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ABOUT

Gerardo Vildostegui

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I’m running for office because I love this town.  I want Surfside to remain the kind of place that fuels dreams, a place where anyone would feel lucky to live, a place that people want to come back to. I want Surfside to be a place where families of all different backgrounds can live together harmoniously, with joy and security. Where quality of life comes first. And where residents can trust their government.

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My family–my parents, my grandmother, my brother, and I–moved into a rented house in Surfside when I was just one year old.  A few years later, my parents bought the house, and that purchase was the realization of their American Dream.  The house on Froude Avenue was where my parents, who had fled Castro’s Cuba fifteen years earlier, could finally put down roots.

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I was the lucky beneficiary of my parents’ realized dream, and I loved growing up in this community.  I went to Bay Harbor Elementary (back before the “Ruth K.”) and Nautilus Middle School, and I graduated from Miami Beach High in 1992 as the valedictorian of my class.  Being raised in a diverse, open-minded community helped prepare me for my studies at Yale and UC Berkeley and for my career as a professor of law.

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I CAME BACK TO
TO GIVE BACK

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I came back home in 2020 to take care of my elderly mom. Over the past few years, I’ve reconnected with the community, attending meetings of the town commission and getting to know many of my fellow Surfside residents. I feel drawn to get more involved and to be of service to my community.

Issues that matter most to me:

Preserving the spirit of our community

  • Making sure that Surfside is and remains a haven from divisiveness–a place where people and families of all different backgrounds can live together and enrich each other’s lives.

  • Ensuring that Town government represents all Surfsiders.

  • Honoring the 98 people who died in the Champlain South collapse with a dignified and proper memorial, spanning a full block on 88th Street.

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Protecting and improving our quality of life

  • Allowing for new ideas and new development while preserving the Town’s unique character.

  • Managing car traffic in the residential neighborhood and on A1A.

  • Taking measures to promote human-powered and human-scale transportation around Town: walking, biking, scooting.

  • Protecting our natural environment: clean air, clean water, clean beaches.

  • Promoting Surfside as a center for arts and culture.

  • Above all, proving that Surfside can grow and improve while remaining “quiet and quaint”!

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Ensuring open, ethical, accountable government

  • Bringing honest, rational, and compassionate dialogue to Commission meetings.

  • Making sure decisions at Town Hall are made with Surfside residents' interests in mind--not to benefit developers or the elected officials themselves. This is especially important for our biggest projects, like the Abbott drainage project and the undergrounding of utilities.

  • New ordinances to protect freedom of speech at Town meetings and to encourage public participation.

  • Stricter ethics guidelines for elected officials and Town staff to promote transparency in government.

  • Limiting mayoral overreach and ensuring that Town policy is set by the entire Commission.

  • Respecting our commission-manager form of government by giving Town staff the freedom to do their work professionally, non-politically, and fairly–without fear or favor.

How I plan to vote on March 19th

I hope to earn your vote not just for me, but for the following four candidates as well:

 

Charles Burkett is the clear choice for Mayor. He led the Town through the most difficult two years in its history, and he knows what it takes to repair the damage done by the current Commission.  He understands that the Town needs transparent, open-minded leadership–now more than ever.

 

Ruben Coto is a pillar of the community, and his multi-generational, multi-cultural family represents the spirit of Surfside at its very best. He will be an excellent representative and advocate for all residents. He has also served as a commissioner once before, and that experience will make him an effective leader from day one.

 

Tina Paul is an exemplary public servant–wise, caring, and widely beloved. I have keenly felt her absence from the dais these last two years, but Surfside is fortunate to have her running again.  Plus, she and I are both native Surfsiders (who grew up a block apart)!

 

Nelly Velasquez has been a consistent champion of the community during this last, tumultuous Commission term. She stands up to bullies and to special interests, and her love for this Town is unmatched. Simply put, she has earned re-election.

 

 

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I want to clarify that I do not consider this group a “slate” or a political party.  

 

We are not running together because we think or vote in lockstep on every issue.  

 

I support these candidates because I trust them to uphold the right values, and because I know that I can work together with them to give our Town the honest, dedicated leadership that it deserves.  

 

I also know that, as a group, we will be able to talk through our differences of opinion in a respectful, collaborative spirit.­­

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