The Canvassing Board met this morning to certify the May 11, 2021 Regular Election for the City of North Miami. Mary Estimé-Irvin was officially declared the winner of the District 3 Councilperson race. A recount of the votes in the District 2 race is scheduled for 10 AM, tomorrow, May 15, 2021, at the Miami-Dade County Elections Department.
The Canvassing Board members for North Miami are Vice-Mayor Dr. Alix Desulme, Councilman Scott Galvin, and Councilwoman Carol Keys.
Medina Explicitly Calls Out Kevin Burns for Fraudulent Voting Activity
North Miami — Dr. Hector Medina, a candidate for North Miami City Council District 2 alleges there was significant fraudulent voting in the latest municipal election. Medina narrowly missed the runoff race, placing third, and specifically calls out second-place candidate Kevin Burns for fraudulent activity.
Burns, a former North Miami mayor, is in a runoff race against Kassandra Timothe, scheduled for June 1, 2021. Medina will present evidence of fraudulent voting to the Canvassing Board this morning and ask them to postpone certification of the election results until after an investigation has been conducted.
The basis for Medina’s protest is the following, verbatim:
● There were 19 votes cast in the election by voters who only very recently registered as having an address in the City of North Miami. Upon visual inspection on May 13, the addresses where some of those who voted claim to be living appear vacant. As such, there is a strong likelihood that at least some of these voters participated in a coordinated vote fraud scheme facilitated by one of the candidates and/or their campaigns.
● There were 12 votes cast by mail from voters that have been identified as “Deceased” by the NGPVAN VoteBuilder voter database that was used by my campaign. While this database is not perfect, the high number indicates a very high probability that one or more votes were mailed back on behalf of a deceased voter, in violation of Florida law.
● Combined, the number of potentially fraudulent votes identified is up to 31, which exceeds the number of votes by which the unofficial count suggests I was eliminated or defeated from this race.
● In addition to these specifically identified votes, a statistically improbable number of voters cast their ballots by mail in Precinct No. 148. Data from the Supervisor of Elections suggests at least 348 ballots were cast by mail in this precinct, a nearly 75% increase on the 200 votes by mail that were cast in the regular municipal election in this precinct just two years ago. The lion’s share of that vote-by-mail spike is clustered in four high-rise buildings with shared mail facilities susceptible to mail ballot theft. By comparison, the total number of mail-in ballots received in 2021 vs. 2019, when all of the city’s districts are averaged, only went up around 21%.
● Further suggesting foul play, I was verbally informed by the Supervisor of Elections staff that 50 ballots cast by mail in the District 2 council race were rejected due to a signature mismatch, a figure that accounts for just under 6.4% of all absentee ballots returned. By way of comparison, the rejection rate for signature mismatch issues during the 2020 election was around 0.12%, about one voter out of every 833. Using common sense and rudimentary probability, it’s obvious a rejection rate of 6.4% is a statistical near impossibility. The idea that one out of every 16 voters who mailed their ballot back in this North Miami election somehow forgot how to sign their name is absurd. It is impossible to look at this outlier and not call it out for what it is: convincing evidence that there was a coordinated effort by one of the campaigns to sign and handle absentee ballots on behalf of the voters, in violation of Florida law.
“Kevin Burns does not think the rules apply to him. From failing to pay his debts to business partners and little old ladies, to deciding he just wasn’t going to file campaign finance reports, it’s clear he thinks following the law is for schmucks,” said Dr. Hector Medina, “We now see clear evidence that his campaign likely rigged the election in his favor with fraudulent mail votes. This is not just of concern to me and my campaign, but to every voter in North Miami who wants ethical and honest government. We cannot let Kevin get away with this.”
Incumbents Philippe Bien-Aime and Mary Estimé-Irvin were re-elected in Tuesday’s City of North Miami municipal elections. Bien-Aime won overwhelmingly and returns to the City’s mayoral seat. Estimé-Irvin returns to the District 3 council seat after narrowly avoiding a runoff race against three opponents.
Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime and Councilwoman Mary Estimé-Irvin were re-elected to their positions.
Kassandra Timothe and Kevin Burns are in a runoff for the District 2 Council seat.
In the seven-candidate race to fill the open District 2 seat, former City of North Miami public information officer, Kassandra Timothe was the top vote-getter and is in a run-off with former City of North Miami Mayor Kevin A. Burns who narrowly edged Hector Medina for the number two spot in that race.
The District 2 run-off is June 1. Vote-by-Mail ballots will be mailed, Tuesday, May 18. Early voting is May 24 - May 30.
If you live in the City of North Miami Council Seat 2 voting district and are eligible to vote, exercise your right. Only 16 % of the city’s 34,084 registered voters turned out in the last race. Conventional wisdom dictates that turnout percentage will be smaller for the upcoming runoff election. If you don’t vote, don’t complain.
Perhaps the Black community in Miami is on the precipice of a political and cultural revolution. Perhaps this generation of millennials will usher in a resurgence of Black unity and Black power reminiscent of Miami’s past. On Sunday, November 1, 2020, the men of the Beta Beta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, executed a community caravan to bring awareness of the importance of the using the right to vote to effect change for our people and the community at large.
For this ambitious project, the fraternity partnered with Florida Memorial University, South Florida’s only HBCU. Before the fraternity members and their supporters set out on their journey, there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included dignitaries from the university’s Board of Trustees.
As the attention-getting caravan, with full escort, rolled into the first of four stops, the early voting site at the Miramar Branch Library & Education Center, the energy was immediately apparent. The featured speaker at that location was the honorable Wayne Messam, mayor of the City of Miramar and member of the Beta Beta Lambda Chapter. The fraternity distributed t-shirts and bottled water to early voters waiting in line.
The excitement continued at the next stops, the early voting sites at the North Dade Regional Library in Miami Gardens and the North Miami Library. The caravan concluded at the Joseph Caleb Center early voting location, in the City of Miami, with messages from community leader and past chapter president, Pierre Rutledge and current chapter president Michael Grubbs.
More than 200 people in 70 vehicles participated in the caravan. At each of the stops, hundreds of voters and onlookers were educated on “A Voteless People is a Hopeless People,” a national program of Alpha Phi Alpha since the 1930’s when many African-Americans had the right to vote but were prevented from voting because of poll taxes, threats of reprisal, and lack of education about the voting process.
“Yesterday...I looked into the eyes of children and our seniors across South Florida and saw the impact of the Beta Beta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, "Alpha Train" Road to the Polls. It offered hope and meaning to a community struggling to believe in the Democratic process within our country. We endeavored to wake up South Florida and let our name, example and action(s) lead the way,” said Taj Echoles, chair of Beta Beta Lambda’s Alphas In Action Task Force, the civic engagement arm of the chapter.
About Beta Beta Lambda Chapter (adapted from Chapter's website):
Beta Beta Lambda Chapter has been an active part of the Greater Miami community since its inception on November 19, 1937. Like many chapters across the country, it was established by men with a common interest in improving the community through education and public service.
The chapter’s founding members are Felix E. Butler, MD, Nathaniel Colston, MD, Ira P. Davis, MD, Aaron Goodwin, MD, Frederick J. Johnson, Samuel H. Johnson, MD, Leo A Lucas, and William H. Murrell, MD. Under the leadership of Solomon C. Stinson, Ph.D., the chapter was incorporated in the State of Florida as a legal entity on November 30, 1978. Under the leadership of Earl H. Duval Ph. D., the Beta Beta Lambda/Alpha Foundation was created and incorporated on September 25, 1995.
Beta Beta Lambda Chapter and its subsidiaries are providing leadership through its many service activities such as Alpha Outreach, Project Alpha, Alpha-Dade Youth Sports Program, Alpha/Big Brothers & Big Sisters Partnership, Sankofa Project, Knights of Gold, Boy Scouts Troop 1906, Alpha/Head Start Partnership, Voter Education Project, and Scholarship Award Program.
