Candidate Robert "B.J." Duncan, Cutler Bay Mayor

Robert “B.J.” Duncan, who has represented Seat 1 on the Cutler Bay Town Council since 2018, is a candidate for mayor of the Town of Cutler Bay in the nonpartisan municipal election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. The seat is open because Mayor Tim Meerbott is term-limited, and Duncan is term-limited in his council seat. Also on the ballot for mayor are builder Ricardo De Melo Gomes, Council Member Suzy Lord and entrepreneur Clint Rodriguez, according to the Town Clerk’s list of qualified candidates.

At a Glance

Office: Mayor, Town of Cutler Bay (four-year term)
Area covered: Townwide; the mayor is elected at large and may live anywhere in town
Incumbent? No. The mayor’s seat is open. Duncan currently holds Council Seat 1, where he is term-limited.
Opponents on ballot: Ricardo De Melo Gomes, Suzy Lord, Clint Rodriguez
Campaign website: bjd.vote

Background

According to his official Town of Cutler Bay biography, Duncan holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre (2009) and a Master of Public Administration (2017) from Florida International University, and a Master of Fine Arts in theatre (2019) from the University of Idaho. He is director of operations for FIU’s College of Communication, Architecture + the Arts, where he began working in 2012, and serves as technical director for Zoetic Stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. He previously worked as an interim instructor for Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

Before joining the council, Duncan was appointed in 2015 to the town’s Education Advisory Committee, serving as its secretary from 2015 to 2017 and as chair from June 2017 until his election in November 2018. In an Aug. 3, 2026 opinion piece in Miami’s Community Newspapers, he wrote that he was the youngest person ever elected to the council and had just turned 40.

His campaign website describes him as a second-generation, lifelong Cutler Bay resident and a product of Dade County public schools. He writes there that he and his wife, Amy, have two young sons and that his parents also live in town.

In Their Own Words

“Because this is home. My parents live here, I live here, my kids are growing up here — three generations in one town.”

Robert “B.J.” Duncan, Miami Herald candidate questionnaire, Sept. 22, 2026

“Developers should have to meet our standards, not write them.”

Robert “B.J.” Duncan, Miami Herald candidate questionnaire

“Density belongs on US-1 — not on Old Cutler Road, not on 87th Avenue, not on any residential street in this Town”

Robert “B.J.” Duncan, opinion piece in Miami’s Community Newspapers, Aug. 3, 2026

“I’d rather promise less and be held to it.”

Robert “B.J.” Duncan, opinion piece in Miami’s Community Newspapers

Record and Priorities

Record on the council

In his Miami Herald questionnaire, Duncan cited 12 years of service to the town, eight of them as an elected official, and said he wrote the Town Center District ordinance, which he described as protecting the aquifer, and the ordinance governing how the U.S. 1 corridor grows.

His campaign website says that since 2018 he has lobbied, together with the council, town staff and legislative partners, for more than $4 million in appropriations for Cutler Bay, which the campaign breaks down as about $2.2 million for drainage and stormwater, $1.2 million for parks and environmental projects, $520,000 for roadway work including the Franjo Road redesign with roundabouts, and $210,000 for senior programming. The campaign also cites his opposition to proposals for hundreds of housing units along Old Cutler Road, progress on a new Town Hall, community center and 14-acre Legacy Park, and the town’s property tax rate, which it says is the eighth lowest in Miami-Dade County. These figures are the campaign’s own characterization of his record.

Development and growth

Duncan’s campaign says he will oppose proposed “overdevelopments” east of U.S. 1 and that density belongs on U.S. 1 rather than on Old Cutler Road, 87th Avenue or residential corridors. In the Herald questionnaire, he named cost and affordability as the town’s most pressing issue, saying the answer is not to stop building but to build homes people can afford, attract businesses that bring jobs, and keep rules that protect drainage, trees and the aquifer. In his op-ed, he wrote that growth in the right place helps fund parks, drainage and services elsewhere in town.

