Voters chose Realtor Roberto Alonso to represent District 4 on the Miami-Dade County School Board.
“It’s truly an honor,” Alonso, 42, said on Aug. 26. “It’s really exciting and I’m excited. I think there really is a lot of great things that will come from this.”
Alonso, of Miami Lakes, has not been a teacher or worked in public school education. He was educated mostly at Catholic private schools until he attended Miami Dade College and Florida International University.
His Primary Election win on Aug. 23 -- when he received 14,970 votes, or 57.27% of 26,140 ballots cast --- was his first race for public office and a decisive victory.
Retired public sector administrator Maribel Balbin came in second with 6,547 votes and private school principal Kevin Menendez Macki received 4,623 votes.
As a school board member, Alonso said he plans to stick to his campaign issues: Being the voice of the community; school safety; smaller class sizes; protecting students from “indoctrination by politics”; raising teacher pay and providing career and vocational training for students.
Alonso was endorsed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and was the Republican leader’s appointee to the Miami Dade College Board of Trustees.
Alonso said he sought a legal opinion and was advised that because he was appointed and not elected to the college board, he can hold both positions.
He said he will not let politics determine his work on the school board, which is a non-partisan body.
“I’m always going to be representing the families of District 4 and being their voice,” Alonso said.
During the Aug. 3 candidates’ forum, Alonso said, “I think the unions are destroying our school system” and that he would “not be bullied by unions.”
After the election, he pledged to work with union leaders.
“If they’re ready to sit down and talk about our teachers, their pay, their benefits and the way they’re treated, my door is always open,” Alonso said.
Alonso is a Realtor at Costa Realtors Corp., and stages the annual Miami Lakes Cars for a Cure fundraiser for cancer research.
He is the son of the late Roberto Alonso, Sr., who was Miami Lakes’ first vice mayor.
CORRECTION: Roberto Alonso is a Realtor at Costa Realtors Corp, and is not an owner as described in the print version of this story. We regret the error.