tuesday, it has not announced any formal legal proceedings in connection with the complaints, which arose before the 2023 runoff.
This past March, Meiner made national news when he briefly threatened to evict the operators of an independent cineplex after they refused to cancel screenings of a controversial documentary about the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In keeping with his safer-streets focus, Meiner has also pushed back against calls to end security measures unfriendly to Spring Break activities in the city, including parking restrictions and increased fees for non-residents.
Meiner, a former Republican who switched to no party affiliation in 2018, won a runoff for Mayor on Nov. 22, 2023, with 54% of the vote.
Rosen Gonzalez, 51, is a Democrat. Rosario, 50, has no party affiliation.
May polling by Plantation-based MDW Communications found that among informed voters — voters provided information about candidates in a given election — Meiner trailed Gonzalez by 6 percentage points.
That was more than two months before Meiner entered the race, and pollsters did not inquire about Rosario, who has been running for Mayor since September but hasn’t reported any outside fundraising.
More than a third of respondents remained undecided in the contest.
This year’s race is something of a rematch between Meiner and Rosen Gonzalez. The two squared off for the same City Commission seat in 2019. Meiner won in what at the time was considered an upset.
Miami Beach’s elections are nonpartisan.
The city’s General Election is Nov. 4. The qualifying deadline is Sept. 5.
