Miami-Dade voters to elect new Mayor today

NBC Miami's Steve Litz reports: Miami-Dade’s voters head to the polls today to elect the next mayor, putting an end to the three-month process of seating the county’s new top politico.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The three elections _ recall, special and runoff _ cost county taxpayers about $4 million dollars each. The only poll, done by The Miami Herald, showed former County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez leading former Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina by 11 percentage points.

Both gave up their respective political posts to run for county mayor.

“I have a 36-year record of unquestioned honesty, integrity and experience,” said Gimenez, while eating and greeting at a La Carreta Restaurant in west Miami-Dade Monday. He used to be Miami’s city manager and fire chief too.

Robaina also pressed hard in the final hours, courting seniors at Rebecca Towers on South Beach.

“We always want to reach out. There's only so many hours in the day,” he said while delivering hugs and kisses to his elderly faithful. He’s confident his outreach to more diverse voters has been fruitful.

Both candidates have gone out of their way to distance themselves from former Mayor Carlos Alvarez, ousted in a recall election, in part, for raising property taxes and supporting public funding for the new Marlins Baseball Stadium.

“I did not like the policies of Carlos Alvarez,” said Gimenez. “My policies are going to be completely different than his and we're going to lead this county in a different direction.”

One of Robaina’s strategies has been to connect Gimenez to Alvarez. “It's real simple,” Robaina said. “If you want the same that you've had the last seven years then I'm not your candidate, if you want the reforms this community has asked for, if you want fiscal responsibility than I want to be your mayor.”

Meanwhile: LGBT Unity Coalition endorses Gimenez for mayor.