Mayor of Miami Beach, Florida

Mayor of the City of Miami Beach
Seal of the City of Miami Beach
Incumbent Steven Meiner since November 28, 2023
Term length	Two years
Inaugural holder	John Newton Lummus, Sr.
Formation	1915
Salary	$10,000 (as of 2015)
Website	Mayor's official website

The mayor of Miami Beach is the nonpartisan chief executive of the municipal government of Miami Beach, Florida, and the presiding member of its seven-member City Commission. Modern-day mayors are elected to two-year terms and are term-limited to no more than 3 terms, which can be consecutive or non-consecutive. The mayor and other members of the City Commission appoint a city manager to administer the day-to-day affairs and operations of City Hall and its various departments. City Hall is located at 1700 Convention Center Drive; the mayor's office is located on the fourth floor.

Three father-son combinations have held the office: the John Lummuses (Jr. and Sr.), the Dermers (Jay and David), and the Gelbers (Seymour and Dan). One woman has served as mayor (Matti Bower). She is also, thus far, the only Hispanic to serve.

Six mayors (D. Lee Powell, Alex Daoud, Seymour Gelber, David Dermer, Matti Bower, and Dan Gelber) served 3 terms while Louis Snedigar is the only one elected to 4.

Snedigar was the longest-serving mayor, with a non-consecutive total of eight years and 8 months in office. Acting mayor Stanley Arkin was the briefest, filling in for three months in 1991 following Daoud's removal from office.

As of March 2025, there are six living former mayors: Norman Ciment, Neisen Kasdin, David Dermer, Matti Bower, Philip Levine, and Dan Gelber.

The current mayor is Steven Meiner, who was elected on November 21, 2023, and assumed office on November 28, 2023. ^[1]

Mayors (1915–present)

