The race to become the next mayor of the Town of Surfside is heading to a runoff after candidates failed to reach the necessary 50%-plus-1 threshold to win the race outright this week.
Former Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger received 49.3% of the vote, Vice Mayor Tina Paul received 36.4%, and Mark Blumstein received 14.3% of the 1,721 ballots cast. The top candidates head to a runoff, meaning it's the end of the line for Blumstein.
Danzinger and Paul will face each other in a runoff on April 7 to replace outgoing Mayor Charles Burkett. Danzinger was the mayor of Surfside between 2022 and 2024.
Other races were also decided in the town.
Donna Dayana Benmergui (15.8%), Dovid "David" Weingot (15.7%), and Andrea Travani (14.8%) all won seats on the Town Commission. A fourth and final seat between Gerardo Vildostegui (14.4%) and Yonathan Berdugo (14.1%) is likely going to a recount.
William Blumenkranz, Jocelyn Kinzer, and Fred Landsman all fell short in the race. 5,411 total ballots were cast for Town Commission.
Florida law requires a recount if the margin of victory between candidates is less than 0.5% of the total votes cast.
The Town of Surfside (pop. 5631) is located in Miami-Dade County between Bal Harbour and Miami Beach.
Burkett has been the mayor since 2024, having held three previous stints.
