Thank You, Surfside!

Dear Surfsiders,

For me, this year’s Election “Day” lasted 61 hours.  And it concluded last night, just before 8:00 p.m., when the Canvassing Board certified my re-election as a Commissioner in the Town of Surfside.  I feel a tremendous sense of honor, as well as profound gratitude.  When my new term starts on Monday, I will channel those emotions into hard work on behalf of the Town that has, once again, entrusted me with the responsibility of governing.

First and foremost, I want to thank the voters in this election for, collectively, putting their trust in me.  My gratitude extends to all of you who voted and who took the time to participate in our democracy.  I promise to be a representative for all, including those Surfsiders who did not or could not vote in this election.

To my new colleagues on the Commission—Dayana Benmergui, Andrea Travani, and David Weingot—I want to offer my congratulations.  All of you ran wonderful, inspiring campaigns.  I have already learned from each of you, and I look forward to working with you on behalf of this Town that we all love.  I also want to thank Yonathan Berdugo, William Blumenkranz, Jocelyn Kinzer and Fred Landsman. Running for office is an act of public service, and I hope that you will continue to serve the Town in the years ahead.

Because my race involved recounts—both mechanized and manual—I got a much closer look at the workings of our democracy than I did during my first election in 2024.  Commissioner Weingot and I were both present at last night’s recounts, and I think I can speak for both of us when I say how very moving it was to observe the scrupulous professionalism at the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections Office.  For our democracy to thrive, we need to have more than just the right laws and constitutions; we need, among other things, dedicated and trustworthy civil servants.  I want to thank Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia and her staff, as well as Surfside’s Canvassing Board, for providing such an inspiring example of American democracy at work.  Thanks, too, to Mark Blumstein, who observed the recounts.

Even though the Commission race has concluded, Surfside’s election season is not yet over.  We have a mayoral election on April 7, and in the next few weeks, I’ll continue to walk and bike the streets of our Town and to knock on doors.  I will be campaigning for Tina Paul, my colleague on the 2024-26 Commission, whom I believe to be the right choice to lead our Town in the next term.  But I will also be out there as your newly elected representative, listening to you about what you want from your new Town Commission.  At last night’s manual recount, I got to see many of the ballots that Surfsiders cast, and I know that many people who voted for me also voted for Mark Blumstein or Shlomo Danzinger.  I look forward to talking to as many voters as I can and to hearing your ideas about how best to move our Town forward.

With gratitude,

Gerardo