Miami elects third commissioner in wake of city hall shakeup

COCONUT GROVE, Fla. (WSVN) -- We now know who will occupy mayor Tomas Regalado's former seat on the Miami City Commission, which still has two empty seats after the loss of two commissioners to corruption charges.

Tuesday night, residents elected 32-year-old Francis Suarez after winning the runoff against former city budget analyst Manolo Reyes. Both had campaigned for a city commission seat before. Suarez is the son of former Miami mayor Xavier Suarez.

At this point, the commissioner-elect's mere presence adds stability to shell-shocked Miami City Hall. Most important, his election gives the commission the power to act as a legislative body now that they have a quorum with three votes. This is crucial because in a week they will meet for the first time to decide whether the city will hold a special election or an appointment for District 1 ousted commissioner Angel Gonzalez's empty seat.

Gonzalez resigned from his seat after pleading guilty to corruption charges last week. He is now no longer allowed to run for government office, at least for now.

The partial commission will also have to look into what it can do to avoid, if at all possible, a special election ordered by Florida governor Charlie Crist to replace suspended commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones. She was booked on grand theft charges for allegedly stealing grant money from the county.

Now Suarez and fellow novice commissioner Frank Carollo, along with veteran commissioner Marc Sarnoff will have to vote on the possible special election for Spence-Jones' District 5 seat, while knowing she could likely run as a candidate. "She has communicated that to some friends, some people that we know, so I guess she will be part of the process," said Regalado. She is expected to announce her decision on Thursday.

After that issue, the commissioners will have to decide what to do about Gonzalez's empty seat, either make an appointment or hold another special election. However, a special election is a costly proposition. A simple appointment could save the cash-strapped city more than $200,000. "They can go either way, but we got some people already saying, 'You have to have an election because you are having another election,'" Regalado said referencing the special election ordered by the governor for Spence-Jones' seat.

Among those on a short list for appointment is the man heading Regalado's transition team, Horacio Aguirre. Aguirre is joined on that list by former political foes of Gonzalez.

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