Miami’s Congressional District 27 needs real environmental leadership
As someone who grew up in Miami and ran the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, I’m deeply concerned about the nightmare — red tide — Floridians are currently experiencing.
Florida’s coast is a contaminated and murky mess that has made one thing clear: this state needs elected leaders who will prioritize people and our environment over polluters.
And, with the midterm elections less than two weeks away, now is the chance to elect leaders we trust will fight for Florida’s environment and will protect Florida’s way of life. This is precisely why I support Donna Shalala for Congress over Republican Maria Elvira Salazar, who claims to care about Florida’s environment, but gives us little reason to trust she would actually do so.
In a recent ad, Salazar claims to be committed to protecting our environment, but she neglects to mention that she’s being supported by FreedomWorks, a PAC associated with the Koch brothers, who are notorious supporters of the fossil fuel industry.
While Salazar says one thing to Floridians, those backing her campaign send a different and very contradictory message. Can we really afford to vote her into office when we need leaders we can truly trust to put public health and environmental protection ahead of corporate polluter interests?
Red tide has ruined the summer for many fishermen all over Florida. Beautiful beaches have been ravaged, with horrible stenches and brown water that make them nearly impossible to enjoy.
The recent red tide has been persistent and deadly to sea life and is fueled by rising air and ocean temperatures and carbon dioxide levels, in addition to excess nutrient pollution runoff.
Due to the massive increase in climate-related disasters — both in the prevalence of the red tide and other toxic algal blooms, and the intensity of hurricanes — we have to have faith that those representing us in Congress are not in the pocket of special interests that have routinely failed to take responsibility for the damage their pollution is causing.
This crisis is dire, but we can tackle it with the right policymakers in place. In Florida’s 27th District, this means choosing Shalala for the U.S. House of Representatives. Not only has Shalala demonstrated a true commitment to the environment by making it a top priority in her campaign, but her track record — particularly as secretary of Health and Human Services — has also shown that this district would be sending one of Miami-Dade’s best to Washington.
As a former EPA administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, I witnessed Shalala’s commitment to public health and the environment first hand as we led the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. She also oversaw the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which is charged with promoting healthier lives by studying how the environment affects people.
For a long time, Shalala has also worked to strengthen and expedite the restoration of the Florida Everglades to ensure that all our families have a gorgeous national park to enjoy. As you can tell, Shalala has a long record of doing what is right for our health and our environment.
The choice is clear. While Salazar claims to care about the environment, she has aligned herself with the Koch Brothers and polluter interests.
Meanwhile, Shalala has been on the front lines working to protect our children and has demonstrated through her work, leadership, and campaign that she will fight tirelessly to protect our air, water, and our health.
Let’s all make sure that Miami-Dade sends someone to Congress who will truly fight for better public health and environmental protections for Florida and for the country: vote Donna Shalala.
Carol Browne, who grew up in Miami, is a former Environmental Protection Agency administrator from 1993-2001