On November 5, 2024, the City of North Miami held it’s election for Mayor, and Councilpersons for District 1 and District 4.  There will be a runoff on December 3, 2024 for all three seats.

Former North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns won 43.02% of the votes, and Vanessa Pierre came in second place with 30.51%.

Since neither received the required 50% +1 of the votes, they will face each other in the December 3rd runoff.

Kevin Burns is a proven leader, having served as North Miami’s Mayor from 2005 to 2009 before being termed out.  He is also the former Chairman of the North Miami Chamber of Commerce, and has been a citizen activist in the City for decades.

Vanessa Pierre unsuccessfully ran for this District 1 seat against Scott Galvin in 2019.  She currently sits on the North Miami Parks & Recreation Commission as an appointee of Councilwoman Kassandra Timothe.  Her three-year term will expire on May 27, 2025, or sooner if she gets elected in the December 3rd runoff.

For someone who is running to represent the best interests of residents in District 1, and in the City of North Miami as a whole, Vanessa should start by cleaning up the mess in her own back yard.

Literally.

On March 6, 2024, the City of North Miami’s Code Enforcement Magistrate filed an Order Imposing Fine And Authorizing Lien against “MARIE C. SANTIL, OR CURRENT PROPERTY OWNER(S),” “was found guilty of violating Section 29-5-1701 of the Code of the City of North Miami, and Section 162.09, Florida Statutes…”

… For what appears to be a plastic bag graveyard.

This bird’s eye view of this property, located at 1395 NE 131 Street, is posted on the Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser’s website:

We’re told that these giant trash bags are stuffed with plastic bottles.  They started as a small row along the west property line sometime in 2022, and by May of this year, the bags have spread over the entire back yard, as evidenced by this Google Earth timeline.

As a result of this out of control weirdness, the “owner” of this property is being fined $500.00 per day beginning February 21, 2024.  As of today, 273 days later, the total Code violation fines due to the City of North Miami are an astounding $136,500.

And counting.

This happens to be the declared residence of North Miami District 1 Council Candidate Vanessa Pierre even though she has no apparent legal right or title to this property.

A Warranty Deed, recorded on May 24, 1995, granted the property to “Johnson Pierre and Marie C. Saintil,” a married couple.   They divorced on April 14, 2005, and Marie took title to the home by way of a Quit Claim Deed recorded on April 27, 2005.

From 2005 to 2013, the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser listed the owner of the property as Marie C. Santil (sic).  Marie died in January of 2014, after which the property owner was listed as Estate of Marie C. Santil.

There has not been a homestead exemption on the property since 2015.  Taxes have been paid in full through 2023, but without making a Public Records Request, we have no idea who has been paying them.

In any event, regardless of whether or not Vanessa Pierre is legally entitled to reside in this home, she claims she inherited the property from Marie C. Saintil.  On August 18, 2019, Vanessa Pierre petitioned the Probate Court to administer the Estate of Marie Carmelle Saintil.  Why she waited almost six years after Marie died is a mystery.  Nevertheless, the estate documents are not available on the Court’s website, although most of them may be available via Public Records Request, if one is so inclined.

We are neither interested nor so inclined, but feel free to knock yourself out if you are.

Believe it or not, things get even shadier from here.

Then again, this is North Miami, after all.

No one should be surprised.

According to her Campaign Treasurer’s Reports, Vanessa Pierre loaned her campaign the sum of $60,000.00 on August 21, 2024.  That’s a heck of a lot of money for an educator, especially when teachers are notoriously underpaid, expecially in Florida.

Although Vanessa raised $66,939.68 (including her $60K loan), she’s only spent $7,864.81 through October 18, 2024.

Her largest expense was the filing fee of $3,895.50 she paid to the City of North Miami to run for office, which amounted to nearly half of all her expenditures.  She also repaid $1,000.00 of her loan back to herself on September 13, 2024, leaving slightly less than $3,000.00 for actual campaign expenditures.

The only food expenditure listed on any of her Reports was a $54.60 payment to Evios in North Miami for “Food.”

Nowhere on any of her Campaign Treasurer’s Reports did Vanessa Pierre report expenditures for turkeys.

Specifically for a “Turkey Giveaway.”

And yet, she was spotted delivering turkeys to voters who just happened to request absentee ballots — on the very same day that those ballots were also delivered to those voters.

Coincidence?

We think not.

Then again, this is North Miami.

No one should be surprised.

North Miami voters can put a stop to Shady Business As Usual!

SAY “NO” to Vanessa Pierre and “YES” to Kevin Burns on December 3, 2024.

North Miami residents deserve better.

Stephanie