LTC 356-2021 Circuit Court Upholds the City's 2014 Term Limits Charter Amendment M. Gongora and I. Rait v. City of Miami Beach, Case No. 21-016925 CA 21MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE C ITY ATTORNEY
L TC No._ 356-2021
LETTER TO CO MMI SS ION
TO: Mayor Dan Gelber and Members of the City Commission
FROM:
DATE:
Rafael A. Paz, Acting City Attorney vYQ
August 26, 2021
SUBJECT: Circuit Court Upholds the City's 2014 Term Limits Charter Amendment
M. Gongora and/. Raif v. City of Miami Beach, Case No. 21 -016925 CA 21
The purpose of this L TC is to advise you that on August 25, 2021, Miami -Dade County
Circuit Court Judge David Miller held a summary judgment hearing regarding a challenge
to the retroactive application of Section 2.02 of the City Charter, which establishes, among
other things, a lifetime term limit for Miami Beach Commissioners, consisting of two (2)
four-year terms, measured retroactively from a commissioner's first election. In the nine-
count Complaint, the Plaintiffs alleged that the ballot question adopted by over 70% of the
voters in 2014 was materially misleading and adopted improperly, in violation of various
federal laws, state laws and the Miami-Dade County Home Rule Charter.
As the candidate qualifying period for the November 2, 2021 election closes in early
September, I previously advised the City Commission and the Plaintiff that, on behalf of
the City, I would commit to expediting the case in order to obtain a final ruling as soon as
possible and avoid any potential disruptions to the election process.
The expediting of the case involved a significant effort on the part of the City Attorney's
Office and City Clerk's Office to complete discovery and fully brief the issues for the Court
in a period of less than two months, in advance of the August 25 th hearing.
At the conclusion of the two -hour hearing, the Court granted summary judgment in favor
of the City on all counts alleged in the Complaint, upholding the retroactive term limit
provisions of the City Charter. We anticipate the Court will enter a formal final order in
favor of the City in the next day or so.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments regarding this litigation
matter.
RAP/ym
We are committed to providing excellent public service and safety to all who five, work, and play in our vibrant, tropical, historic
community.