No.	Portrait	Name	Term in office	Terms	Approximate length of service	Notes
1		John Newton Lummus, Sr. 1871-1961	March 26, 1915 – October 28, 1918	2	3 years, 7 months	Father of 5th mayor, J. N. Lummus, Jr.
2		Thomas Jessup Pancoast 1865-1941	October 28, 1918 – October 25, 1920	1	2 years	[2]
3		Thomas E. James	October 25, 1920 – October 23, 1922	1	2 years
4		Louis Fielding "Red" Snedigar 1890-1951	October 23, 1922 – December 21, 1926	1st and 2nd of 4 terms	4 years, 2 months	Longest-serving mayor (8 years, 8 months over 4 terms) [3]
5		John Newton Lummus, Jr. 1899-1983	December 21, 1926 – December 18, 1928	1	2 years	Son of 1st mayor, J. N. Lummus, Sr.
6		Louis Fielding "Red" Snedigar 1890-1951	December 18, 1928 – December 16, 1930	3rd of 4 terms	2 years	[3]
7		Val C. Cleary 1882-1966	December 16, 1930 – December 20, 1932	1st of 2 terms	2 years	[4]
8		Arthur Frank Katzentine 1902-1960	December 20, 1932 – December 18, 1934	1	2 years
9		Louis Fielding "Red" Snedigar 1890-1951	December 18, 1934 – June 1, 1937	4th of 4 terms	2 years, 6 1⁄2 months	[3]
10		John Hale Levi 1875?-1948	June 1, 1937 – June 3, 1941	2	4 years	[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
11		Val C. Cleary 1882-1966	June 3, 1941 – June 1, 1943	2nd of 2 terms	2 years	[4]
12		Mitchell Wolfson 1900-1983	June 1, 1943 – June 5, 1944	1	1 year
13		John Hale Levi 1875?-1948	June 5, 1944 – June 5, 1945	1	1 year	[5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
14		Herbert A. Frink	June 5, 1945 – June 3, 1947	1	2 years
15		Marcie Lieberman 1896-1966	June 3, 1947 – June 7, 1949	1	2 years	[10]
16		Harold Turk 1915?-1988	June 7, 1949 – June 5, 1951	1	2 years	[11]
17		D. Lee Powell 1908-1983	June 5, 1951 – June 2, 1953	1st of 3 terms	2 years	[12]
18		Harold Shapiro 1906?-1981	June 2, 1953 – June 7, 1955	1	2 years	Born in Russia, emigrated to U.S. at age 4 [13]
19		D. Lee Powell 1908-1983	June 7, 1955 – June 4, 1957	2nd of 3 terms	2 years	[12]
20		Kenneth Oka 1916-1987	June 4, 1957 – June 2, 1959	1st of 2 terms	2 years	[14] [15]
21		D. Lee Powell 1908-1983	June 2, 1959 – June 6, 1961	3rd of 3 terms	2 years	[12]
22		Kenneth Oka 1916-1987	June 6, 1961 – June 4, 1963	2nd of 2 terms	2 years	[14] [15]
23		Melvin J. Richard 1911?-2001	June 4, 1963 – June 1, 1965	1	2 years	[16] [17] [18]
24		Elliott Roosevelt 1910-1990	June 1, 1965 – June 6, 1967	1	2 years	Son of Franklin D. Roosevelt [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]
25		Jay Dermer 1929?-1988	June 6, 1967 – November 2, 1971	2	4 years, 5 months	Father of 35th mayor, David Dermer [24] [23]
26		Chuck Hall 1918?-1974	November 2, 1971 – August 10, 1974 (died in office)	2	2 years, 9 months	Previously served as the first mayor of Miami-Dade County, 1964-1970 [25] [26] [27]
Acting		Harold Rosen 1925-2018	August 10, 1974 – November 4, 1975		1 year, 3 months	Appointed to fill office upon Chuck Hall's death; later elected in his own right [28] [29] [30] [31] [32]
27			November 4, 1975 – November 1, 1977	1	2 years
28		Leonard Haber 1933-2015	November 1, 1977 – November 6, 1979	1	2 years	[33]
29		Murray Selbert Meyerson 1931?-2017	November 6, 1979 – November 3, 1981	1	2 years	[34] [35] [36]
30		Norman Ciment 1936-	November 3, 1981 – November 1, 1983	1	2 years	[37] [38]
31		Malcolm Hubert Fromberg 1935-2016	November 1, 1983 – November 5, 1985	1	2 years	[39] [40] [41]
32		Alex Daoud 1943-2025	November 5, 1985 – October 31, 1991 (suspended from office)	3	6 years	First mayor to serve 3 consecutive terms Suspended by Gov. Lawton Chiles following federal indictment [42] [43] [44]
Acting		Stanley Arkin 1932-2015	October 31, 1991 – November 20, 1991		3 weeks	Vice mayor at time of Alex Daoud's suspension [45] [46]
33		Seymour Gelber 1919-2019	November 20, 1991 – November 4, 1997	3	6 years	Father of 38th mayor, Dan Gelber [47] [48] [49] [50] [51]
34		Neisen Kasdin 1954-	November 4, 1997 – November 13, 2001	2	4 years	[52]
35		David Dermer 1963-	November 13, 2001 – November 21, 2007	3	6 years	Son of 25th mayor, Jay Dermer [23] [53] [54]
36		Matti Herrera Bower 1939-	November 21, 2007 – November 25, 2013	3	6 years	First woman and Hispanic to serve as mayor [55] [56]
37		Philip Levine 1962-	November 25, 2013 – November 13, 2017	2	4 years	[57] [58]
38		Dan Gelber 1960-	November 13, 2017 – November 28, 2023	3	6 years	Son of 33rd mayor, Seymour Gelber [49] [51]
39		Steven Meiner 1971-	November 28, 2023 – Incumbent	1

See also

• Miami Beach
• Miami Dade County

References

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16. Harris, Arthur Jay (1998-04-23). "He Did a Job on the Mob". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
17. "#487 11 Memorial for Mayor Melvin Richard 2005 - Laserfiche WebLink". docmgmt.miamibeachfl.gov. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
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51. "He was mayor once. Now at 98, he swore his son into the same office". miamiherald. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
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External links

• City of Miami Beach
• Political Graveyard: Mayors of Miami Beach, Florida