ChamberSOUTH will host a second Meet the Candidates forum on Friday, Sept. 18, for Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay voters. The event gives residents another chance to hear from candidates before the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election.

The Sept. 18 forum runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A venue has not been publicly announced. ChamberSOUTH can be reached at (305) 661-1621 or [email protected] for registration details.

The chamber held its first candidate breakfast on Thursday, Aug. 27, at CasaCuba in South Miami. That event cost $25 per person and featured candidates running in South Miami, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay. Shannon Del Prado, mayor-elect of the Village of Pinecrest, moderated the forum, according to ChamberSOUTH's Facebook page.

The stakes are high locally. Both Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay face open mayoral races this fall.

In Palmetto Bay, three candidates qualified for mayor: David Singer, Tamara Mourino and Karen Baez-Wallis. Seats 1 and 3 on the village council are also on the ballot, according to the Village of Palmetto Bay elections page.

In Cutler Bay, incumbent Mayor Tim Meerbott is termed out. Four candidates are running to replace him: Ricardo De Melo Gomes, council member Robert "B.J." Duncan, Suzy Lord and Clint Rodriguez, according to the Town of Cutler Bay clerk's office. Council Seats 1 and 3 are also contested.

Lord, a 47-year Cutler Bay resident and current council member, told the South Dade News Leader in an Aug. 14 candidate profile, "… My roots here run deep. I was raised in this community, and I raised my sons here."

The Nov. 3 general election is open to all registered voters regardless of party, according to the Village of Palmetto Bay. Voter registration closes Monday, Oct. 5.

Early voting runs from Saturday, Oct. 24, through Saturday, Oct. 31. The vote-by-mail request deadline is Thursday, Oct. 22, at 5 p.m.