Herald recommends: In District 24 Republican primary race, neither candidate ready for Congress | Editorial

All four congressional representatives from Greater Miami are facing primary challengers. In District 24, two Republicans seek the chance to go up against Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson. Here is our recommendation.

District 24

Republican primary

In the Republican primary for District 24, candidate Jesus Navarro, who works for a firm that provides mobility options for disabled residents, has scant qualifications for federal lawmaker. He has a degree in political science from Nova Southeastern University. But beyond that, “I have no experience in public service,” he told the Editorial Board.

He also appears to have scant knowledge of the district, beyond poverty in Opa-locka, which he repeatedly invoked. Rather, he is more concerned with the national political landscape, telling the Board that he doesn’t support gun control or abortion. “I ran for Congress just because I’m very in tune, very connected with everything that’s going on…”

Lavern Spicer, who runs a nonprofit in Liberty City, also is in this race. She is able to speak more directly to some of the district’s challenges. “I would like to sponsor for my district a bill to help support small businesses, because most of them suffered during COVID-19,” Spicer told the Board. “When the businesses were shut down, the rent still was due.” She also laments the bureaucratic hurdles that small business owners have to clear to get help from the Small Business Administration.

Both Navarro and Spicer should broaden their civic engagement locally before seeking elected office. Because she seems slightly more plugged in to district issues, the Herald recommends LAVERN SPICER in the Republican primary for Congressional District 24.

This story was originally published August 7, 2022 at 10:39 AM.