Herald recommends: Democratic incumbent in Congressional District 24 has a long, solid record | Editorial

All four congressional representatives from Greater Miami are facing primary challengers. Here is our recommendation in this newly redrawn coastal district.

Congressional District 24

Democratic primary

Long-time U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson has drawn three challengers, all of whom seem earnest about elected public service — but none of whom is ready for the the job they seek.

Kevin Harris, a Miami-Dade police dispatcher, has jumped into the Democratic primary against Wilson. There also is a Republican primary in which Lavern Spicer, who runs a nonprofit in Liberty City, faces Jesus Navarro, who works for a firm that provides mobility options for disabled residents.

Harris has been paying attention to what’s happening in Congress and has a decent grasp of district problems and the impact of national issues on local residents.

Climate change is a good example — especially now that much of the redrawn district runs north-south from South Broward to downtown Miami along the coast. “We have to fight back against sea level rise. . . . And we’ve seen, if we have just a rainy weekend, how bad it can flood,” Harris told the Editorial Board. “Even in my neighborhood in Miami Gardens.” Harris applauds the upgrade of storm drains in his area, which frequently floods.

Harris also would push for comprehensive voting-rights legislation “that will address the gerrymandering and elimination of Black districts” and for interest-free student loans. “I just want to make sure that we don’t send a whole other generation into this kind of debt.”

Wilson has a long record of making things happen for the district — and beyond — even though, she says, she has been in the minority party in the House for much of her tenure there. Years ago, she founded the bipartisan Congressional Florida Ports Caucus, which advocates for these major economic engines for the state. She also has fought for sensible gun control. Firearm violence has taken a tragic toll in her district and elsewhere in Greater Miami.

Most recently, she told that Editorial Board that she counts among her accomplishments establishing the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, based, wisely, in the U.S. Department of Justice. ”No one has ever had the courage to say ‘Black men and boys’ … and this was passed under [President] Trump,” she told the Board.

She also touts her role in the transportation and infrastructure bill. “As a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I was one of only five people who was allowed to sign the bill.” She is especially pleased that the bill comes “at a time when we are fighting climate change. It’s going to help our states, our cities our counties in so many ways. In fact, billions of dollars are rolling into Miami Dade County, as we speak.,” she told the Board.

Wilson said that she and colleagues have a bill in the works to bring Americans relief from onerous student debt. And to those who are as appalled as she is about the erosion of rights for LGBTQ+ Americans and of abortion rights, she advises, “Vote. Vote for the people who you think stand with you, who represent your values.”

We believe that Wilson has amply demonstrated her commitment and leadership skills. The Herald recommends FREDERICA WILSON in the Democratic primary for Congressional District 24.

This story was originally published August 7, 2022 at 10:11 AM.