While two candidates in Group 4 are headed for a runoff election, three of the four Miami Beach commission races have been declared.

Regardless of what anyone – and I mean ANYONE – says about the handily re-elected Mayor Philip Levine, he won by a GINORMOUS 65.47% of the ballots cast.  If anyone doubts that this was a landslide win, just take a look at other races around the county, the state and even the country.  Very few political races are ever decided by such a large percentage of the voting electorate.

In Group 6 alone, John Elizabeth Aleman barely beat her opponent Mark Samuelian by a .76% margin, or 77 of the 10,075 votes cast in that race.

Mayor Levine, however, garnered 6,842 of the 10,451 votes cast in his race, amounting to 3,233 more than his opponent received.

Can anyone spell M-A-N-D-A-T-E?

As I’ve said before, I do not know Mayor Levine.  I have never met him, I have never spoken with him, nor have I ever corresponded with him via email, snail mail, carrier pigeon, or message in a bottle.

In other words, I have formed absolutely no opinion of Mayor Levine based on personal knowledge.

Other bloggers, however, have very strong opinions about him.  A few of them like to smack Philip Levine on a regular basis.

One blogger, whose name shall not be mentioned here, bashes Philip Levine almost daily, constantly criticizing every single thing the mayor says, does, and possibly even thinks.  Having been on the receiving end of this blogger’s wrath, I know what it feels like to be condemned by his thought police.  I couldn’t tell you what Philip Levine feels about these personal attacks, if he thinks about them at all, but my guess is that he merely brushes them off like so much lint on a sweater.

This being America, however, everyone has a right to an opinion.

And this being the most technologically advanced society in the history of the world, everyone has not only the ability to blast that opinion to all corners of the earth, but the right to do so.

(Unless, of course, you happen to live in Iran, Cuba, Pakistan, China, North Korea, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, or any number of other countries where free speech does not exist.  But that’s completely off topic here.)

By that same token, everyone else has the right to criticize bloggers for their opinions.  I know.  I’ve been criticized plenty by folks who don’t like mine.  Fortunately, my skin is thick enough by now not to let it get to me.

Regardless of my opinions, with which anyone is obviously free to disagree, facts are facts, whether you like them or not.

Yesterday the nameless blogger chastised Mayor Levine for claiming that “a majority of Miami Beach residents” voted for him.  He went on to disparage the fact that “the 6,839 residents who voted for him” are hardly a majority in a city of “more than 90,000” residents.

I’ve been guilty of using that argument myself, especially when blogging about North Miami Beach elections, in which voter turnout is always pitiful.  Even during the contentious 2011 election when newcomer George Vallejo challenged the much despised incumbent mayor, Myron Rosner, only 17.51% of the electorate turned out to vote.  George won with 57.3% of the ballots cast.

While Miami Beach may have over 90,000 residents, less than half of them are registered to vote.  In last week’s election, 10,694 out of 44,576 registered voters cast a ballot, for a whopping 23.99% voter turnout!

In local elections, where typically between 10% and 15% of the electorate shows up, a nearly 24% turnout is considered a rousing success.

In his post yesterday, the blogger claimed that the Mayor “redefined democracy.”  He even quoted a story from the Miami Herald – the very same newspaper against which he has unleashed his wrath for years.  Second only to Philip Levine himself, the Herald has been this blogger’s favorite whipping boy.

But most notably, this blogger despises Mayor Philip Levine for being, well, Philip Levine.  Maybe it’s his wealth, or possibly his good looks, or just Levine’s well publicized arrogant personality.  Whatever the reason may be, he obviously hates Levine with a passion.

While some people are turned off by arrogance, there are plenty of folks who have praised Mayor Levine for the things he’s accomplished in his first term.  Enough of them showed their gratitude by giving him a second term.  Apparently, most people overlook arrogance when it gets shit done.

Arrogant or not, in Mayor Levine’s case, the voters like that he gets shit done.

Even though he slayed the election with more than 65% of the vote, the nameless blogger would have Miami Beach residents believe that Philip Levine is the most despised human being on the face of the planet, and that absolutely no one likes him.

Then again, the blogger has said similar things about me.

Whatever.

The blogger’s main problem with me is that I am a Republican.  Then again, he worships at the altar of Barack Obama, and has actually called me a racist on several occasions because I don’t believe the President walks on water.

Whatever.

Regardless of what the blogger’s problem is with Philip Levine, the Mayor’s mandate of 65.47% of the vote is way higher than the 51.01% of the popular vote that Barack Obama won in the 2012 national election.

Just saying.

Of course, everyone is entitled to an opinion.  But, as I mentioned above, the facts speak for themselves.

From everything I’ve heard and read about Mayor Philip Levine, I really like this dude.  If I still lived in Miami Beach, I would have voted for him without a doubt.

Luckily for him, he didn’t need my ballot.  Regardless of all the negative attacks on him, the voters chose Philip Levine for Mayor anyway.

Deal with it!

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”