Miami Herald’s choices for Miami-Dade Commission’s election-year make-over | Editorial
Miami-Dade will have a new mayor in November, an opportunity for fresh leadership after nearly a decade, but the power structure on the County Commission is also shifting, as seven of the 13 seats are up for grabs.
Term limits require five commissioners are required to leave office in November; of those, two are running for mayor; and three are leaving altogether. In addition, two incumbents face challengers. That alone gives Miami-Dade the most nonpartisan commission seats in play since a court ordered the creation of geographically-based commission districts in 1992 to protect minority representation.
Here are our recommendations:
DISTRICT 1
This is one of the most watched races, with two candidates vying to replace four-term Commissioner Barbara Jordan, who is term limited. The race pits attorney and Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert against anti-gun-violence advocate Sybrina Fulton, the mother of murdered teen Trayvon Martin. She is a Black Lives Matter pioneer and a former 24-year county employee.
Nationally known, Fulton is running on the need for a new face with fresh ideas to represent the often dismissed northwest district. “People want to rebuild their trust in politicians. They can trust me. I will put people first,” Fulton told the Editorial Board.
She says Miami-Dade should have had a plan in place to address an event like COVID-19, treating it much like a hurricane; that small businesses need help; and that the Miami Dolphins and the Hard Rock Stadium should offer more full-time jobs, not just part-time employment, to local residents. “I think the Dolphins are just doing the bare minimum in the community,” she said.
Gilbert is running on his record as two-term mayor of Miami Gardens, Florida’s largest majority-Black city, which is included in the district along with Opa-locka. He says he has made the Dolphins become more engaged in the community and has sent a clear message to the 270-member Miami Gardens Police Department that brutality will not be tolerated.
“Just ask the 15 officers that we have fired for misconduct while I’ve been mayor,” he stated. Gilbert says he has fought to hire more officers from the community. The department is now 50 percent Black.
Both candidates agree, rightly, that the failed promise of transportation to the county’s north corridor must be fulfilled..
Fulton’s good intentions are clear, but she’s clearly a political novice. Gilbert has a much stronger grasp of the issues and the political skills to push through solutions, which is just what the district needs.
He says the 13 county commissioners stop operating in silos, representing just their district, and take a more holistic approach to governing.
“All commissioners should view the county as one place that should work for everyone; that’s what I’ll do,” Gilbert told the Board. His view will be especially important as the county fights its way through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends OLIVER GILBERT for Miami-Dade Commission District 1.
DISTRICT 3
Voters in this district have a heartening choice of candidates who bring a wealth of talent, political experience and professional accomplishments.
Keon Hardemon, currently a Miami commissioner who resigned to run for the county seat, is among the best known. He has become a force on the commission, serving as chair and president of the League of Cities in Miami.
Tisa McGhee Ph.D., is a professor at Barry University, where she teaches social work and has worked with its Center for Human Rights and Social Justice. She sees both the challenges and their solutions in the district, which includes downtown Miami, Liberty City, Little Haiti, Wynwood, Allapattah and the villages of El Portal and Miami Shores. Those challenges stem from economic inequity and the need for more-robust economic activity, she says.
Brian Dennis is a columnist for The Miami Times and a passionate advocate for allowing ex-felons to vote.
Candidate Eddie Lewis did not respond to the Editorial Board’s invitation for an interview; and Monester Lee-Kinsler could not make the scheduled interview.
Despite the fact that Hardemon has the legislative chops to do well in the position, we are giving the sixth candidate, Gepsie Metellus, the nod. Hers is another familiar name in the district, and beyond.
Metellus has earned a chance to be an elected public servant. She has been an effective unelected public servant in Miami-Dade for more than three decades. She was an aide to commissioner and chairwoman Barbara Carey-Shuler from 1996 to 2001 and was a Miami-Dade County Schools administrator in the 1990s.
Her all-encompassing community engagement as executive director of the Saint La Haitian Neighborhood Center, has helped her develop the skills of collaboration, negotiation and compromise, plus a clarity of vision that can help her transform the district into one that works for more of its residents.
She says that the two most pressing challenges in the district are housing affordability and transportation. “We need a comprehensive countywide plan that equalizes where we build housing, that prioritizes transit development and helps boost homeownership and making repairs,” She told the Editorial Board. “There are solutions that have been tested and that should be part of a comprehensive plan.”
