‘Fight, Freddy, fight.’ Facing friend in primary, Rep. Wilson kicks off reelection bid
Wearing her trademark fashion statement, a hot pink cowboy hat bedazzled from brim to brim, South Florida U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson recalled an old moniker she remembers getting from her time as a school board member: “Fight, Freddy, fight.”
“Over the course of my career, I’ve worn many hats: I’ve been a principal, a Miami-Dade school board member, a state senator, a state representative and now I’m your congresswoman. So no matter what hat I’m wearing, my attitude has been the same: Fight, Freddy, fight,” Wilson said.
Facing a familiar face as her primary challenger in a newly redrawn district, Wilson launched her campaign for reelection on Tuesday evening for a sixth term in Congress.
Wilson, 79, kicked off her reelection campaign on Tuesday at Briza on the Bay restaurant at the DoubleTree Hotel downtown, standing alongside a slew of local politicians and other supporters, including Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, Miami Commissioner Ken Russell and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Eileen Higgins.
The boundaries of Wilson’s district, Florida’s Congressional District 24, were altered by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Legislature earlier this year through the contentious once-in-a-decade redistricting process. CD-24 now includes all of Miami Beach, a majority white Hispanic area, and loses Hollywood and some parts of Miami. While this Black-majority district could still perform well for Black candidates, the changes dilute the district’s percentage of Black residents.
“I have acquired a Russian community, Jewish constituents and Hispanic constituents, Colombians and Cubans,” Wilson told the Herald. “I don’t think there’s a district in the United States that is as diverse as my district, so I’m very proud to represent this very, very unique and wonderful group of people that I’m asking to support me in this election.”
In Congress, Wilson, a Democrat, serves on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce — she chairs the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment — and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. She’s also the secretary of the Congressional Black Caucus, on which she’s served since she was first elected to Congress in 2011.
Wilson, a former school principal and Miami-Dade School Board member, said that while she is representing new voters, the newly added parts of her district are not unfamiliar to her. From her time as a school board member and tenure in the state House and Senate, she said she’s confident in her support from former local and state colleagues.
“These are friends, these are people that I know and that I’ve worked with on projects to make this city and this county and this state a better place,” she said.
A challenge from a friend
It is one of those friends, former Miami-Dade County Commission Chairwoman Audrey Edmonson, who’s launched her own run against Wilson. At her campaign announcement, Edmonson, 69, stressed that she takes “no pleasure in challenging her [Wilson], as we agree on most issues.” She slammed Wilson over her decision to vote by proxy hundreds of times, an option that was created for members of Congress during the height of the pandemic. A tally by the pro-Republican Ripon Society lists Wilson as the top user of proxy votes in 2021, exercising that option 438 times last year.
“I didn’t break the law, I didn’t break the rules. There were many people voting by proxy. And I represented the epicenter of COVID in South Florida,” Wilson said, alluding to the fact that she was present in her district to advocate for constituents.
As an example, she alluded to a symbolic cemetery she created in Liberty City in November 2020 along with local lawmakers.
“And you know who helped me build that? Audrey Edmonson,” Wilson said.
According to federal election finance records, Wilson is leading her race in funding, with almost $540,000 on hand through the end of March. Her main primary opponent, Edmonson, has raised about $3,000 since announcing in late March. Kevin Harris, a Democrat, has about $2,300. Republican candidate Lavern Spicer has about $2,500.
During her time in Congress, Wilson said she’s advocated to expand access to affordable healthcare, pushed for temporary relief from deportation for Haitians and worked on developing gun violence intervention programs with young men, work that she hopes to continue if she’s reelected.
“I know what happens when you pour your energy and your love into young children. Your criminal justice impact is lessened. So that’s what I mean when I say criminal justice — not necessarily the police,” Wilson said. “The police are mentors in this program.”
In 2021, Wilson was one of 10 Black lawmakers to meet with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to stress the importance of passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which would have banned the use of choke holds and entering suspects’ homes without knocking, and removed some legal protections for police officers. Bipartisan talks to pass the bill in the Senate fell apart late last year.
Wilson also defended her signature cowboy hats, which she said were far from the first thing she accomplished when first getting to Congress, a charge Edmonson made when she kicked off her campaign.
“What I did has made me the most recognizable member of Congress in the city,” Wilson countered.
This story was originally published May 24, 2022 at 7:12 PM.
