Smith Joseph - Haiti Observer Blog

North Miami has voted for Dr. Smith Joseph to finish out the mayoral term of Lucille Tondreau, charged with mortgage fraud. Joseph ran against two-time former North Miami mayor, Ken Burns, winning by a small margin. Talk is it is tough for a Caucasian to win the mayor's office due to the fact an urban black voting bloc makes up the majority of voters. But some say otherwise, that Burns, having already run the city twice is a known commodity ". . . and we know his work, but the situation of the city is changing."

If Joseph wants to hold onto the mayor's office he will need to run again in another six months when Tondreau's term expires. As a neophyte politician, is he going to be able to work effectively with the City Council to push through civic improvement projects citizens are anxious to see happen? Two projects in particular the city is working to move forward are the Biscayne Landing site, to be developed by Oleta Partners, and the downtown redevelopment plan to include a new Museum of Contemporary Art.

Read more →  

Can a White Man Win in Haitian-Dominated North Miami? Two-time former North Miami mayor (2005 and 2007) Kevin

Burns is doggedly trying to beat out Dr. Smith Joseph in a second runoff race for a third term as the city's mayor. Unfortunately for Burns, he happens to be white, and the black electorate makes up 59% of North Miami (35% Haitian-American) citizens. Last year, 2013, Burns faced black candidate Dr. Smith Joseph and Haitian-American Lucille Tondreau in a mayoral special election. He pushed Joseph out of the race and entered a runoff against Tondreau, who defeated him with 56% of the vote.

Read more →  

It is always good to ask questions and this particular questions is being discussed in many Haitian barber shops and parks where Haitians are gathered to play Dominos.

Just a quick history on the situation of North Miami Mayor Lucie Tondreau. Following her election as the new Mayor of North Miami this year, the election was contested by former mayor Kevin Burns, a former mayor himself but not of Haitian descent, on the ground that Lucie Tondreau did not meet residency requirement to run for office.

There is another level to the story. According to some of the supporters of Mayor Lucie Tondreau another former mayoral candidate, Dr. Smith Joseph, who happens to be Haitian-American, is also collaborating with the non Haitian-American Kevin Burns to remove Mayor Lucie Tondreau from office.

Read more →