The Nov. 6 elections in Palmetto Bay resulted in a decent turnout, delayed vote counts with some precincts not reporting until well after midnight, and no clear winners except for sitting council members who were given a chance to run for an unprecedented third term as a result of village charter changes. A runoff election for two contested council seats will take place on Nov 20.
With 11 of 11 precincts reporting, incumbent Vice Mayor Brian W. Pariser will face challenger John Edward DuBois in a runoff election. Leading by a mere 43 votes, DuBois received 3,538 votes (35.10 percent) to Pariser’s 3,495 votes (34.67 percent). Newcomer Karyn Cunningham received 3,048 votes (30.24 percent) in a tight race that saw 10,081 residents voting.
In the race for Palmetto Bay Council Seat 2, another runoff election will take place because newcomer challenger Tim Schaffer received 3,522 votes (36.79 percent) to Jim Araiza’s 3,470 votes (36.24 percent) with defeated incumbent Howard J. Tendrich receiving only 2,582 votes (26.97 percent).
In the long list of sometimes murky changes to the village charter, most passed, with changing the term limits to three terms instead of the previous two terms receiving 4,913 votes (50.43 percent) to 4,830 “no” votes (49.57 percent). Not passing were charter changes regarding interactions with administration and filling of vacancies.
