Some of you have wondered what will happen to the Islamorada Community Alliance newsletter now that co-editor Sue Miller has been elected to Village Council.  

You need not worry.  The newsletter will continue.  Village Attorney, John Quick has instructed us to provide the following disclaimer to avoid Sunshine Law concerns:

“The thoughts and opinions expressed herein are those of Islamorada Councilmember-elect Sue Miller. They are intended to convey communications to the general public, not any other Councilmembers. To the extent any other Councilmembers receive this communication, they should not respond or otherwise communicate with Councilmember-elect Miller outside of a public meeting in accordance with Florida’s Sunshine Law.”

The Islamorada Community Alliance has a long list of areas of local government we’ve covered over the last two years.  We are proud of our efforts and the opportunity to keep residents informed. Click here for a partial list of concerns we addressed.

Our long awaited election is over and the results are in:

Ana Richards-Seat 1

Steve Friedman-Seat 2

Sue Miller-Seat 3

Don Horton-Seat 4

Sharon Mahoney-Seat 5

There is only one new council member: Sue Miller, but don’t think for a second that it will be “business as usual.”

Can one person change the outcome of Village decisions?  You bet she can!

I have had the pleasure of working closely with Sue for the past several years. She is always prepared, has historical context of council decisions, and knows the facts.

Decisions can and should shift when people encounter new information.

This is not a new premise, it has been a time tested method of making the right call.

A strong leader, armed with all the facts, often influences the others.

It may not be easy, since old habits are hard to break but much needed change is in our future.

I checked the voting records for 2026.

 

The Islamorada Council, through October, passed 119 resolutions.  Of those all but 6 resolutions passed by unanimous vote.  That’s 113 unanimous votes.

I question the thought process.

Do we record dissenting opinions made by council members on measures where a vote is necessitated? Shouldn’t they be in the minutes? Let’s institute this practice.

Ordinances demonstrate a similar trend with the council of 2025 and 2026.  In 2025, 21 ordinances were passed.

 All but two were unanimous votes.  19 out of 21.

The 2026 ordinances showed similar trends – 11 ordinances approved only one that wasn’t unanimous: 1 by a 4-1 vote.

 

Group think is contagious.

The members of council for the last two years certainly seem to have differing opinions about many important issues.  But then vote together a vast majority of the time.

Council: Do not approve an issue you don’t agree with in order to curry favor with your other council members. That is a betrayal of your pledge to residents.

Have your reasons for dissent published in the record.

Your principles should trump “going along to get along.”

Fight for your dissenting opinion, based on research and facts.

Certainly the Council must struggle to keep up with 800-page agendas!

 All of the council members in the last two years have other jobs.  Most of them depend on staff briefings behind closed doors to understand the complex agendas.

This approach seems to often leave the public to guess why decisions are made.

Unfortunately, Council members rarely seemed interested in the public’s concerns.

Perhaps our new member will usher in a new trend, a knowledge of issues and determination to get to the facts.

I believe that a council member armed with researched facts and a viewpoint carefully articulated can prevail. 

In Sue Miller, council members will have a collaborator to assist in gaining a majority vote on concerns they believe in and campaigned for.

I believe that decisions based on the facts will improve public participation in protecting the fragile environment, lowering taxes and addressing infrastructure needs. 

I have been writing editorials for this newsletter since March of 2025. and I have learned a great deal.

Council-member-elect Sue Miller has been writing the newsletter for quite a few years, covering so many ways we could improve our local government.

Here to fore, those needs have often been ignored.

Now Sue Miller will have a voice…  and a vote.  And I know that she will make a difference.

For most of the editorials I have written over the last two years, I closed with “elections have consequences.”

Let’s hope that proves to be very true in Islamorada over the next two year.

Tom

And the Winners For Islamorada Council Are:

Seat 1 Anna Richards 3 year term Seat 2 Steve Friedman 3 year term Seat 3 Sue Miller 2 year term Seat 4 Don Horton 2 year term

Seat 5 Sharon Mahoney 3 year term Sharon Mahoney retains Seat 5, re-elected with no opposition.   Thanks to all who ran! It takes courage and hard work. To Joe Wischmeier, Deb Gillis, Corie Mcgraw-Abel, and Tom Raffanello: We hope to see you at council meetings to continue to express your ideas for a better community. Council Terms: The voters approved a charter amendment, changing Council terms to 3 years, staggered.  To stagger the terms, Sharon Mahoney,  Anna Richards and Steve Friedman will have 3-year terms; Sue Miller and Don Horton will have 2-year terms, having received less votes than the other winners.

Council Orientation is scheduled for 3 PM Nov 17. Then at 5:30 PM at the regular monthly council meeting on the 17th, the council members will be sworn in.

Click here for election details for Monroe County from the Supervisor of Elections.

Amendment 3 passed, raising the homestead exemption for non-school property taxes and lowering the annual cap on assessment increases for non-homestead property from 10% to 5%. It drew 65.47% support in Monroe County and passed statewide with 62.0%.

Local tax projection: Monroe County Property Appraiser Scott Russell, using FY26 certified values and a conservative 2.5% annual “Just Value” growth assumption, found that overall taxable values would still rise in most taxing districts. His analysis, reviewed by the County Office of Management and Budget, projected an overall countywide ad valorem revenue increase of about $287,440 in FY27.

In 2024, a Presidential Election year - 89% of Islamorada voters cast votes… 4601of 5151. But about 620 of those voters did not vote for any Village Council candidates.

In 2026, just 59% of registered voters voted. Over 900 more voters cast votes for Village Council candidates in 2024 than in 2026.

With vote by mail, early voting and voting on election day - it seems odd that less than 60% of people who registered to vote, actually took the time to vote in 2026.

Veterans Day ceremony: 11 a.m. Nov 11 at the Upper Matecumbe Fire Station, next to the library. Veterans Day (originally Armistice Day) is observed annually on Nov 11, for honoring military veterans.

Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954. Harry Truman once said: “Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid.”  We agree.

Tunnel to Towers Foundation’s 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit: As part of the commemoration of America's 250th anniversary, the Tunnel to Towers Foundation's 9/11 NEVER FORGET Mobile Exhibit will be open to the public Nov. 17–18 at Founders Park in Islamorada.

Tours will begin at noon and the last tour will be at 5:30 p.m. each day. The 83-foot traveling exhibit transforms into a 1,100-square-foot museum commemorating the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Visitors can explore multimedia presentations, personal tributes and authentic artifacts recovered from Ground Zero, including World Trade Center steel, pieces of the marble lobby floor and sections of the building's aluminum facade. Retired New York City firefighters and first responders who served at Ground Zero will lead guided tours, sharing firsthand accounts of the events of September 11 and the weeks that followed. The traveling memorial offers visitors and residents a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the courage, sacrifice and service of those who responded to one of the most significant moments in American history.

Improvements to the marina at Founders Park will be discussed at the 5:30 PM Conceptual Design Workshop at the Community Center. The agenda is available on the Village website, including several options for improved parking, data on the use of the boat ramp and income generated at the marina. 

Coral Shores football team piled up 414 yards to carry the Hurricanes to a 41-28 victory against Bayside during the Sunshine State Athletic Association South semifinals on Friday, Nov. 6, in Palm Bay.

With the win, Coral Shores advances its record to 9-3 on the season and into the SSAA South Championship against North Broward Prep, currently scheduled for Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m.