As for inadequate public transportation, she says that transit is “lacking in connectivity, reliability in getting people from Point A to Point B. We must invest in transporting people and complement transit with bikes and jitneys and circulators. We can reimagine the transportation infrastructure.”
And with Jean Monestime’s departure from the commission, we think that Metellus can amplify the concerns and challenges facing the Haitian-American communities that are under pressure from development.
The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends, GEPSIE METELLUS for Miami-Dade Commission District 3.
DISTRICT 5
Incumbent District 5 Commissioner Eileen Higgins is facing two challengers. It’s likely the race will go to a runoff in November to represent the ethnically and economically diverse district that includes parts of Miami Beach and Miami, including Brickell, Allapattah, Little Havana and Fisher Island.
For Higgins, it’s déjà vu, almost, when it comes to one opponent: Renier Diaz de la Portilla, a former state representative and Miami-Dade School Board member. She defeated his brother, Alex Diaz de la Portilla, during the 2018 special election. The second challenger, Miguel Soliman, is a general contractor who unsuccessfully ran for the Miami City Commission.
In her two years on the dais, Higgins has been rather low profile, but has spearheaded a handful of solid measures. In June, the commission approved her legislation to create a revolving loan fund for small businesses called RISE. In May, she led the passage of legislation to further improve transportation and mobility across Miami-Dade.
Diaz de La Portilla, an attorney, has been hitting Higgins hard for what he says is her weak representation of a district that is 73 percent Hispanic. He says that this commission seat should be held by a minority. “That’s why a court created District 5, because they felt minorities were not fairly represented on the commission,” he said.
Higgins, who speaks Spanish and gladly accepted the moniker “La Gringa” during her 2018 campaign to replace former Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, rejects the idea that she ignores poorer sections of her district, saying she spends more time there because they need more government attention. “This district chose me,” she reminded the Editorial Board, referring to her defeat of her runoff opponent in 2018, Zoraida Barreiro.
All candidates agree transportation shortcomings in the district for both low-income and affluent residents, and the lack of affordable housing, are key issues in the district, as is poverty, which will only worsen post-coronavirus pandemic.
Diaz de la Portilla believes reopening businesses is a necessity. “If our local economy continues to be frozen, this county will face horrific financial consequences,” he said. For those who remain out of work, he would advance them the unemployment assistance they will receive from the state, eventually, and also offer rent-relief programs.
Soliman has a unique plan for the traffic logjam: a 120-passenger ferry system extending from the airport to North Miami Beach. He also says the county can make up some of the deficit it will feel in next year’s budget because of the pandemic by identifying savings created by the lack of expenses in keeping public buildings open to employees and the public. “I have fresh new ideas to serve our community,” he said.
Higgins, a marketing executive, was a popular newcomer when she first ran, emphasizing her use of public transit during her two-month campaign. This time, old Miami-style political tactics are being thrown her way, like campaign literature accusing her of leftist leanings. There is also a doctored photo of her wearing a Che Guevarra-style beret. Ridiculous.
Higgins has some policy wins and should be given a chance to flourish as a commissioner.
The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends EILEEN HIGGINS for Miami-Dade Commission District 5.
DISTRICT 7
The race to replace veteran Commissioner Xavier Suarez, who is term-limited and running for mayor, is the most heated.
The candidates include Cindy Lerner, a former state representative and two-time mayor of Pinecrest; Raquel Regalado, a former School Board member and radio personality who ran unsuccessfully for county mayor; Michael Rosenberg, a well-known community activist and co-founder of the Pets’ Trust; and Rafael “Ralph” Suarez, a Miami Gardens Police captain, who has done little virtual campaigning and whose slogan is, “A public servant, not a politician.”
This race has been dominated by biting political mailers and questions of temperament, rather than issues, in this district that covers Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Kendall and South Miami.
Regalado and Lerner are the only candidates with experience in government — and they are viewed as the top candidates.
Lerner has collected the most money and cachet endorsements. One of her priorities is easing traffic gridlock along the U.S. 1 by extending Metrorail to South Miami-Dade.
