Pinecrest voters will head back to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 17, after no candidate in the Village Council Seat 4 race cleared the majority needed to win outright.

Challenger Jill Lerner led the three-candidate field with 48% of the vote, according to preliminary results reported by Florida Politics. Incumbent Vice Mayor Ken Fairman finished second with 32%. Ramon Gonzalez Diez took 20%.

Under Section 2.6 of the Village Charter, a candidate must receive more than 50% of total ballots cast to win in the general election, according to a Village of Pinecrest announcement. Because no one hit that mark, the top two vote-getters advance to the runoff.

The rest of the ballot produced clear winners on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Shannon del Prado was elected mayor without opposition. She will succeed Mayor Joe Corradino. Del Prado drew no challenger, so her name did not appear on the ballot, Florida Politics reported.

Ralph Sanchez, a small-business owner, won Council Seat 3 with 53.4% of the vote, defeating James Suarez, who received 46.6%. Sanchez replaces outgoing Council Member James McDonald.

What's at stake in the runoff

Seat 4 is the Village Council's at-large position, meaning the winner represents all of Pinecrest rather than one of its three residential areas.

Lerner is the daughter of former Mayor and state Rep. Cindy Lerner. During the campaign she promoted "smart spending, not higher taxes" and pledged to improve communication at government meetings, Florida Politics reported.

Fairman campaigned on continued support for parks, police and public works. He also pledged to reduce permitting problems and address the village's peafowl concerns, Florida Politics reported.

The Village noted that all results remain preliminary and unofficial until provisional ballots and cure affidavits are reviewed and the Miami-Dade County Canvassing Board certifies the official totals.

The Village's elections page confirms that a runoff, when necessary, is held on the third Tuesday of November. The candidate who receives the most votes in the runoff wins the seat.

Pinecrest voters can find polling and ballot details through the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections ahead of the Tuesday, Nov. 17 runoff.