Braman Backed Candidate Loses Big In Tuesday Election

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Billionaire Norman Braman has flexed his considerable political muscle in recent years trying to shape Miami-Dade County politics. But Tuesday night, almost all of the candidates he supported came up short.

After removing Mayor Carlos Alvarez from office last year, Braman turned his money and attention to ousting four members of the Miami-Dade County Commission. Specifically, Braman targeted Commissioners Barbara Jordan, Audrey Edmonson, Dennis Moss, and Bruno Barreiro.

Commissioner Jordan sailed to a victory over Miami Gardens Mayor Shirley Gibson by a 59-35 percent margin. Commissioner Barreiro won 49.94 percent of his districts vote while Moss also cruised to a victory in his district.

But overall, Braman's preferred candidates came up short when the votes were counted. Commissioner Moss said he's heard criticism from others in the business community.

"Privately, they've said to me they think Braman is an arrogant bully and he's out of control and he needs to be stopped," Commissioner Moss said. "Hopefully what happened last night, the community has shown they don't want a tyrant. They don't want a dictator. They don't want a king controlling the county commission. They want to make sure the people are still in charge and democracy reigns."

Before the election Braman said he wanted to give voters a choice because incumbents generally receive more money than challengers.

"What I'm doing, still will not equal the combined resources of these four incumbents," Braman told CBS4.