Two Jamaican-American candidates seeking history on Pembroke Pines commission
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong party affiliation for Pembroke Pines candidate Elizabeth “Liz” Burns. She switched to a No Party affiliation two months ago.
Pembroke Pines voters are set to elect two city commissioners on Tuesday, March 10. But for two Jamaican-American candidates in the race, the stakes extend beyond potholes, parks and public safety.
Both candidates hope to make history as the first people of Jamaican descent elected to the Pembroke Pines commission.
For Dennis Hinds and Elizabeth “Liz” Burns, the election results carry symbolic weight. In a city still shaping its civic identity, their campaigns raise a broader question: Will western Broward’s growing Jamaican-American community finally secure a seat at the leadership table in Pembroke Pines, Broward’s second-largest city?
The city of approximately 170,000 residents sits just north of Miramar, where the mayor and all four commissioners are of Caribbean descent. Nearby Lauderhill also reflects the region’s Jamaican political influence, with a Jamaican-born mayor and commissioner.
Hinds and Burns are attempting to change that through their candidacies in Pembroke Pines in District 1 and District 4, respectively.
Voters will decide whether Pembroke Pines will join a growing number of Jamaican-Americans elected in recent years to public office in Broward County — including Lauderhill Mayor Denise Grant, Broward Commissioner Alexandra Davis and Miramar Mayor Wayne M. Messam, the son of Jamaican parents.
Winning a seat on the Pembroke Pines commission would mark a milestone for the city. But the path Jamaican-American candidates are attempting to follow has precedent elsewhere in South Florida — most notably among Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade.
Over several decades, Cuban-Americans transformed demographic growth into political power. Jamaican-Americans in Broward may now be in the earlier stages of a similar political evolution.
Eduardo Gamarra, a political science professor at Florida International University, told the Pembroke Pines News that Jamaicans becoming the next Cubans is plausible, even if hard data is limited.
“The theory behind it is sound,” Gamarra said of the theory that Jamaicans will follow Cuban-Americans.
Jamaican immigrants who once concentrated in South Dade have increasingly migrated to west Broward, Gamarra said, creating the population base that can support political representation.
District 1
Dennis Hinds, 55, is making his third run for the commission. He faces incumbent Tom Good, who is seeking a third term, and political newcomer James Henry, a retired police sergeant.
“I’m proud of my Jamaican heritage and I’m running a grassroots campaign that is growing stronger,” Hinds told the Pembroke Pines News last week while going door to door in the district.
Born in the Bronx, Hinds has lived in Florida for more than 24 years. After two decades in corporate America, he now works as an insurance agent with experience in banking, finance and real estate.
He has also served on several city advisory boards, including Planning and Zoning and Diversity and Inclusion.
Election records show Hinds had raised $24,800 as of February. Good reported $48,200 in campaign funds, while Henry had collected $7,500.
District 4
Elizabeth “Liz” Burns is challenging Vice Mayor Michael “Mike” Hernandez, who was appointed to the seat in 2024 and later elected after defeating Burns and another candidate. Hernandez is seeking a second four-year term.
Hernandez, a Cuban-American, holds a significant fundraising advantage, reporting $74,620 as of February, compared with Burns’ $8,870.
Burns, a small business owner specialiizing in production, marketing and marketing who is a long-time Pembroke Pines resident, says she is relying heavily on direct voter outreach.
“Our grassroots campaign is going great,” she told the Pembroke Pines News.
She is also counting on her Jamaican background. Burns notes in her campaign material that she would be “the first Jamaican-American woman elected to the commission in the city’s 66-year history.”
For the past six years, she has served on the city’s volunteer-based Diversity and Heritage Advisory Board and proposed 27 calendar event items such as the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, the Caribbean-American Heritage Festival and Hispanic Heritage Month Festival.
Burns has previously run unsuccessfully for mayor and made multiple bids for a commission seat, including her loss to Hernandez in the last election.
Voter registration highlights
Although municipal races are nonpartisan, the city’s voter registration breakdown highlights the role independent voters play in deciding local contests. Hinds is a Democrat and Burns became an independent two months ago.
Pembroke Pines has 123,146 registered voters eligible to cast ballots on March 10 — an increase of 1,266 voters since 2024. According to the elections department, the breakdown is:
- Democrats: 52,400 (44%)
- No Party Affiliation: 39,520 (33%)
- Republicans: 28,560 (20%)
Whether either candidate wins remains to be seen. But their campaigns reflect a broader shift underway in west Broward politics.
This story was originally published March 7, 2026 at 7:00 AM.