“A main issue is the length of time it takes to get to work or run errands,” she said. “I will still fight for the expanded Metrorail we were promised.” Lerner is an early advocate of mitigating sea-level rise and would give priority to the county’s resiliency efforts.
But in this election, Lerner has been hit with accusations of bad temperament in exchanges with Pinecrest residents and council members when she was mayor. A YouTube compilation video circulated by opponents is damaging. Lerner’s outbursts have also been witnessed away from the Pinecrest dais.
Lerner has told the media that the clip is unfairly edited and did not provide context for the interactions.
Still, it’s disturbing to watch. They reveal a temperament that may not be suited to listening to scores of public speakers at every meeting and dealing with 12 other strong-willed commissioner colleagues.
The third candidate is Rosenberg, who is known for his battle with the county and Mayor Carlos Gimenez over the passage of the Pets’ Trust referendum in 2012, ultimately rejected by the mayor. Rosenberg, a newcomer to politics, is a passionate community activist who we believe has his finger on the pulse of the district through his work with the area’s homeowners association.
He says the county needs to take steps to help small businesses in the district struggling to survive during the pandemic. “We need to create a pool of money to help them stay open,” Rosenberg said.
Regalado is critical of how the county has handled the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the county should not be run by multiple executive orders from the mayor. “The commission should get in there and start legislating, and people need to start participating in these meetings,” she said.
We think Regalado would bring a a smart and sharp perspective to the commission, much as she did on the School Board, where she was a vocal member thinking of innovative ways to bring money and resources to the district. For example, she drew on her experience as an attorney to push the School Board to join a lawsuit against British Petroleum for damages resulting from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, winning the school district millions of dollars.
Because of her run for mayor two years ago, she is well-versed in how the county runs. If elected, Regalado will be one of the commission’s youngest members. The mother of two autistic teens, she would also be the only working mom on the commission. She says she would also become a champion for adults with disabilities.
Though she ran a sometimes-erratic campaign for county mayor in 2016, Regalado comes across as more grounded and confident as a candidate this time around.
The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends RAQUEL REGALADO for Miami-Dade Commission District 7.
DISTRICT 9
There are five community-engaged candidates running for District 9 commission seat being vacated by Dennis Moss, who is up against term limits.
The southernmost district in Miami-Dade, District 9 has its challenges — transportation, affordable housing, crime — all of which, however, present opportunities to improve residents’ quality of life.
Our choice in this race is Kionne McGhee, who is facing term limits in the Florida House, where he is the Democratic minority leader. This is what gives him the edge in this race of attractive candidates.
As commissioner, he and his colleagues would be charged with, most immediately, getting the county to the other side of the coronavirus. It will take robust teamwork, legislative know-how and state and federal political connections to make not just District 9, but also the entire county, whole, given the economic and social damage still being wrought by COVID-19.
There are four other candidates in the race:
Elvis Maldonado is a former Homestead city councilman. A network engineer and IT analyst, he says he’s always focused on solutions. He, like his challengers, put transportation at the top of the list of pressing issues for the district. He’ll push for the light rail that still hasn’t become a reality, business and job development to help reduce residents’ dreadful commute to the north, and incentives for developers to include workforce housing in their plans.
Mark Coats, a pastor, was a special assistant to Alex Penelas during his tenure as county mayor in the early 2000s. He says the maligned “bus rapid transit option” for South Dade is “fine” but that more components need to be implemented.
Johnny Farias is an elected member of the Community Council zoning board. He’s an electrician, a small-business owner, a Navy veteran — and a COVID-19 survivor. “I know firsthand the fight to put food on table,” he told the Editorial Board. Affordable housing and a higher quality life for district residents are his priorities. “We earned and deserve it, like those in Coral Gables or Miami Beach,” he said.
Marlon Hill, an attorney, is a bright light in the race, a refreshing voice, one that’s deeply rooted in community engagement and accomplishment. He’s a board member of the Miami Parking Authority and a former Miami Foundation trustee. Outside the boardroom, he has secured a grant to bring a law academy for elementary school students to divert the school-to-prison pipeline and has worked effectively on behalf of immigrants and others.
McGhee has brought a life of personal trauma and professional triumphs to his legislative career: his false arrest and beating as a youth at the hands of rogue police officers, his finding the will to make it through school, then law school and on to the position of assistant state attorney in Miami-Dade; the loss of a beloved uncle shot to death last year.
