There are eight referendum questions on the Miami Beach ballot, including two that are carefully camouflaged giveaways to rich millionaire developer friends of Mayor Dan Gelber.

Even former Mayor Philip Levine — who was caught in a secret meeting with Gelber and developers trying to form a political action committee to turn South Beach into another Brickell — could get a piece of the action.

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The first mailer for a city of Miami Beach commission candidate of the five running to replace the late Mark Samuelian reached voters homes Friday. And already there may be some confusion.

That’s because the name of the political action committee that paid for the folded, four-pager is Miami Beach Residents United, which is very similar to the name of a residents’ group that serves as a watchdog of the commission.

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There are five people who qualified by the deadline Thursday to run for Miami Beach city commission and fill the vacancy left by the unexpected June death of Commissioner Mark Samuelian. They are:

Sabrina Cohen, a C5 quadriplegic as the result of a teenage car accident who has since become an activist. She founded the Sabrina Cohen Foundation, which is dedicated to developing adaptive fitness and recreational programs that provide a better quality of life for individuals living with paralysis and various disabilities. Thanks to her, many wheelchair-bound people have enjoyed the beach.Stephen Cohen, a realtor and real estate investor who has been a civic activist for years, involved in beach clean-ups and food drives. He is a perennial candidate, running several times and losing last year to Commissioner Alex Fernandez.Laura Dominguez, Samuellian’s life partner for the past 10 years, who was by his side for his political campaigns and community events. She is up on all the issues and is favored by several commissioners. She works in digital marketing.Isaiah Mosley, a senior environmental scientist at Aecom, an infrastructure consulting firm, worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection from 2008 to 2010. He is a community volunteer. He ran for commission in 2015 for a seat ultimately won by Commissioner Kristen Rosen-Gonzalez.Mitch Novick, part owner of the Sherbrooke Hotel and regular speaker at city commission meetings. Novick has been involved in Beach politics for at least a decade. He’s chronicled the crowd control issues in South Beach for years and is a big fan of the 2 a.m. last call.

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Last week, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber and Commissioners Ricky Arriola and David Richardson came to their senses (read: were shamed into it) and switched sides, voting to actually have a special election within the November ballot to fill the vacancy left by the sudden death of late Commissioner Mark Samuelian, instead of appointing a lackey.

This week, we already have three well-known hopefuls who want to take Samuelian’s place.

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Voters in Miami Beach will have to wait until November to vote for a person in the special election to fill the vacancy left by the sudden death of late Commissioner Mark Samuelian. And the really good questions, like what to do with the historic Deauville Hotel (more on that later) will be taken to voters in November.

But there are six referendums on the August primary ballot in Miami Beach to swap land for a new community health center, change residency requirements, make it harder for developers to increase density and easier for owners of apartment hotels to convert to 100% long-term residential.

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Old names resurface as possible fill-ins for the late Mark Samuelian

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