Candidate Ken Fairman, Pinecrest Council Seat 4

Ken Fairman, Pinecrest’s vice mayor, is running for re-election to Village Council Seat 4, the council’s at-large seat, on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. He faces two challengers, Ramon Gonzalez Diez and Jill Lerner, according to the official Pinecrest sample ballot. The race is nonpartisan. It shares the ballot with a two-way contest for Council Seat 3. The mayor’s office is already settled: Shannon del Prado drew no opponent and was automatically elected under the village charter, so her name will not appear on the ballot.

At a Glance

Office: Village of Pinecrest Councilmember, Seat 4 (listed by the Village Clerk as the At-Large Seat)
Area covered: The whole Village of Pinecrest; at-large members may live anywhere in the village
Incumbent: Yes. Fairman was elected without opposition in November 2022 and serves as vice mayor
Opponents on the ballot: Ramon Gonzalez Diez, Jill Lerner
Ballot number: 197
Campaign website: fairman4pinecrest.com

Background

According to his official Village of Pinecrest biography, Fairman grew up in Sharon, Pennsylvania, spent his teenage years in Raleigh, North Carolina, and moved to Miami in 1986. He has lived in Pinecrest since 1992. He met his wife, Kim, at Wake Forest University, and the couple raised two children, Lauren and William, who attended public schools.

Professionally, the village biography identifies him as co-founder and president of Florida Pavement Services, Inc. In a Miami Herald candidate questionnaire, he cited 40 years of work in concrete- and asphalt-related construction “as both employee and employer.” He has also served as a director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, according to the village.

Before joining the council, Fairman sat on Pinecrest’s Zoning Board; his campaign site dates that service to 2016 through 2020. The site also lists him as chairman of the 2012 Pinecrest Parkway Steering Committee, and he told the Herald he served on the U.S. 1 Vision Committee.

Much of his public biography centers on volunteer work. The village says he spent about 20 years in youth sports, coaching soccer and baseball, and served multiple terms as president and executive board member of Howard Palmetto, a community baseball league. He has volunteered with the Miracle League of Miami-Dade, which organizes baseball for children and adults with special needs, since its founding in 2010, and is president of TREEmendous Miami, a tree-planting and native-habitat group. His campaign website describes him as a 34-year Pinecrest resident and lists him as co-director of the Miracle League program and a five-year YMCA volunteer. The village also lists him on the boards of the Green Corridor PACE District, the Miracle League of Miami-Dade and TREEmendous Miami.

In Their Own Words

Fairman answered three questions in the Miami Herald’s candidate guide, published Sept. 24, 2026. On why he is running:

“I am running for reelection in appreciation for those who came before me. I feel an obligation to do the same.”

Ken Fairman, Miami Herald candidate guide, Sept. 24, 2026

On his qualifications:

“I am open-minded, even-handed and don’t know everything.”

Ken Fairman, Miami Herald candidate guide, Sept. 24, 2026

On the most pressing issue facing Pinecrest:

“Having a community has a price. Every expenditure has a supporter and a detractor. We have to be balanced, get stuff done and find savings wherever we can. Amendment 3 will be the pressing issue if approved.”

Ken Fairman, Miami Herald candidate guide, Sept. 24, 2026

His campaign website closes its list of priorities with a personal statement:

“I am a resident just like you. My commitment is to enhance our Village home with well kept facilities, safe streets & walkways, and a responsive, fiscally responsible local government.”

Ken Fairman, campaign website

Record and Priorities

Stated priorities

Fairman’s campaign site organizes his platform around six headings. Under “Parks, Police & Public Works,” it calls these the village’s three main services and says they must meet residents’ needs “in a financially responsible way.” On permits, the site says the village “must reduce hurdles, hassles, and headaches.” Other headings address his construction background, the village’s professional staff and community pride. Florida Politics summarized his pitch as continued support for parks, police and public works, fewer permitting “headaches,” and attention to the village’s peafowl concerns.

In the Herald questionnaire, he listed resident concerns as traffic, schools, security, permits, affordability, the environment, infrastructure and costs, and identified Amendment 3, the statewide homestead property-tax measure on the November ballot, as the issue that would dominate if voters approve it.

