Miami-Dade Democrats censure Beach commissioner for COVID tweets, ‘classist’ comments
The Miami-Dade Democratic Party has formally condemned Miami Beach Commissioner Ricky Arriola for his controversial social media posts and “unbecoming” exchanges with critics online.
The local party’s executive committee — one member of which called Arriola a “scumbag” — voted Tuesday on a resolution censuring Arriola and calling for his resignation. The elected commissioner is a registered Democrat, though his municipal role is nonpartisan.
Arriola, who has feuded with party leaders for months, released a statement to the Miami Herald Wednesday blasting the vote and advising the local party to focus on getting Democrats elected to office after the Miami-Dade Republicans won upset victories in two blue-leaning congressional districts in November.
“This is like being censured by a knitting club,” he said. “This organization only knows how to lose elections, as evidenced by their results this past November. No elected official takes them seriously.”
The resolution, which passed 61-1 at a meeting Tuesday night, accuses Arriola of sharing “misinformation” about COVID-19, including sharing an opinion article in August that called for the jailing of White House adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci, and snapping at critics online.
It also references “classist” comments Arriola made to South Florida NPR station WLRN about the type of “clientele” that is attracted to the beleaguered South Beach entertainment district. Committee Chairman Steve Simeonidis told the Miami Herald that the comments were “a clear racist dog whistle.”
William Byatt, the executive committee member who sponsored the resolution, called Arriola a “scumbag” at the public meeting.
“He’s registered as a Democrat. He has claimed affiliation with the Democratic Party in the past,” Byatt said. “But for the past year, his public persona has been absolutely the opposite of everything that we stand for.”
The public stance against an elected member of the party is unusual, but not unheard of for Miami-Dade Democrats. Last year, the local party voted to censure State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle, calling on her to suspend her reelection campaign over her handling of police cases.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 11:08 AM.
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