Herald recommends: In Miami-Dade County Commission District 6, experience is key | Editorial
.png "In the 2022 run-off election for the District 6 seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission, Coral Gables Commissioner Jorge Fors Jr., is squaring off against lobbyist Kevin Marino Cabrera to replace term-limited Commissioner Rebeca Sosa.")
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Editorial Board November 2022 Election Recommendations
In advance of local and state elections, the Editorial Board interviews political candidates to better understand their views on various issues and how their policies will affect their constituents. The goal is to give voters a better idea of who’s the best candidate for each race. Read our November 2022 recommendations below:
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In the run-off election for the District 6 seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission, Coral Gables Commissioner Jorge Fors Jr., is squaring off against lobbyist Kevin Marino Cabrera to replace term-limited Commissioner Rebeca Sosa.
Neither candidate won more than 50% of the vote in the Aug. 23 primary, which is required to win the seat outright. Marino Cabrera took about 43% of the vote, while Fors had 23%. Two other candidates were eliminated in the primary.
The Editorial Board recommended Fors in the primary. We also recommend him in the general election on Nov. 8.
The district includes West Miami and suburban areas down to South Miami, as well as both Miami International Airport and the Melreese golf course, part of a parcel where a new soccer stadium is set to be built.
This is a nonpartisan seat, but both candidates are Republicans.
Fors, an attorney, has the support of Sosa, who has held the seat for more than two decades. For voters in District 6, that should weigh heavily.
Marino Cabrera, a former and political operative, has the ex-president’s recommendation. And if that weren’t enough, there’s another reason to take a pass on Marino Cabrera: his presence at a 2018 Miami GOP protest attended by Proud Boys. The Proud Boys are considered an extremist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and by this Board. Members of the group have been convicted in the Jan. 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, from Miami, is set to go to trial on seditious conspiracy charges in December.
The 2018 protest was ugly. The crowd hurled epithets at then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and pounded on the door of then-Congresswoman Donna Shalala’s office. There’s an unsettling photo of Cabrera banging on a door.
Republicans denounced the actions at the protest. Even Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tweeted: “You are not helping the cause of anti-communism if you behave like the repudiation mobs Castro has long used in Cuba.”
Marino Cabrera initially deflected the Editorial Board’s straightforward question of whether he attended the protest at all. He finally acknowledged it, saying: “Sure.” Asked if he disavowed the group entirely, he ultimately said he did, along with any group that espouses hate or discriminates.
Marino Cabrera has served on the Miami-Dade Community Council. He has been working for the global public relations firm Mercury, and is married to Republican state Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera. The Editorial Board recommended her in 2020 and again this year.
Fors, though — who works at a family law firm with his father — has the kind of local political experience that will make him the more effective county commissioner. He has served on the Coral Gables Commission since his election in 2019, after a run-off that came down to 173 votes.
He has had issues, but they are fairly run-of-the-mill: For about five years, he claimed a homestead exemption on a condo that he bought when he was 22 but no longer lived in. He said it was an error made in youthful ignorance. He did not claim an exemption elsewhere. He said he paid back taxes, interest and penalties for a total of between $12,000 and $13,000.
He recently filed suit against Marino Cabrera for allegedly creating, publishing and disseminating “defamatory hit pieces” and doctored images in a “civil conspiracy” to defame him ahead of the November election.
Fors is knowledgeable about important local topics that will come before the commission. On the issue of an elected Miami-Dade sheriff starting in 2024 — which has raised questions of shifting police resources to the new office — he said he favors a “narrow interpretation” of the law. Regarding expanding the Urban Development Boundary, Fors said any proposal to build beyond that line should be fully examined. Expanding the UDB might become necessary in 10 or 15 years but, “It’s not something that should be done lightly,” Fors told the Editorial Board.
In the runoff for District 6, Fors has the most relevant experience to do the best job for voters.
The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends JORGE FORS for Miami-Dade Commission District 6.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWho decides the political endorsements?
In advance of local and state elections, Miami Herald Editorial Board members interview political candidates, as well as advocates and opponents of ballot measures. The Editorial Board is composed of experienced opinion journalists and is independent of the Herald’s newsroom. Members of the Miami Herald Editorial Board are: Amy Driscoll, editorial page editor; and editorial writers Isadora Rangel and Mary Anna Mancuso. Read more by clicking the arrow in the upper right.
What does the endorsement process look like?
The Miami Herald Editorial Board interviews political candidates to better understand their views on public policy and how their policies will affect their constituents. Board members do additional reporting and research to learn as much as possible about the candidates before making an endorsement. The Editorial Board then convenes to discuss the candidates in each race. Board members seek to reach a consensus on the endorsements, but not every decision is unanimous. Candidates who decline to be interviewed will not receive an endorsement.
Is the Editorial Board partisan?
No. In making endorsements, members of the Editorial Board consider which candidates are better prepared to represent their constituents — not whether they agree with our editorial stances or belong to a particular political party. We evaluate candidates’ relevant experience, readiness for office, depth of knowledge of key issues and understanding of public policy. We’re seeking candidates who are thoughtful and who offer more than just party-line talking points.
This story was originally published October 13, 2022 at 9:21 AM.
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