Pinecrest voters return to the polls for runoffs

Main Report

As newly elected Mayor Evelyn Greer prepares to lead Pinecrest’s first government, the leaders of the Village’s incorporation movement could capture three of the council’s remaining four seats.

There will be runoffs for all four district council seats next Tuesday.

Of the four candidates aligned with Greer, only entrepreneur James Wallace in District 3 didn’t make the runoff. The remaining candidates are:

• Homemaker Veronica Matzner, who led District 1 with 34 percent of the vote will face lawyer attorney Barry Blaxberg.
• Retailer Cindie Blanck led District 2 with 37 percent of the vote. She will meet accountant Robert Glowacki.
• Former state senator Richard Renick gathered the most votes in District 3 with almost 33 percent of the vote. He will face lottery winner Leslie Bowe.
• Realtor Hazel Goldman, running for the only at-large seat in District 4, got 32 percent of the vote and will go against lawyer Robert Hingston.

Greer’s victory completed an incorporation process she began with Charter Commission member Gary Matzner more than two years ago. The two have led Pinecrest’s evolution from an upper middle-class Metro-Dade suburb to cityhood in a relatively short time.

“It’s exciting and exhilarating,” said Greer, who received almost 65 percent of the vote. “I’m thrilled for everyone in Pinecrest.” Next steps, she said, will be to hire a village manager and create a village police department.

“I know Evelyn worked really hard for incorporation,” said Debby Cohen, just after leaving the polling booth at Palmetto Middle School.

Pinecrest voters Lloyd and Karen Jabara, who were at the Gulliver School polls, said they voted for incorporation because they have friends who live in the Village of Key Biscayne and are pleased with its incorporation.

“We talked to friends there and they’ve been extremely happy. The parks are in good shape and taxes haven’t gone up,” Karen Jabara said.

Tuesday’s 37 percent turnout was lower than expected.

Pinecrest, which runs from Kendall Drive to Southwest 136th Street and Old Cutler Road to U.S. 1, has 10,397 registered voters. Only 3,383 voted.

The apathy may have been a result of the candidates being mirror images of each other. Too many catch-phrases like police protection and no new taxes littered their campaigns, voters said.

“Most of the candidates platforms were basically the same,” said Cohen.

Pinecrest Results

Results from Tuesday’s election in Pinecrest. A double asterisk (**) denotes a winner; a single asterisk (*) denotes candidates who have reached the April30 runoff.

Contest as printed	Candidate	Votes	Printed symbol
Mayor, four-year term	Evelyn Greer	2,440	**
Mayor	Henry Hunnefeld	829	none
Mayor	Stuart Koenigsberg	513	none
Council District1, Southwest104thStreet north to city limits; four-year term	Veronica Matzner	1,253	*
District1	Barry Blaxberg	859	*
District1	Natalie Lemos	796	none
District1	Brian Piper	784	none
Council District2, Southwest104th to roughly120thstreets; two-year term	Cindie Blanck	1,355	*
District2	Robert Glowacki	702	*
District2	Lourdes Fanjul	626	none
District2	Lawrence Ashe	593	none
District2	Sonia Rosenblatt	375	none
Council District3, roughlySouthwest120thStreet south to city limits; four-year term	Richard Renick	1,192	*
District3	Leslie Bowe	939	*
District3	James Wallace	891	none
District3	Mark Fine	641	none
Council District4, at large; two-year term	Hazel Goldman	1,187	*
District4	Robert Hingston	867	*
District4	Hope Marcus	712	none
District4	Dorothy Jackson	294	none
District4	Jean Gasbarro	276	none
District4	Amar Sawhney	250	none
District4	Raymond Weisbein	71	none

Documentary Photos

Portrait caption: Greer.

NEW DECISIONS: June Ramsey hands her ballot in to Gatha Kopplow in the Pinecrest elections held at Gulliver Preparatory.

RAUL RUBIERA / Herald Staff.