Mayor’s race, 3 Commission seats on ballot in West Miami election Tuesday

West Miami voters are heading to the polls Tuesday to weigh in on a contest between Mayor Eric Diaz-Padron and Yolanda Aguilar, a fellow Republican and former City Manager who believes she can do the job better than her ex-boss.

Three City Commission seats are also up for grabs, with two incumbents seeking re-election and a third post wide open after its current occupant failed to qualify. Two of those races, like the Mayor’s race, are for jobs carrying four-year terms.

The third City Commission contest is a Special Election for a two-year term.

Mayor

Diaz-Padron, a 31-year-old lawyer, real estate broker and son of former Mayor Carlos Diaz-Padron, is seeking to continue the momentum he says he has built since first winning the mayoralty in 2022 with 64% of the vote.

His campaign has leaned on his record of lowering property taxes, improving public safety and investing in infrastructure and amenities.

Diaz-Padron points to what he describes as the fastest police response times in Miami-Dade County, along with new parks, traffic-calming measures and cleaner neighborhoods. He has also defended fee increases enacted during his tenure, arguing they were necessary after years without adjustments and helped address issues such as underbilling.

“West Miami keeps improving because we’re focused on real results for our families, lowering taxes, investing in our community, and strengthening our financial reserves,” Diaz-Padron said in a statement. “We’ve come a long way and the best is still ahead.”

Campaign finance reports show Diaz-Padron raised $41,450 and spent $33,000 by April 2 through his campaign account. He raised another $50,000 this cycle and spent about $32,000 through his political committee, Do Better.

He has also earned endorsements from the Florida Police Benevolent Association and Metro-Dade Firefighters Local 1403.

Aguilar, 69, brings a markedly different profile. A West Miami resident since 1971, she spent 40 years in public service, including nearly three decades as City Manager before leaving the post in 2023.

Now a government consultant, she is running on her experience inside City Hall and a message focused on transparency and fiscal discipline.

While calling Diaz-Padron a “decent young man” in an interview with Political Cortadito this month, Aguilar sharply criticized the incumbent’s leadership, arguing West Miami has seen excessive spending and rising fees under his watch, compounded by what she characterized as insufficient long-term planning.

She warned that those trends could jeopardize financial stability if left unchecked.

“My vision is rooted in restoring trust, transparency, and responsive leadership,” Aguilar said on her campaign website, adding she would prioritize efficient city services, support for police and efforts to secure outside funding for improvements.

Aguilar raised more than $67,000 and spent about $46,500 through her campaign account as of early April. Her endorsements include former Mayor and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa, Palmetto Bay Mayor Karyn Cunningham and the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police District 6.

City Commission

Voters will also choose who will occupy Seats 1, 2 and 4 of the City Commission in the city’s April 14 election.

In the race for Seat 1, Republican health care executive Victoria De La Torre, a former journalist who previously served on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, faces Democratic legal consultant George Lavin.

They are competing to replace Commissioner Luciano Suarez, who did not qualify for the race.

De La Torre’s platform focused on maintaining public safety, preserving community spaces, keeping taxes low and ensuring fiscally responsible decisions to protect West Miami’s quality of life.

Lavin, who enjoyed support from the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, emphasized increasing government transparency, expanding public access to City Hall and strengthening community services.

He proposed new online tools for citizen engagement and budget tracking, while supporting public safety, small businesses and continued investment in infrastructure, parks and programs for seniors and families.

Lavin, 54, raised about $4,700 and spent $1,700 by April 2. De La Torre, 40, raised $10,000 and spent more than $6,000.

For Seat 2, incumbent Commissioner Juan Blanes, 67, hopes to repel a challenge from Fermin Belleau, a fellow Republican 11 years his junior.

Blanes, a retired fire captain, ran a campaign highlighting his public service experience, emphasizing a record of improving quality of life through public safety, stronger city services, infrastructure upgrades, lower taxes and maintaining solid financial reserves.

Belleau appears to have run a quieter campaign without an official website.

The two candidates’ fundraising was neck-and-neck, with Blanes raising $1,500 and spending $1,300 and Belleau raising $1,350 and spending $687 by early April.

There’s also a race for Seat 4, which Commissioner Gustavo Ceballos has held since shortly after its prior occupant, Natalie Milian Orbis, was appointed to the Miami-Dade County Commission last May.

Ceballos, a 40-year-old Republican who works by day as an Assistant City Attorney in Coral Gables, is hoping to secure another two years at City Hall.

Elsa Pelaez-Lopez, a 64-year-old banking executive with no party affiliation, hopes to supplant him.

Ceballos is touting a record of prioritizing public safety, lowering taxes, strengthening city finances and investing in parks and community programs to support families. He has emphasized his experience in municipal issues and commitment to responsible growth, transparency and maintaining West Miami’s quality of life.

Pelaez-Lopez is running on a platform centered on financial transparency, fiscal discipline and responsible development, with a focus on lowering fees, improving city services and addressing flooding. She has emphasized protecting West Miami’s small-town character and ensuring accountable, resident-focused leadership.

Ceballos reported raising close to $29,000 and spending nearly $14,000 through his campaign account by April 2. Pelaez-Lopez wasn’t far behind him, raising $23,500 and spending $19,500 with less than two weeks before Election Day.

West Miami is a relatively small municipality of roughly 8,500 residents, an overwhelming share of whom are of Hispanic origin. In the 2022 election, the most recent year voters weighed in on city races, less than a quarter of the city’s 3,829 voters at the time (934) cast ballots.