Citizens in North Miami Beach cast their votes on Tuesday to elect a new mayor, following the arrest and removal of the previous mayor several months ago.
After tallying votes from all precincts, Evan Piper emerged as the apparent victor, securing approximately 57% of the votes, while Paule Villard garnered just under 43%.
A North Miami Beach native, the 59-year-old Piper serves as the president of the chamber of commerce and has been a dedicated member of the city’s planning and zoning board for an extended period.
“One of the biggest issues that North Miami Beach is facing as a city is there’s too much divisiveness in the city,” Piper stated. “I do want people to realize that they can have trust in government and that is one thing that I bring to the table is to show that we can restore trust and trust our elected officials.”
Villard served as a commissioner in North Miami Beach. The ex-mayor of the city, Anthony DeFillipo, faced arrest in May for illegal voting charges. Shortly after, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis suspended him.
In an exclusive interview with NBC6 earlier this year, DeFillipo confessed to unintentionally using an outdated address within the city limits for voting, characterizing it as an honest mistake.
“It was an oversight and I had it fixed immediately when I noticed,” DeFillipo told NBC6.
A complaint lodged with the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust alleges that DeFillipo, despite the North Miami Beach city charter mandating elected officials to reside within the city, was living in Davie.
According to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, DeFillipo voted in August, October, and November 2022 for a district where he was no longer legally qualified to vote, primarily residing at his Davie home.
Cellphone location data tracking revealed DeFillipo’s election day routine: waking up at his Davie property, traveling to vote in North Miami Beach, and returning to Davie in the evening.
The data indicated that since selling his long-time family home in North Miami Beach in 2021, DeFillipo had been sleeping in Davie most nights. Despite these allegations, DeFillipo asserts that he has been living in the city since taking office. He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled for the next year.