In an Oct. 8 Local 10 News report, Duncan said South Miami-Dade is growing and needs more and better-paying jobs, and said he sees the region as becoming “the new economic hub.” He told Local 10 that higher incomes would help residents afford homes, apartments and condos.

Traffic and infrastructure

His website says that, following the Franjo Road project, he would work on Marlin Road, connect 212th Street to Old Cutler Road at Legacy Park, and improve Cutler Ridge Drive, 87th Avenue and Gulfstream Road while upgrading stormwater drainage along the way. It also says he would pursue new jobs, restaurants and retail through the roughly $1.5 billion SouthPlace City Center redevelopment.

Small business and access to government

In his Aug. 3 op-ed, Duncan proposed three changes he said are within the town’s authority: a one-page, plain-language preview of each council agenda published a week ahead in English and Spanish; a monthly public forum held outside Town Hall that rotates among neighborhoods; and a single named staff member at Town Hall to guide first-time business owners through opening. He also proposed a recurring evening market and a pop-up program for vacant storefronts. His campaign site offers residents one-on-one meetings in person or by Zoom.

Taxes

His campaign says he would keep a lean and efficient government that prioritizes keeping residents’ taxes low.

What This Office Does

Cutler Bay operates under a council-manager form of government. The five-member Town Council, made up of the mayor, the vice mayor and three council members elected from residential seats, sets policy, adopts the annual budget and passes ordinances, according to the town’s Town Council page. All members are elected townwide in nonpartisan elections. The council also serves as the town’s Local Planning Agency, which makes it responsible for the Comprehensive Development Master Plan and land development regulations. A professional town manager runs day-to-day operations.

The mayor is recognized as head of town government, presides over council meetings, appoints all committees and delivers an annual State of the Town address. The mayor’s annual salary is $21,880.08, according to the Town Clerk. The council meets the third Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. at Town Hall, 10720 Caribbean Blvd.

About Cutler Bay

Cutler Bay, the former Cutler Ridge area southwest of downtown Miami along Biscayne Bay, incorporated in 2005. The 2020 U.S. Census counted 45,425 residents, and Political Cortadito reported the town has almost 30,000 registered voters. The town lies within Miami-Dade County Commission District 8.

Growth is a central issue in this election. The largest project is the redevelopment of the former Southland Mall into SouthPlace City Center, which Political Cortadito reported developers describe as a roughly $1.5 billion, multi-year project with thousands of residences, retail, a hotel and public spaces. The town is also planning a new Town Hall and civic center. Flooding, traffic and the cost of living are recurring themes in candidate statements.

The Race

Four candidates qualified for mayor during the July 23 to Aug. 6 qualifying period:

Robert “B.J.” Duncan, who has held Council Seat 1 since 2018 and is term-limited in that seat.
Suzy Lord, who has held Council Seat 2 since 2020 and resigned that seat, effective Nov. 3, 2026, to run for mayor.
Ricardo De Melo Gomes, a licensed building contractor.
Clint Rodriguez, a tech and entertainment entrepreneur.

Cutler Bay’s municipal races were not on the Aug. 18 primary ballot. That primary, as the South Dade News Leader reported on Aug. 21, settled the Miami-Dade County Commission District 8 seat that includes Cutler Bay. If no mayoral candidate wins more than half the vote on Nov. 3, the top two would meet in a runoff on Dec. 1, 2026, according to the Miami-Dade Elections 2026 calendar.

Duncan’s Seat 1 is also on the Nov. 3 ballot, with Ricky Fernandez, James Richie Hawkins and Mary Ann Mixon running. Seat 3 features incumbent Richard Ramirez and Rene Gomez. Lord’s Seat 2 will be filled in a special election on Jan. 26, 2027.

How to Vote

Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Vote at your assigned precinct.
Early voting: Monday, Oct. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, according to the Town Clerk.
Vote-by-mail: The deadline to request a mail ballot is Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.
Possible runoff: Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026.

Check your registration, precinct and sample ballot through 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.

Candidate Robert “B.J.” Duncan, Cutler Bay Mayor