Voters make big changes at
EmeraldBay condo in wake of legal troubles
Article Courtesy of Key Biscayne Independent
By Tony Winton
Published June 12, 2023
In a strong rebuke
amid mounting legal issues, EmeraldBay condominium owners
voted building President Louisa Conway out of office Tuesday
night. Also defeated was Antonio Camejo, a fellow director
and the association’s treasurer.
Both Conway and Camejo
have high public profiles on Key Biscayne, where they have
been known for their involvement in politics far outside the
confines of the EmeraldBay building and the Key Colony condo
complex, the island’s largest.
Of nine candidates
running for seven seats, Conway and Camejo finished dead
last, but it’s not clear who the new officers will be or
when the organizational meeting, normally held after the
ballots are tallied, will take place.The change in direction
comes as the condominium association is handling the fallout
from a pending criminal investigation by Key Biscayne
Police, who remain tight-lipped about what investigators
described as a “misappropriation of funds.”
The Association of 285 units is fending off two lawsuits.
One was filed by a concrete restoration company that says
it’s owed $250,000. The other is from the Key Colony
Homeowners’ Association, which says EmeraldBay hasn’t been
paying its share of bills for common areas like the beach,
tennis courts, and front entrance gate to Crandon Boulevard.
EmeraldBay has denied the allegations of that case; it has
yet to respond to the concrete contractor lawsuit.
Louisa Conway, a condominium leader, speaks at a Key
Biscayne Village Council meeting, July 2, 2019. Conway was defeated
in her bid for reelection at the EmeraldBay condominium
Here are the results as provided by a
unit owner to the Key Biscayne Independent:
Bonnie Sekeres
√
88
Carlos Genatios
√
83
Ernesto Echeverey
√
79
Arnold Munoz
√
72
Jorge Cavelier
√
68
Marco Antonio
Gambirazio
√
64
Eva-Marie Kiene
√
64
Louisa Conway
36
Antonio Camejo
34
Conway and Camejo Both were leaders in
the Key Biscayne Condominium Presidents’ Council, which has
taken positions on hot-button political issues. Conway
herself ran unsuccessfully for Village Council in 2020, and
formed a political action committee in the last election.