Brilliance, creativity, and talent were on full display at Miami Carol City Senior High, on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, as District 1 School Board Member and School Board Vice Chair Dr. Steve Gallon III held his 4th Annual District 1 Black History Showcase. This year’s show entitled “D1 Chella” celebrated Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) also known as the Divine Nine. Performances included dance, step, chorus, spoken word, drama, jazz band, and drumline.
The event master of ceremonies was District 1 and Andover Middle School’s 8th grader Ramaria St. Hilaire. Schools represented in this year's showcase included: Golden Glades Elementary, North Dade Center for Modern Languages, Parkview Elementary, Rainbow Park Elementary, Scott Lake Elementary, Norland Middle School, Carol City Middle School, North Miami Senior High, Miami Norland Senior High, Jan Mann Educational Center, and Miami Carol City Senior High. There was also a special performance by Ricky Danco, a Haitian American dance company.
Event partner was City of Miami Gardens Councilwoman Katrina Wilson. More than 500 were in attendance and included Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert, Councilman David Williams Jr., Councilman Reggie Leon, Trayvon Martin Foundation executive director Sybrina Fulton, North Region Superintendent Jose Bueno, UTD Vice President Antonio White, and North Region administrators and school staff.
A special visual presentation was featured reflecting on the past and highlighting the present status of HBCUs and the Divine Nine. The showcase received a long and resounding standing ovation and continuous praise by everyone as the audience exited the auditorium.
“Once again, our community has been able to serve witness to the artistic beauty and brilliance of our students, as well as the power that the arts plays in their education and empowerment,” said Dr. Gallon. “The night also provided an opportunity for us to reflect, recognize, and celebrate the educational journey of Blacks in higher education and the powerful role and influence that Black fraternities and sororities have played in binding us in power and purpose. The night’s performances also provided us with a challenge. How do we top this?”
Miami-Dade County District 1 School Board Member Dr. Steve Gallon III, will be the guest speaker at the upcoming Greater North Miami Chamber of Commerce Business Networking Luncheon, Noon, March 22, 2017, at the Miami Shores Country Club, 10000 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami Shores, FL. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. Click here to purchase tickets in advance.
Launching February 2016, PowerMoves Miami will provide high-impact entrepreneurs of color with mentors, capital and support.
MIAMI — PowerMoves, a national initiative to increase the number of venture-backed, high-growth and high-tech companies led by entrepreneurs of color, will open in Miami in February 2016. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is investing $1.2 million to support the launch of PowerMoves Miami.
While black and Hispanic students earn nearly 20 percent of computer science degrees, they make up only 9 percent of the technology industry and less than 1 percent of technology company founders. To help close this gap, PowerMoves began in 2014 as a hyperlocal program to position New Orleans as a hub for entrepreneurs of color. Since then, it has rapidly grown to become a national initiative, connecting entrepreneurs of color to mentors, capital, support and investment opportunities. It has helped 100 companies from across the country secure more than $27 million in capital commitments.
Miami will be the first city outside of New Orleans to host a PowerMoves office and year-round programming, including pitch competitions, boot camps, networking events and fellowships. The local office will also provide a space for entrepreneurs to grow ideas and collaborate. A community manager, working with a team of entrepreneurs-in-residence and mentors, will help local entrepreneurs refine their business models and market strategies, as well as connect them with advisers and capital to launch and scale their businesses.
“We are excited to establish a strong local presence in Miami, a city with a strong appetite for entrepreneurship and a growing community of innovators,” said Earl Robinson, the CEO of PowerMoves. “This ‘long view’ strategy will enrich the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by broadening participation to include typically underrepresented groups, like African-Americans and Afro-Caribbeans. It will also grow the Miami early-stage deal footprint as these entrepreneurs will add compelling businesses to the pool of Miami investment opportunities.”
