Appeals court upholds ruling blocking Miami's election date change, other cities may also be bound by ruling
The case began when Miami mayoral candidate Emilio Gonzalez sued to stop the city from postponing its next election from 2025 to 2026. He succeeded at the trial court level and on Thursday, an appellate court agreed with the decision.
"We appreciate the court's swift review of this matter and its acknowledgment of the valid reasons for aligning City of Miami elections with state and county elections. However, we are exploring further appellate options," said Dwayne Robinson, the city's outside counsel.
City Commission Chairwoman Christine King, who supported the change, responded to the ruling in a separate statement.
"Although I voted in favor of revising our election schedule to increase voter participation based on my understanding that our proposed process was legally sound, I understand and respect the Appellate Court's decision," King said.
The implications may extend beyond Miami. In May, the Coral Gables City Commission voted to move its municipal elections from April in odd-numbered years to November in even-numbered years.
Coral Gables Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson said she believes the Miami case could set a precedent: "It applies the same to every city, as I see it."
Mayor Vince Lago, who previously supported the change, cited both civic and fiscal motivations.
"The legislation that I proffered shaves five months from my term. I'm willing to give up those five months because I believe, as the son of immigrants who came from Cuba from a dictatorship, there is nothing more important than protecting our democracy," Lago told CBS News Miami last week.
Coral Gables Commissioner Melissa Castro said she has drafted an ordinance to undo the change and called for direct voter input.
"At this point it doesn't matter if it's April or November—just let the people vote," Castro said.
While Miami considers further appeals, Lago told CBS News off camera that Coral Gables is watching the outcome closely. He said the issue will be discussed at the next Coral Gables City Commission meeting on August 26.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
10 minutes ago
- Fox News
Analyzing fallout from American Eagle's Sydney Sweeney ad campaign
Fox News contributor Katrina Campins, Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell and comedian Danny Polishchuk join 'Fox News Saturday Night' to discuss.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
4 Types of Workers Could Save Big Under Trump's Overtime Tax Break
President Donald Trump's signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) includes a provision that allows employees who work more than 40 hours per week to deduct a portion of their overtime pay from their taxable income. The 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guarantees pay of at least 1.5 times a worker's regular wages for every hour worked over 40 in a given seven-day period. Traditionally, time-and-a-half pay has been subject to federal income taxes, including those that fund Medicare and Social Security. However, from 2025 through 2028, eligible taxpayers can deduct up to $12,500 in overtime pay, or $25,000 for joint filers, without itemizing, provided they earn less than $150,000, at which point the deduction begins to phase out. However, the FLSA and its numerous subsequent updates have carved out exceptions for executives, administrative and professional employees, those in certain computer and sales occupations and others who are exempt from overtime pay protection. Therefore, many Americans won't benefit from the new rule. This article profiles those who likely will. Check Out: Read Next: Nurses According to the Lore Law Firm, at least 18 states have laws regulating mandatory overtime for nurses. In much of the country, however, these crucial healthcare workers are often required to work more than 40 hours per week, whether they want to or not, to compensate for persistent staffing shortages. As early as 2004, the CDC was reporting on the heavy toll that mandatory overtime was taking on nurses and their patients, citing fatigue, burnout, diminished work performance and increased error rates due to long hours of stressful work. Roughly 20 years later, ShiftMed reported that little had changed. The OBBBA stands to give millions of nonexempt nurses a break — on their taxes, at least, if not at their workplaces. See More: Law Enforcement Like nurses, law enforcement officers play a crucial role in society that often requires them to work overtime. Also like nurses, many seek extra hours voluntarily, but often don't have a choice. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook page for police and detectives, 'Paid overtime is common, and shift work is necessary to protect the public at all times.' Tradespeople Overtime is common in many trades occupations. Like police officers and nurses, the nature of their work often makes extra hours an unavoidable part of the job. The following are some of the many circumstances that can keep them working beyond 40 hours per week. Emergency repairs Installations with tight deadlines Frequent calls after regular business hours Spikes in demand during extreme weather events The tradespeople most likely to work overtime — and therefore benefit from the new OBBBA provisions — are: Welders Plumbers Electricians Construction workers HVAC techs Manufacturing Employees According to the BLS, the average manufacturing employee works between 3.6 and 3.7 hours of overtime per week, or roughly 14.6 hours of time-and-a-half pay per month. That's nearly 190 overtime hours per year — much of which will now be tax-deductible. In fact, reliance on overtime is so common in the sector that the industrial staffing firm Traba wrote a report with striking similarities to the ShiftMed report on the nursing crisis. Chronic understaffing as high as 34% in some industries forces manufacturing companies to pay staggering levels of overtime compensation, with some employees racking up 500 overtime hours per year or more. Similarly to nursing, the result is often burnout, diminished performance and preventable accidents, often to the most seasoned and reliable employees. More From GOBankingRates 5 Cities You Need To Consider If You're Retiring in 2025 This article originally appeared on 4 Types of Workers Could Save Big Under Trump's Overtime Tax Break Sign in to access your portfolio