Votes on the council

The Village Clerk’s legislative histories record how each member voted on resolutions and ordinances. Selected votes involving Fairman:

Property tax rate, FY 2025-26: He voted yes on the proposed millage resolution (Resolution 2025-53, July 15, 2025), which passed 3-2 with del Prado and Councilmember Jerry Greenberg opposed, and yes on the tentative and final rates in September 2025 (Resolutions 2025-54 and 2025-55), each passed 4-1 with del Prado opposed. (2025 resolutions)
Capital-project financing: He joined a 5-0 vote on March 11, 2025 (Resolution 2025-18) authorizing a loan of up to $16 million from the Florida Municipal Loan Council for capital projects, tied to Series 2025 revenue bonds. (2025 resolutions)
Property tax rate, FY 2026-27: He made the motion on the proposed millage resolution (Resolution 2026-42, July 14, 2026), which passed 4-1 with Greenberg opposed. (2026 resolutions) At its Sept. 22, 2026 final budget hearing, the council adopted a rate of 2.503 mills, which the village described as unchanged from the prior year. (Village summary)
SW 120 Street Beautification Project: He cast the lone no vote on a June 11, 2026 agreement with Wausau Tile for a design feature structure (Resolution 2026-36), which passed 4-1. The record does not state his reasons. (2026 resolutions)
Traffic and school zones: He voted with a unanimous council on 2026 ordinances amending speed limits, regulating micromobility devices and clarifying the village’s school-zone speed detection system. (2026 ordinances)
Land development rules: He voted yes on a comprehensive update to Chapter 30 of the village code, the Land Development Regulations, adopted 5-0 on July 14, 2026. (2026 ordinances)

What This Office Does

Pinecrest, incorporated in 1996, is a village of about 18,400 residents (2020 census) covering roughly 7.5 square miles southwest of downtown Miami, according to census-based reference data. It operates under a council-manager form of government.

The Village Council has five members: a mayor, three councilmembers for Seats 1, 2 and 3, who must live in the residential areas those seats represent, and one at-large councilmember who, like the mayor, may live anywhere in the village. The council is the village’s legislative body. It sets policy, adopts the annual budget and property tax rate, and passes local laws, while the mayor presides over meetings. Elections are nonpartisan.

Issues raised in this year’s campaign include traffic, zoning and permitting, parks, policing, public works and peafowl, according to Political Cortadito. Amendment 3 is also a shared concern. A village notice republished by the Pinecrest Tribune said the measure would raise the homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, reduce local government revenue, and first affect the village budget in fiscal year 2027-28.

The Race

Three candidates qualified for Seat 4, according to the Village Clerk:

Ramon Gonzalez Diez (listed by the clerk as Ramon Gonzalez-Diez). Florida Politics reported his concerns include the millage rate, congestion and cut-through traffic, public safety, faster building and zoning permits, and greater use of solar power. He had not responded to the Herald’s questionnaire at publication.
Jill Lerner, a lifelong Pinecrest resident and South Beach Wine & Food Festival event production manager. She is campaigning on “smarter spending, not higher taxes,” communication with residents, schools and long-term planning. She is the daughter of former Pinecrest Mayor and state Rep. Cindy Lerner.

Endorsements listed on Fairman’s campaign site include the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, Miami’s Community News and the Miami Realtors PAC. Miami’s Community News published its endorsement on Sept. 22, 2026.

Pinecrest’s council seats are decided on the November ballot. The South Dade News Leader’s roundup after the Aug. 18 primary did not include them. If no Seat 4 candidate wins outright on Nov. 3, Pinecrest would hold a runoff on Nov. 17, according to Florida Politics.

How to Vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, and polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters casting a ballot in person on Election Day must go to their assigned precinct.

Early voting: Oct. 19 through Nov. 1, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, at any early voting site in Miami-Dade County, according to the county’s early voting schedule. Nearby sites include the Coral Reef Branch Library and Kendall Branch Library.
Vote by mail: Requests must be received by 5 p.m. on Oct. 22, and completed ballots must reach the Miami-Dade Elections Department by 7 p.m. on Nov. 3, according to the Village of Pinecrest. The South Dade News Leader also reported the Oct. 22 request deadline.
Check your ballot: Sample ballots, precinct lookups and vote-by-mail requests are available from the Miami-Dade County Elections Department.

Community Leadership Alliance is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates. This profile is based on public records, candidate statements and news coverage, including the South Dade News Leader. Candidates who wish to submit corrections may contact us through our Contact page.