“The wealth of talent, experience and innovation that comes with diversity is often lost because minority entrepreneurs do not have the same access to capital and support that is necessary to grow their businesses and develop their ideas,” said Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director for Miami. “In Miami we have seen great progress in building an inclusive startup community that is representative of our diversity—but we have to do more. PowerMoves will help establish pathways to opportunity for black entrepreneurs and others working to make Miami a global innovation hub.”
PowerMoves Miami will host monthly public meetups across the city. In addition, PowerMoves boot camps will include up to six weeks of virtual classroom participation with advisers and entrepreneurs, and include three days of intensive in-person classroom development. Six high-growth entrepreneurs will be selected to participate in a 12-month PowerMoves Miami Fellowship. The fellowship includes free rent at a local co-working space, ongoing mentoring and coaching, connections to potential customers and advisers, investment capital and in-kind legal, marketing and financial services.
PowerMoves Miami will launch on Feb. 15, 2016 in conjunction with Black Tech Week, for which Knight is the founding sponsor.PowerMoves has helped source talent from across the country to participate in the weeklong series of entrepreneurship events as part of Black Tech Week from Feb. 14-Feb. 20.
In spring 2015 PowerMoves expanded outside New Orleans and held a pitch competition and business event in Detroit, another community where Knight invests. The event was supported by Knight Foundation in collaboration with other partners. Programs in additional cities will be announced in the coming year.
Support for PowerMoves Miami is part of Knight Foundation’s efforts to invest in Miami’s emerging innovators and entrepreneurs as a tool to build community, while fostering talent and expanding economic opportunity. Over the past three years, Knight has made more than 100 investments in entrepreneurship in South Florida.
Mayor Smith Joseph; Roseline Phillipe; Jessica Alston and Beverly Hilton endorse Alix Desulme for District 4 Councilmember.
Today is Election Day in the run-off between Alix Desulme and Carline Paul for District 4 Councilmember for the City of North Miami. If you live in the District or know someone who does, ask them to vote for Alix Desulme. Alix is the best candidate for this position.
Paul has garnered the endorsements of key individuals in the community including Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and State Rep. Daphne Campbell. Desulme has garnered many key endorsements of individuals in North Miami including Mayor Joseph and all of the other candidates in the primary election except, of course, his run-off opponent. This is a closely watched, highly-contested race. Political wonks will study it for the effectiveness of various political campaign strategies.
Today is Election Day in the City of North Miami. The only race on the ballot is for the District 4 Council seat. There are five candidates: Jessica Alston; Alix Desulme; Beverly Hilton; Carline Paul and Roseline Philippe.
If you live in North Miami District 4, get out and vote. If you know someone who lives in that district, encourage them to get out and vote. Every election is important. Do your research. Don’t be taken for granted and don’t squander your vote.
Today is Election Day in North Miami for council person for District 4.
Polls are open from 7:00am-7:00pm
Here are the precincts to vote:
Precinct 133.0 Miami-Dade County Fire Station #19 650 NW 131 Street North Miami, FL 33168
Precinct 135.0 Sunkist Grove Community Center 12500 NW 13th Ave North Miami, FL 33168
Precinct 136.0 Miami Union Academy 12600 NW 4th Ave North Miami, FL 33168
Elect Alix Desulme #93 as Councilmember, District 4 – elected by district, four year term North Miami, Florida
North Miami Councilmember Marie Erlande Steril announced she will not seek re-election to her District 4 seat. Thus far, candidates are Carline Paul, also known as Teacher Carline, Beverly Hilton and former Noth Miami City Clerk Alix Desulme. The election is in May. We will keep an eye on this race as well as the mayor's race.
It is rumored that Jean Marcellus will jump in the mayoral race. Some folks even think Kevin Burns will run again, or another potential candidate, that I cannot disclose, might announce shortly before the filing deadline. It would be unrealistic to think there will be no challengers for incumbent Mayor Smith Joseph. It would be nice, but very atypical for South Florida politics.
For the record, and in full disclosure, I will be fair in reporting via this blog, but I will be campaigning for Mayor Joseph and Alix Desulme. Let the games begin!
