Matti Herrera Bower

Who is Matti Herrera Bower?

Matti Herrera Bower is a Cuban-born American politician and retired dental assistant. Bower has been elected to three two-year terms as the Mayor of Miami Beach, Florida, beginning in 2007. Most recently, because of a loophole in the term limits rule, Bower was able to run for an open commission seat, but lost by a considerably large margin in the run-off race against retired banker, Joy Malakoff .Bower won re-election to her third and final term as mayor on November 1, 2011. She is the first woman, as well as the first Hispanic, to serve as Mayor of Miami Beach. She is a Democrat, though Miami Beach elections are nonpartisan.

Bower was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States. She attended Miami Technical High School and became a dental assistant. Bower also spent decades as a local activist and preservationist, including advocacy for the successful preservation of the Miami Beach Architectural District.

Bower served as a Miami Beach city commissioner from 1999 to 2007 before being elected mayor of the South Florida city in 2007. She won re-election to a second term in 2009.