Last night, the Miami Herald reported that former Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina conceded defeat to Carlos Gimenez in the runoff for Miami-Dade County Mayor.

With 100% of precincts counted, Gimenez ended the night ahead of his rival by around 4,400 votes. According to to the Supervisor of Elections office, most of that margin came from early voting. Robaina narrowly beat Gimenez in absentee ballots, while Gimenez narrowly led in Election Day ballots. The lion's share of Robaina's votes came from his stronghold of Hialeah, while Gimenez far outpolled him in SW Dade.

Mayor Gimenez immediately faces huge problems, beginning with a July 15 deadline to propose a county budget to the county commission that closes a $239 million shortfall. He will also face issues regarding mass-transit mismanagement, hospital mismanagement at Jackson Health, and deeply entrenched corruption in county government.

Former Mayor Carlos Alvarez was recalled in a landslide this spring, leaving Gimenez to fulfill the rest of his predecessor's term. In addition to governing, the new mayor must quickly begin campaigning for re-election in November 2012.

Marcelo Llorente is running for Miami-Dade County Mayor. Llorente has an impressive background as a Florida legislator. He also has a compelling personal narrative, which reminds us all of the American Dream. According to his web site, "One of his proudest accomplishments was an effort he spearheaded in 2009 to battle the growing “pill mills” plaguing the state, especially South Florida. The landmark legislation mandated the creation of a statewide prescription drug-monitoring database aimed at curbing the state’s flourishing prescription drug black market."

If elected, Marcelo pledges to transform county government, with a focus on eliminating fraud and investments in the local economy.  Polls show Llorente out ahead in the final days of the campaign.  Election Day is May 24.

Become a Drawnlines Politics insider today.