Matilde "Matti" Herrera Bower is a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and retired

dental assistant Dental assistants are members of the dental team. They support a dental operator (such as a dentist or other treating dental auxiliary) in providing more efficient dental treatment. ''Dental assistants'' are distinguished from other groups of de ...

. Bower has been elected to three two-year terms as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Miami Beach, Florida, beginning in 2007. Most recently, because of a loophole in the term limits rule, Bower was able to run for an open commission seat, but lost by a considerably large margin in the run-off race against retired banker, Joy Malakoff. Bower won re-election to her third and final term as mayor on November 1, 2011. She is the first woman, as well as the first

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

, to serve as Mayor of Miami Beach. She is a Democrat, though Miami Beach elections are nonpartisan. Bower was born in

and immigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. She attended Miami Technical High School and became a

. Bower also spent decades as a local activist and

preservationist Preservationist is generally understood to mean ''historic preservationist'': one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation us ...

, including advocacy for the successful preservation of the

Miami Beach Architectural District The Miami Beach Architectural District (also known as Old Miami Beach Historic District and the more popular term Miami Art Deco District) is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on May 14, 1979) located in the South Beach neighborhood o ...

. Bower served as a Miami Beach

city commissioner City commission government is a form of local government in the United States. In a city commission government, voters elect a small commission, typically of five to seven members, typically on a plurality-at-large voting basis. These commissione ...

from 1999 to 2007 before being elected mayor of the South Florida city in 2007. She won re-election to a second term in 2009. The city of Miami Beach received a

bond rating In investment, the bond credit rating represents the credit worthiness of corporate or government bonds. It is not the same as an individual's credit score. The ratings are published by credit rating agencies and used by investment professiona ...

upgrade in 2010 and saw a balanced budget that same year under Bower. However, pension costs have risen to more than $50 million in 2011, up from just $3.5 million in 2000. She has also dealt with controversy surrounding Urban Beach Week. In 2011, Bower announced her re-election campaign for a third, and final, term as Mayor of Miami Beach. (Mayors are term limited to three, two-year terms in office). Bower, who was 72 years old in November 2011, faced three opponents in the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

: comedian Steve Berke,

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

Dave Crystal, and

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

practitioner Laura Rivero Levey. Bower was easily re-elected to a third term on November 1, 2011. She won 59.4% of the popular vote, or 4,103 votes. Her closest opponent, comedian and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

graduate Steve Berke, garnered 23.38%, or 1,614. Matti Herrera Bower was sworn into her third mayoral term on November 2, 2011. Bower ran for the Miami Beach Commission Group 3 seat in 2013, but lost to Joy Malakoff, garnering 2,641 votes (40.27%) to Malakoff's 4,214 votes (59.73%).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bower, Matti Herrera Living people Mayors of Miami Beach, Florida Women mayors of places in Florida American politicians of Cuban descent Cuban emigrants to the United States Florida Democrats Hispanic and Latino American women in politics 1939 births

See also

References