Voters in Surfside elected a former mayor back to his post, and Pembroke Pines has a new mayor after 20 years. NBC6’s Steve Litz reports
Voters in Surfside have elected their former mayor back to the seat Tuesday.
Charles Burkett — who had dealt with the deadly condo collapse as the town's leader three years ago — defeated current Mayor Shlomo Danzinger with 52.68% of the votes.
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"It’s not nasty ... there’s a lot of passion," Burkett said after his victory. "I think my opponent believes his way is the best way and we believe our way is the best way, and at the end of the day, it is up to voters to decide."
The race saw candidates slinging mud at each other.
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"So this is democracy and that’s how it works," Danzinger said. "I am very thankful for all of the people who came out to support us, pushed for that campaign, it was a lot of support, it was very humbling."
Two years ago, Danzinger beat Burkett for the mayor’s post. Tuesday saw a flip back, with a majority of voters in this small town backing Burkett.
"I am excited because we get to implement our vision for Surfside now, it is not going to be a big developer-friendly vision, it is going to be a resident-centric position," Burkett said.
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Voters in Pembroke Pines also held a mayoral race Tuesday, the city's first in 20 years.
Commissioner Angelo Castillo was elected with 55.38% of the votes.
Castillo defeated opponents Vice Mayor Iris Siple and Elizabeth Burns.
The race comes after the city's current mayor, Frank Ortis, announced his retirement.
Nationally, Donald Trump won Tuesday's Republican presidential primary in Florida, a vote the former president was expected to carry easily after all his major challengers had dropped out.
There was no contest for President Joe Biden to win in Florida as Democrats there canceled their primary and opted to award all 224 of their delegates to Biden, a move that has precedence for an incumbent president.
