SURFSIDE, Fla. — Surfside voters headed to the polls Tuesday to vote in the town’s highly-contested mayoral race.
Current Vice Mayor Tina Paul is running against former Mayor Shlomo Danzinger and former town manager Mark Blumstein, who was ousted from his position by commissioners last year.
The three are looking to replace current Mayor Charles Burkett, who unseated Danzinger in 2024, becoming the town’s mayor for a third time.
After counting all of Tuesday’s ballots, the race will head to a runoff between Danzinger and Paul.
In order to win, the top candidate must receive more than 50 percent of the vote.
Danzinger received 49.2% of the votes while Paul received 36.4% and Blumstein 14.3%.
Voters also selected four town commissioners and voted on two referendums.
A total of eight commission candidates were on the ballot, and the top four vote-getters were Donna Dayana Benmergui, who received 15.80% of the vote, Dovid “David” Weingot, receiving 15.69% of ballots cast, Andrea Travani, who received 14.82% of the vote, and Gerardo Vidostegui with 14.40% of the ballots cast.
The referendum on whether to require a 4-1 vote by town commissioners for approval of any zoning changes affecting the floor area ratio of single-family homes in the H30A and H30B districts did not pass, with 53.7% of residents voting no.
A referendum that did pass was on whether to move the Surfside municipal elections from March to November of even-numbered years beginning in 2028, aligning them with the General Election cycle. In total, 65.3% of residents voted yes on that referendum.
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