Clark Leads Alonso in Miami Mayoral Race; Held Post Before

Steve Clark took an early lead over Miriam Alonso in Miami’s mayoral runoff Tuesday as he tried to reclaim the office he held during another political era.

With 10 of 85 precincts reporting, Clark had 1,236 votes, or 73%, to Alonso’s 458 votes, or 27%.

In neighboring Hialeah, Florida’s fifth-largest city, Raul Martinez sought four more years behind the mayor’s desk while facing 10 years behind bars. Former state Rep. Nilo Juri urged voters to rebuke Martinez and not risk wasting their vote for a convicted felon.

With one of 32 Hialeah precincts counted, Martinez had 826 votes, or 65%, to Juri’s 448 votes, or 35%.

Oregon voters, meanwhile, went to the polls Tuesday to decide whether the state should enact a 5% sales tax that would provide an additional $1 billion a year for schools.

Also, voters in Oregon City and Keizer, Ore., were deciding on anti-gay rights measures, despite a recent state ban on local ordinances that address gay rights.

In Miami, Clark, 69, led the six-candidate mayoral field Nov. 2 with 45% of the vote, to 39% for Alonso, a city commissioner the last four years. Alonso, 52, urged Latinos to keep the mayor’s post as “a Hispanic seat.”

Incumbent Xavier Suarez, elected in 1985 as Miami’s first Cuban-born mayor, endorsed Clark and criticized Alonso’s ethnic divisiveness. Suarez stepped down to spend more time with his family and law practice.

Clark was Miami’s mayor from 1967 to 1970, then was elected Dade County mayor. In his two decades with Dade County, Miami’s political power shifted from Southern whites to Latinos, who today make up about 43% of eligible voters.

In Hialeah, the nonpartisan race was for a $75,000-a-year post as the chief executive and administrator in the city of 188,000 residents.

Martinez, who was first elected in 1981, was convicted in 1991 on federal charges that he took money and land in exchange for zoning favors. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, he has remained free on bond and retained his civil rights while appealing.

Martinez, 44, a Democrat, urged voters to vindicate him against charges he said were politically motivated. Juri is a Republican.