CBS News
40 minutes ago
- CBS News
Former U.S. Senator and ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison discusses Central Texas flooding, foreign policy issues
In a one-on-one interview, former U.S. Senator and ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison and CBS News Texas political reporter Jack Fink discussed a range of topics, including the tragic flooding in Central Texas, U.S. foreign policy actions in Iran, NATO's defense commitments, tariffs and her continued civic engagement in Texas. Hutchison called the deadly flooding in Central Texas "unbelievable" and "like a tsunami". When asked about what role Congress could play in trying to prevent something like this from happening again, she responded that this was "something that no one ever expected". "So we know the worst can happen. And so we will prepare better, I'm sure, from what we're learning. But it was horrific. And I couldn't stop thinking about those parents who have had to wait and wait and just knowing. I mean, I've put my children on a bus to go to summer camp. That was supposed to be the highlight of the summer. And then to have this happen is just beyond what anyone, any parent, should have to endure." Hutchison says that she knows children and grandchildren of families that were affected by the floods. "You can't say anything to make it better, but you can say, you know, that you have the support of our fellow Texans to get through a horrible time." "I think it was exactly the right thing to do," said Hutchison in regard to the U.S. bombing of Iran. "I think it was it was a plan that had been on the shelf for years. You could tell the research that had been done, where our intelligence knew when there was a point at which we could not stand by. And I think it was well orchestrated and absolutely the right thing to do." Jack asked Hutchison: How does the US try to ensure that Iran doesn't try to rebuild its nuclear weapon capability? "We must be sure that they are not going to have enough capability to build a bomb because think of all the terrorism that the Iranian regime has perpetrated on our country, on other countries in the region, on our soldiers in the region. And then to think that we would allow them to have now terrorist activities with nuclear capabilities is unthinkable. And I think the president is right to say we're not going to stand by. I think we have done all of the right things, and I think we have to have assurances in order to, be able to check and make sure that they're not enriching beyond what they need for their own domestic heat and air conditioning. But, you know, the amount of uranium that they were enriching was not for domestic use, it is way beyond domestic use. And we've got to make sure they don't have that capability. They're not trustworthy. And we're doing the right thing. We're allying with others in the region who are also supporting what we're doing, is Israel, of course. But other Arab nations in the region are supporting what we're doing." Hutchison was the ambassador to NATO for the U.S. during the first Trump Administration. Jack asked Hutchison about NATO recently agreeing to pay 5% of GDP for its own defense. "I think 5% is very important. I think it is a huge success for America to ask Europe to stand up. And they're now agreeing to do that. I think the 3.5% is our interoperability. It's the hard assets. And then the 1.5% goes to other support or, security." "I think it's a very positive, productive course that we're on. And I think that it shows the resilience of NATO. And once again, the adaptability of NATO. We have lasted for 75 years by adapting to our common adversaries and our Europeans. Now, with Canada and North America have said we have common adversaries, and we have to deter against any kind of encroaching any of those common adversaries." When it comes to President Trump's tariffs, Hutchison notes that trade fairness involves more than tariffs, and that non-tariff barriers also matter. "You just have so many things that have to be adjusted," said Hutchison. "For instance, the problems with the European Union are really tariffs in one sector, but it's also non-trade barriers of what they do to our big tech companies, where we have done so much of the creativity with our big tech companies, and they put an extra, really, barrier, I have to say. It's more than a tariff. It's a barrier." "But it's not just tariffs. It is and which you all we all want to be as fair as we can make it with every country. But it's also non-tariff barriers that box us out because we are the creative ones. And we have put the investment into the creativity. So yes, we have to earn that back, and make the profits so that we can continue to lead the world in creativity." When asked about her continued engagement in the community, Hutchison said, "Every way that I can give back, I want to." "I've stayed active, and I am active. With my former colleagues in the Senate. I am on several boards, so I'm active in the arena, and I love Dallas, I love Texas, and I want to do everything I can to be important for our community."
