Voters Reject Plan to Scrap City Government in Miami

MIAMI — A proposal to abolish the city of Miami, tarnished in recent years by deficits, corruption and poverty, was soundly defeated Thursday in an election that turned into a test of Cuban American solidarity.

The measure to shut down Miami government and merge it with Dade County had been given practically no chance of passage by either side in this city of 375,000.

With all precincts reporting, the bid to abolish the city had 14.9% of the vote, or 4,570, while those in favor of retaining the city had 85.1%, or 26,095. Voter turnout was 23%, about normal for a special election.

“This shows the people of Miami trust the government they have now,” said Miami Mayor Joe Carollo, who noted the lopsided win for the city’s existence should prevent the issue from resurfacing any time soon.

But the main proponent of abolition said the issue would not go away.

“Eventually people are going to realize that their pocketbook and quality of life will be more important than ethnic politics,” said attorney Gene Stearns. “Over the long term, the merger of these regional governments is inevitable.”

Those favoring abolition argued that because of Miami’s limited tax base--Miami is America’s fourth-poorest big city, based on per-capita income--it would make more sense to erase the city boundaries and let the Metro-Dade County government provide basic services such as police and fire protection.

The debate quickly evolved into a test of ethnic solidarity in Miami, which is about two-thirds Latino, one-fourth black and the rest non-Latino white. Cuban Americans consider Miami their city.

“The Cuban American community, since they have controlled city government in recent years, viewed the referendum as an attack on them,” said political scientist Dario Moreno of Florida International University.

The referendum was forced by a citizen petition in January.

A companion proposal to carve the heavily Latino city into single-member districts and ensure black representation in at least one district was approved, with 22,395 in favor to 5,785 opposed.