Trouble in paradise has taken on a whole new meaning for Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner, who now finds himself at the center of a federal probe over allegations of sexual harassment during his tenure at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Daily Beast reports that the investigation was sparked by claims of Meiner's unwanted sexual advances toward three women, which includes propositions for affairs and an attempted kiss with a college-age intern.
It was just days before Meiner's victory in the November mayoral race that Axios Miami highlighted allegations made by former female SEC employees, including one who alleged Meiner suggested getting a "second apartment to carry on an affair" with another telling of how the mayor attempted to kiss her while she was an intern; these claims resulted in an internal review back in 2016.
Despite the seriousness of the allegations, Meiner has continually denied the accusations against him. He even went as far as attributing the claims to bias, citing that they were “likely motivated by anti-Israel and antisemitic views,” a defense he made to The Daily Beast, because he is Jewish. Yet, in the eyes of the SEC's national human resources department from Washington, D.C., such allegations warrant enough concern to prompt interviews with those who worked alongside Meiner in the agency's regional Miami office.
The image Meiner portrayed during his mayoral campaign, one of staunch ethics and a firm stance against crime, is now overshadowed by the shadows of past behaviors that have, according to Axios Miami, been the whisper among both current and former employees for years, with texts and comments deemed inappropriate adding to already heavy concerns about Meiner's conduct toward women with whom he worked while at the SEC. The cloud hanging over Mayor Meiner grows darker yet as the SEC probe continues, casting doubt on when exactly the truth will be laid bare, and the outcome of this inquiry finally made clear to the public.
