Election Day in Pembroke Pines: Two vie for District 4 seat. Meet the candidates
The city of Pembroke Pines will take to the polls to elect commissioners for District 1 and District 4 on Tuesday, March 10.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. as voters across Broward County participate in municipal elections that will determine local leadership in several cities.
In Pembroke Pines, Broward’s second-most populous city with more than 170,000 residents, according to the 2020 U.S. Census, the District 4 race pits incumbent Vice Mayor Michael “Mike” Hernandez against challenger Elizabeth Burns.
District 4 covers the west side from Flamingo Road until reaching U.S. 27.
Hernandez, a public relations and communications specialist appointed and later elected to the city commission in 2024, is seeking another term.
Burns, an event planner and diversity and heritage community board member, is making her fourth run for city office.
Both candidates told the Pembroke Pines News they are confident they can win the seat.
Mike Hernandez
Hernandez said the top concern he has heard from residents is affordability and the rising cost of living across South Florida.
“It’s not just a short-term trend, it’s been a long-term trend,” Hernandez told the Pembroke Pines News. “When you represent a very diverse group of residents, there’s 47,000 in my district … you have to always keep your eye on the cost of living.”
He said many residents ask about property taxes, insurance costs and how the city can help ease the financial pressures.
Hernandez also said residents are feeling pressure from rising utility bills, including increases approved for Florida Power & Light customers.
“For my seniors, $250, which is what the average FPL customer will pay after this rate increase … plus all the other fees that they have to pay just to survive in the same place, in the same community, as they did a year ago. I would like to see how we could bring that down,” Hernandez said.
To address affordability at the local level, he said the city commission has worked to reduce its overall or aggregate millage rate for 11 consecutive years.
“I don’t foresee us raising aggregate millage. I’m only one of five votes, but I will not be voting for an increase in the aggregate millage,” Hernandez said. “However, we have to see how much we can bring it down and provide meaningful relief.”
He added that potential property tax reform under discussion in Tallahassee could reduce municipal revenue by “double digits.” Hernandez said there could be potential impact to the police and fire departments as public safety makes up a large portion of the city budget.
Beyond taxes, Hernandez said he has been an active advocate of competitive bidding for city services to reduce costs.
“The city of Pembroke Pines has these long-standing, in one case, a 17-year relationship without going out to bid,” he said. “If we can lower costs and competitive bidding, that’s a victory for Pembroke Pines taxpayers. That’s a victory for Pembroke Pines homeowners.” .
The vice mayor also addressed the failure of the city’s $230 million bond referendum in 2024, which would have funded projects such as park upgrades, a public safety complex and roadway improvements across the city.
“These aren’t luxuries, these are necessities,” he said.
He said misinformation online contributed to the proposal’s defeat and that some residents misunderstood what the funding would support, an issue the city would need to prevent with stronger communication practices in the future.
If the city considers another bond in 2026, Hernandez said he would support prioritizing a new public safety complex for police and fire services.
Hernandez said he also hears frequent concerns about traffic safety and neighborhood quality of life. The city, being a care-centric community, has begun investigating traffic-calming measures, including speed detection signs that encourage drivers to slow down.
Hernandez said he would also like to see greater civic overall participation among residents throughout the city.
“I do think we need to do a much better job as residents to become citizens,” he says. “I want more engagement because when you have more engagement, misinformation is reduced, understanding is increased and collaboration between residents and the government that serves them, improves.”
Elizabeth Burns
Burns said her earlier campaigns helped introduce her to voters across the district.
“Although I knew I wouldn’t win ... I just did it because I wanted to have a feel for it and to see how people would respond to me,” she said. “And surprisingly, they responded beautifully.”
Burns, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, said her campaign has relied heavily on grassroots outreach rather than large donations and has focused much of her campaigning in Century Village.
District 4, she said, is especially meaningful because she lives in the community and has spent years cultivating relationships with the residents.
One of the major issues she raised during the campaign was the failed bond referendum, which she heavily opposed.
“Nothing is wrong with the bond, but if you don’t have it clarified, and if it is not stipulated exactly what the bond is going to do and how important it is, it’s not going to pass,” she said. “Our water supply is not very good at all, that should have been the No. 1 thing on the ballot.”
Burns said she was against the measure largely because of concerns on how it would affect those residents on fixed incomes.
“The point is a lot of our residents are hurting,” she said. “So many people in Central Village have cried in front of me.”
She said any future bond proposal should more clearly explain how funds would be used and consider the financial realities many within the city face.
Burns also pointed to rising water bills, traffic, environmental concerns and opposition to the county’s waste-to-energy incinerator proposal as key issues for the city.
She also said she has heard concerns about the future of North Perry Airport and opposes closing the facility, which she said supports local jobs and businesses.
“North Perry Airport has been there a very long time, it has served a lot of people, it has served a lot of workers,” she said. “... and they are not at fault, and the airport is not a fault. What I do believe is that the airport should make sure that the owners of these aircraft be more considerate and careful.”
Housing affordability is another concern she is focused on, saying younger residents are increasingly unable to buy homes in the city.
“Affordable housing does not mean low income, it just means what it says, affordable housing,” she said. “It’s not Section 8, it’s not low income, it’s nothing like that. It’s just less than what homes are going for right now.”
Burns suggested that school properties from planned closures could potentially be repurposed for housing or other economic uses.
If elected, Burns said one of her first priorities would be addressing the concerns raised to her by the seniors in her district.
“I’m going to fight for them,” she said.
This story was originally published March 6, 2026 at 4:30 AM.
