Weston election results: Bernardini and Ortega win seats

Patricia C. Bernardini and Alfredo Ortega won Weston’s two City Commission seats Tuesday, according to unofficial results. Bernardini won Seat 3 easily. Ortega took Seat 4 by 680 votes.

The figures come from the Broward County Supervisor of Elections’ unofficial results, last updated at 12:09 a.m. Wednesday. All nine Weston precincts have reported. Early and Election Day votes are fully counted, but the office lists mail ballots as only partly counted, so the totals can still move.

The City Commission races

Bernardini led by 7,623 votes. She carried every one of Weston’s nine precincts, by the office’s precinct-by-precinct report. Ortega’s lead in Seat 4 is 3.18 percentage points. Ortega got more early and mail votes; Herrero won the Election Day count, 2,816 to 2,631.

In all, 24,948 ballots were cast in Weston’s precincts.

The two replace Commissioners Byron L. Jaffe and Mary Molina-Macfie, who did not run. The winners are due to be sworn in Monday, Nov. 16, the city has said. Our story on Jaffe and Molina-Macfie’s departure covers their time on the commission. The commission is the mayor and four commissioners, so the two new members fill two of its five votes.

Amendment 3 passes

Florida voters approved Amendment 3, the homestead exemption amendment, with 61.98% of the vote. That clears the 60% a constitutional amendment needs. The count was 4,917,796 yes to 3,016,195 no, in the Florida Division of Elections’ unofficial statewide results.

Weston backed it more strongly than the state. In the city’s nine precincts, 16,165 voters said yes and 7,792 said no, or 67.48%. Broward County as a whole voted 57.21% yes.

The amendment raises the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 on Jan. 1, 2027, and to $250,000 a year later, according to the city’s property tax reform page. The extra exemption does not apply to school taxes.

This matters for Weston’s budget. The city raised its tax rate this fall to 3.5046 mills and said it did so because of Amendment 3. Our story on Weston’s tax rate and Amendment 3 has what the city said it could cut if revenue falls.

The other ballot questions

Amendments 1 and 2 both failed statewide. Amendment 1, on the state’s budget stabilization fund, drew 40.9% yes. Amendment 2, a tax exemption for tangible personal property on agricultural land, got 58.21%, just short of the 60% it needed.

Every Broward County question passed countywide. The county results and Weston’s precincts:

Question 1 levies a sales surtax of one quarter of 1% for five years to pay for a county health care plan, according to Broward County’s charter and referendum page. It covers preventive heart and cancer tests not paid for by insurance and primary care for residents who cannot afford it. The surtax ends automatically if the county levies a 1% infrastructure surtax.

The two charter amendments were on how plats, the maps that divide land for development, are approved, and how the county auditor is chosen. Both passed.

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Weston voted no only on Amendment 1, with 40.65% yes. On Amendment 2, the city voted 52.83% yes.

School Board District 6

Adam Cervera won the School Board District 6 seat, which includes Weston, with 47,092 votes, or 54.26%, to 39,697 for Roberto Fernandez III. In Weston’s precincts, Cervera got 55.8%.

What it means for you

• Two new commissioners from Nov. 16. Until then, Jaffe and Molina-Macfie remain in office. Our guide to who to call at City Hall will be updated after the swearing-in.
• Homesteaded owners get a bigger exemption on Jan. 1, 2027. It shows on the tax bill mailed in November 2027, not this month’s. Our property tax guide explains how the bill is built.
• Pay this year’s bill in November to get the 4% discount from the Broward County Tax Collector.
• The results are unofficial until the county canvassing board certifies them. Check the Supervisor of Elections for the final count. Our voting guide has the rest of the ballot.