South Miami memorializes late Vice Mayor Welsh, sets special election for his seat

South Miami will hold a special election in April to fill a vacancy left by Vice Mayor Robert “Bicycle Bob” Welsh, who died last week at age 67.

Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to set a special election for Tuesday, April 20.

Candidates seeking Welsh’s Group Three seat will have to submit their paperwork during the qualifying period, which the commission agreed would begin March 8 and end March 12. The term ends in November 2024.

Welsh died last Tuesday after complications related to skin cancer, leaving behind a legacy in the South Miami community. He was first elected to the commission in 2012, where he championed environmental issues and economic efficiency.

South Miami Vice Mayor, tree lover and activist ‘Bicycle Bob’ Welsh dies at 67

Welsh most recently ran unopposed for his second four-year term in November 2020. Outside of his official titles, he was known in the city for his neighborly disposition and dedication to his tree-planting effort, which populated the city with more than 2,000 trees, including oaks, Dade County Pines and mango trees. According to his wife, Marilyn Magill, Welsh planted five or six trees every day, all grown and personally hauled in from his five-acre plot in Wauchula.

In memory of the former vice mayor, the commission also voted Tuesday on a series of resolutions to memorialize Welsh throughout the city. They voted unanimously to rename the city’s existing tree trust fund, a section of Southwest 64th Court where Welsh lived and Ludlam Glades Park.

There was some bickering over the wording, but commissioners eventually agreed on the “Bob Welsh Tree Trust Fund,” “Bicycle Bob Welsh Court” and “Vice Mayor Robert C. Welsh Park.”

The commission also voted to memorialize a bench and plant a new tree at the park at Southwest 42nd Terrace and 62nd Court, a green space Welsh played an instrumental role in transforming in 2017.

During the meeting, members of the commission, staff and residents shared personal memories of Welsh.

City Attorney Thomas Pepe shared a memory of Welsh planting a tree in his front lawn, which he said will serve as his own personal memorial.

“Vice Mayor Welsh was not only my boss, but a good friend who I knew for many years, even before he was elected,” Pepe said. “He will be sorely missed by me and my family. I don’t know how we are going to work without him.”

In-person voting for the special election will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, at the City Commission Chamber in South Miami.

The city of South Miami will host a memorial for Welsh at the park at 7435 SW 66th Ave. Wednesday at 4 p.m.