One of the tightest races of Election Day was the nonpartisan race for the District 4 seat on the Key West city commission. Lissette Cuervo Carey beat Kim Highsmith by just 18 votes.
The district is a largely residential one in Key West’s New Town area, where many homes suffered significant flooding from Hurricane Ian.
Both candidates received compliments on their clean and smear-free campaigns that stuck to the issues in Key West and District 4.
“We now have all kinds of things to accomplish,” Carey said from her victory party on Election Night, which also happened to be her husband James’ birthday. “Safer streets, cleaner streets and water quality.”
She added that she wants to explore a potential “Riviera Canal project” following the recent floods, and has some safety concerns for residents of the Senior Citizen Plaza apartments on Kennedy Drive.
“I want to make sure our seniors are safe and can safely get to the nearby shopping centers,” Carey said.
She replaces Greg Davila, who did not seek re-election and participated in his final meeting on Nov. 1.
Carey is a lifelong Key West — and District 4 — resident. She formerly worked at city hall as executive administrator to the mayor and city commissioners, and then in the city clerk’s office. Most recently, Carey has worked as executive administrator at the Key West Housing Authority.
KEY WEST CITY COMMISSION, DISTRICT 4
Lissette Cuervo Carey: 50.51% 883 Votes
Kim Highsmith: 49.49% 865 Votes
