Five candidates are competing for three Village Council seats in Key Biscayne's Nov. 3 election. A Miami Herald voter guide published Tuesday offers the first on-record policy positions from two of them.

Where the five candidates stand on island issues

Luis "Lucho" de la Cruz, a former council member who served from 2014 to 2018, named the Rickenbacker Causeway and Bear Cut Bridge as the island's most pressing issues. De la Cruz called for collaboration with Miami-Dade County and the city of Miami to "reconfigure the Virginia Key portion of the causeway and replace the Bear Cut Bridge, which presents an existential issue in its present condition."

De la Cruz, who has lived on Key Biscayne for more than 50 years, also sat on the village's Sustainability Advisory Board.

Silvia Tarafa, principal of Motivating Minds Academy and a former principal of the Key Biscayne K-8 Center, listed flood control, utility undergrounding, local traffic and bridge-related projects as her priorities. She said she has worked as a public school educator and administrator for over 37 years.

Three candidates had not yet responded to the Herald guide as of its publication: incumbent Councilman Fernando A. Vazquez, Vice Mayor Oscar Sardinas and Claire London.

Their positions are known from earlier profiles. In an Aug. 26 Islander News interview, Vazquez said the next four years "need to be about turning plans into results" and called for a financially responsible stormwater system. Vazquez, a professional engineer who was previously city engineer for Miami Beach, is seeking a second term.

London, a 36-year Key Biscayne resident, said in a profile published the same day that underground utilities topped her list. Her husband, Ed London, is term-limited after eight years on the council.

Sardinas has not publicly stated campaign goals in recent coverage. He is running for reelection.

Stormwater referendum and Bear Cut Bridge shape the race

The council race shares the ballot with a referendum on flood-prevention spending. The measure would amend the Village Charter to require voter approval for any such project estimated to cost more than $50 million over three fiscal years. A citizen petition drive collected 913 verified signatures to place it on the ballot, and the council unanimously approved its wording at a special meeting in July.

That referendum follows the council's 7-0 vote in April to kill the "Big Dig" drainage project, which had accumulated at least $8 million in costs. Construction never started. The village shifted to an alternative approach using shallow injection wells.

Meanwhile, the Bear Cut Bridge that de la Cruz flagged is moving through county review. A Miami-Dade committee approved a resolution Sept. 10 for a study of rehabilitating or replacing the 1944 bridge, which is classified as functionally obsolete. The full County Commission is expected to vote on the agreement around Oct. 6. Estimates put the cost at $60 million to $100 million.

The three winners will serve four-year terms alongside incoming Mayor Brett Moss, who ran unopposed.

Candidate debate set for Oct. 1

The Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce and Islander News will host a candidate debate at 6 p.m. Oct. 1 in the Council Chambers. The voter registration deadline is Oct. 5.