He rightly links the lack of effective public transportation in the district to leaving residents trapped in poverty, unable to easily access better jobs elsewhere in the county and children unexposed to life possibilities beyond their immediate neighborhoods. He has taken on gun violence and crime, urging residents to take a public stand against it as partners. In the Florida House, he pushed for police body cameras and implicit-bias training.
We think McGhee’s personal and professional backgrounds would continue to inform his actions as a commissioner.
The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends KIONNE McGHEE for the Miami-Dade Commission, District 9.
DISTRICT 11
Two candidates are challenging incumbent Miami-Dade Commissioner Joe A. Martinez: former state representative Robert Asencio and lawyer Cristhian Mancera Mejia. The district includes West Kendall, Kendale Lakes, Lakes of the Meadows, Country Walk unincorporated areas of west and southwest Miami-Dade.
Asencio and Mancera were interviewed by the Editorial Board, but Martinez, as in elections past, did not respond to our invitation. First elected in 2000, Martinez, has held the seat for a total of 16 years. He stepped aside to run for mayor, then regained the seat.
Both Asencio and Mancera say the county has mishandled the local COVID-19 pandemic and the reopening. Mancera says the county was slow to act. While he supports strict guidelines for businesses, the use of masks and physical distancing, Mancera does not favor Mayor Gimenez’s recent executive order and says, “Closing is not an option.”
Speaking of the surge in coronavirus cases in Miami-Dade and statewide, Asencio says, “It’s the actions that were taken quickly to open up without clear-cut guidance of safety protocols that, I believe, have led us to this.”
In an email to the Herald, Commissioner Martinez has said the county has been unfair to local restaurants as it phases in reopening.
“Restaurants are being penalized for what some people are doing when in fact they are following the rules,” he wrote.
The commissioner also emphasized citizen responsibility.
“Ultimately in this type of situation, the burden falls on the people. They have to realize that it is up to them, not only to the government, to slow the spread,” Martinez said.
Martinez told the Herald that the priority of the County Commission’s COVID-19 response should be to slow the spread of the virus and ensure hospitals are not overwhelmed.
Asencio, who retired from the Miami-Dade Schools Police Department as a captain, served as a Democratic state representative for one term, losing his seat in a 2018 in a tight race against Republican Anthony Rodriguez.
For his experience in the Legislature and desire to be a more vocal advocate for the district, the Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends ROBERT ASENCIO for the Miami-Dade County Commission District 11.
DISTRICT 13
A long-time state legislator and a political novice are facing off for the District 13 seat vacated by Commissioner Esteban “Steve” Bovo, who is term limited and running for county mayor.
Rene Garcia, who entered politics in 1997 and served in both the state House and Senate before bumping up against term limits, is facing Adrian Jesús Jiménez, an insurance case analyst who is running for office for the first time.
The candidates are leading very different campaigns. Where Garcia has collected $280,000 and is a known political entity, Jimenez has $750 in his coffers, according to election records.
Jimenez says his campaign is grassroots. He said friends encouraged him to run because of his activism. “The community wants someone who is going to fight for them,“ he said. “That’s me.”
The candidates agree that mine blasting, Palmetto Expressway traffic and attracting more business are main issues in the district, which encompasses Hialeah and Miami Lakes.
Blasting by Hialeah-based White Rock Quarries has plagued neighborhoods in the district for years and have damaged homes without compensating their owners.
Jimenez says he would push for a tax on quarries and allocate the funds for repairs from blasting damage. Garcia, while in the Legislature representing the area, helped sponsor legislation to give affected homeowners more of a say in their dispute with the quarries.
Garcia, who works in the healthcare industry, was successful in working across the aisle in the Legislature and would likely have a collaborative relationship with others on the commission. n 2014, he was among the few Republicans legislators who favored the state use of federal Medicaid expansion dollars to buy private insurance policies for poor Floridians — and unsuccessfully tried to sponsor a bill both sides could agree on. While unsuccessful, Garcia showed courage in rejecting the entrenched party line to do the right thing for Floridians.
The Herald Editorial Board recommends RENE GARCIA for Miami-Dade County Commission District 13.
This story was originally published August 2, 2020 at 6:00 AM.