The 2024 election is still more than a year away — Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024 to be exact.
While all American voters will decide the next U.S. president, Florida Keys voters will have some lengthy ballots to peruse as they choose several county and city officials as well.
The 2024 election will be the last one overseen by Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Joyce Griffin, who is retiring. Hers is one of the five countywide constitutional offices up for election this year.
Here is a look at some of the offices that will be up for election:
MONROE COUNTY
So far, former State Rep. Ron Saunders has filed to run for the supervisor position. He has received endorsements recently from Sheriff Rick Ramsay and Monroe County Mayor Craig Cates. Key West activist and former Key West city commissioner Margaret Romero has said she plans to file for the supervisor’s race in January.
In addition to the Supervisor of Elections, the seats of Clerk of the Court, Sheriff, Property Appraiser and Tax Collector are up for reelection. The offices of state attorney and public defender are also on the ballot for 2024, according to information posted on the Supervisor of Elections website at keys-elections.org.
No one has filed for any of those seats yet, including incumbents and challengers.
Three of the five Monroe County Commission seats are up for reelection in 2024: District 1 Commissioner Craig Cates of Key West, who is currently the county mayor; District 3 Commissioner Jim Scholl of Key West; and District 5 Commissioner Holly Merrill Raschein of Key Largo.
All three county commissioners initially were appointed to the Board of County Commissioners by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to complete other people’s terms.
DeSantis appointed Cates to the District 1 seat in 2019, and he was elected to the seat in November 2020. The District 1 seat was open after Danny Kolhage retired early.
Scholl was appointed to the vacant District 3 seat in April 2022 after Eddie Martinez resigned amid criminal charges in December 2021. Martinez’s term would have ended in 2024.
The governor appointed Raschein to the BOCC in September 2021, and she was elected to the seat in August 2022. The Upper Keys seat had been held by Mike Forster, who died in September 2021 at age 61. Raschein is expected to run for another term.
In other countywide races, two school board seats — Andy Griffiths in District 2 and Mindy Conn in District 3 — are up for reelection.
KEY WEST CITY COMMISSION
In Key West, the mayor’s seat is already drawing attention, as Danise “DeeDee” Henriquez, the former Monroe County Tax Collector, has filed to run for mayor.
Mayor Teri Johnston has not confirmed whether she will seek another term. Johnston told the Keys Weekly she will make an announcement on her plans early next year.
“We’re up to our eyeballs in new projects and things for the city of Key West,” Johnston said, adding that she expects several candidates to file for the job. “When I ran for the first time in 2018, I ran against 12 people.”
Three Key West City Commission seats are also up for grabs in 2024. Commissioners Jimmy Weekley, Billy Wardlow and Clayton Lopez are term-limited out, said Griffin.
No one has yet filed to run for any of the commission seats, although there have been murmurings around town about some people considering a Key West run.
ISLAMORADA VILLAGE COUNCIL
Islamorada will have all five open seats up for election in 2024. No candidates have officially announced a run yet. The qualifying period for village elections is August 2024.
MARATHON CITY COUNCIL
The Marathon City Council will see up to two new faces in 2024, with the seats of current Mayor Luis Gonzalez and Councilman Kenny Matlock up for grabs next November. Though Gonzalez will term out, Matlock, who won an abbreviated term as the election winner with the fewest votes last November, has yet to officially decide if he will seek re-election.
Marathon’s lone declared candidate thus far is Kevin Carte, a 17-year grounds manager for the Royal Plum Club Condos and former teacher from West Virginia.
“I feel like regular folks like me, and service industry workers need a voice on council,” he told the Weekly. “I think a big focus of my platform would be that we need to find a way to keep our workers here in Marathon.”
KEY COLONY BEACH
Key Colony Beach will see a majority of its City Commission seats open next year, with elections set for the seats held by current Secretary-Treasurer Tom Harding and Commissioner Joey Raspe. Neither has officially declared intent to seek re-election in 2024.
With former Mayor Patti Trefry’s resignation announced earlier this month, the seated commissioners are set to appoint a new commissioner either through a consensus vote or special election in the coming months to fill the final year of Trefry’s term. At the commission’s October meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Beth Ramsay-Vickrey said she hopes the commission will give special consideration to candidates who intend to run and continue in the seat via the 2024 election.
OTHER OFFICES
Additional offices that are up for reelection in 2024:
- U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.
- U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez.
- State Representative, District 120, currently held by Jim Mooney. Key Wester Michael Travis, who performs in drag as Erika Rose, is running as a Democrat, hoping to unseat Mooney.
- State Senator District 39, currently held by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, is up for election.
- Two seats on the Key Largo Wastewater Board.
- Three seats on the Key Largo Fire & Emergency Medical Board.
- Three seats on the Florida Keys Mosquito Control Board.
— Gwen Filosa, Alex Rickert and Jim McCarthy contributed to this report.
