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Where the party never ends:
Yalie runs for Miami Beach mayor

When Steve Berke ’03 ran for mayor of Miami Beach under the banner of the After Party, his platform revolved—somewhat hazily—around casino gambling and legalizing marijuana. A comedian and former tennis champion, he surrounded himself with bikini-clad models and released a music video called "Pot Shop," parodying Macklemore's "Thrift Shop." 

But that's so two years ago.

This time around, Berke's campaign is serious, more or less. "I've matured as a candidate," he declares. His new slogan is "2020 Vision: a clear and focused six-year plan" to make the Florida beach community "a truly world-class city."

While the plan still includes decriminalizing marijuana so that police can concentrate on serious crime, the centerpiece of his campaign is a SkyLink gondola across Biscayne Bay, connecting Miami Beach to the mainland.

“It will be an iconic tourist bucket-list item, up there with the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye,” Berke tells the Miami Herald. He says Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson—whom Berke knows from his post-Yale days as a reality show entrepreneur on The Rebel Billionaire—is interested in buying the naming rights.

Worried that Berke has gone boring and mainstream? Fear not. He's got a video crew following every campaign move in hopes of turning it into an MTV2 show. And a couple of weeks ago, a mayoral debate "devolved into allegations of racism and a shouting match full of Spanish expletives," after which Berke accused an opponent on Twitter of stealing his video.

The nonpartisan election is November 5.

Filed under Steve Berke, Miami Beach
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