Key West Reelects Teri Johnston as Mayor; Carey and Highsmith for District 4 Finalists

BY MAGGIE OLIVE KLEIN
KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER AND EDITOR 

On Tuesday, August 23rd, voters of Key West re-elected Mayor Teri Johnston to her third and final two-year term in a run against former City Commissioner Margaret Romero. The stats for the final election were 3,421 votes to 2,665 votes, or 56% to 44%. In the mayoral race, Johnston said she is looking forward to getting back to work for all residents of Key West. 

Johnston mentions the challenge that was presented during the time as Key West’s mayoral team being only two years, compared to the City Commissioners, who are in office for four years. Romero, favored by many local voters, was outdone by Johnston, by a margin of just about 2-to-1. Johnston carried eight out of 10 precincts by more than 50%, and Romero won both the Public Works and Elks Lodge precincts. 

At Key West’s Harvey Government Center on Tuesday night, after the results were in, Johnston spoke of the relief that the City of Key West experienced. She said, “Being a candidate in politics in 2022 is a challenge and I take my hat off to every single candidate.” She also said, “As I have said from the start, I am a mayor for all people. During this campaign we heard issues that we haven’t really heard about over the last few years, and it really gives us a focus in the next several years and the issues that we need to work towards solving.” Romero noted that she was able to get to know a lot of people that she didn’t prior to the campaign, and that she will continue to work very hard for the community. 

The four-person race for Key West’s City Commissioner in District 4 was narrowed down to two finalists – Kim Highsmith (who earned more than 46% of the votes cast) and Lissette Cuervo Carey (who earned 30% of the votes) – who will have a runoff in November’s general election. Highsmith narrowly missed out on the required majority to seal the race. Highsmith took 45.67% of the vote to Carey’s 29.98%. If one of the candidates achieved more than 50%, they would have won on August 23rd. 

On August 23rd, Highsmith said, “I feel great with the showing for my first campaign. It was about five times more hard work, blood, sweat, and tears than I anticipated.” The two candidates both express their anticipation and excitement for the second part of the campaign, and their appreciation for everybody that contributed. 

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