Mr. Dan Grech
WLRN Miami Herald News Director
Dear Mr. Grech,
I am a law professor at the University of Miami. I am writing to express my concern about something I heard on WLRN this morning during the Miami Herald News segment. The segment concerned the discussion held yesterday in the Miami Herald editorial offices between competing candidates for Congress in FL-22. (I was in my car, but I believe it ran shortly after 7:30am. I can't find it online.)
In the discussion of the candidates' differences over immigration, Allen West's position was described as “hardline”; his position was that babies born in the US should not have citizenship. Whatever the merits of this idea as social policy (the so-called 'anchor babies' to which he referred have been shown to be pretty much mythical) it does listeners, most of whom are not professors of constitutional law, a great disservice to call this a “hardline” position. It is not a matter of policy that could be changed by Congress or the Executive. It is, quite simply, part of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
Either the candidate is proposing that we ignore the Constitution as it has been understood for generations, or he is proposing that we repeal the 14th Amendment. Proposals to violate the law, or to amend basic rules that have served us for generations, may be called many things — I'd call them “radical” — but they cannot fairly be called “hardline” without substantially more context than your report offered.
We might call differences on how aggressively to attempt to enforce immigration laws — e.g. what resources to devote to factory or farm-worker raids — as an issue to which the “spend more on enforcement” position is fairly abbreviated as “hardline”. But the “ignore the Constitution” or the “repeal the 14th Amendment” positions are something else entirely, something I hope your future reports — even the very short ones — will make more clear.
Yours Sincerely,
A. Michael Froomkin
Laurie Silvers & Mitchell Rubenstein Distinguished Professor of Law
Every political candidate knows not to upset cat-lovers. Now we get a chance to find out how powerful dog-lovers are. It seems that GOP Attorney General candidate Pam Bondi, recent recipient of the coveted Sarah Palin primary endorsement, has a dog problem:
As Bondi runs for attorney general, bitterness over dog lingers:
… Bondi may be best known for a custody battle over a St. Bernard.
Her 16-month fight with the Louisiana family that lost the dog after Hurricane Katrina played out on CNN, Fox News and the pages of People magazine. Then a Hillsborough prosecutor, she accused the family of neglecting the dog. Steve and Dorreen Couture and their two grandchildren wanted their dog back and resented Bondi for keeping him.
Ultimately, the Coutures had to file a lawsuit to get their dog back, and the case settled only just before it went to trial. The terms of the deal were confidential, but Bondi agreed to give the St. Bernard back to the Coutures, and supposedly offered to provide the dog with food and medication for life. Plus she was said to have promised to visit the dog occasionally. The Coutures said they would keep in touch with Bondi and send her dog photos.
But three years later, the Coutures have little good to say about their former foe. Moreover, they say, she never kept her promise.
“She was going to take care of him for the rest of his life and supply him with food and medicine,” Dorreen Couture said recently from her rebuilt home in New Orleans. “She did for the first few months. After that, she was supposed to have her first visitation that September and she canceled.”
Contact dwindled after that, Couture said. And the Coutures didn't reach out to Bondi, either.
“Why should I?” Couture said. “She stole my dog.”
This is the sort of anecdote that can define a candidate. Remember Mitt Romeny's Cruel Canine Vacation? Now the meme may be Pam Bondi 'stole my dog'.
What I want to know is whether people in dog suits will dog her campaign appearances…
One of the big stories of the day is buried in my newspaper, on the inside of the Metro section: 3 amendments kept off Florida ballot. Yes, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that would-be Amendments 3, 7 and 9 will not be on the November ballot, but Amendments 5 and 6 will be.
That means that the fair redistricting amendments pushed by Fair Districts Florida and supported by a massive numb er of voter signatures will be before the voters, but the sneaky underhanded attempt by the legislature to instantly undermine them (in Amendment 7) will not be. As the court of appeals noted, the summary of the amendment was so confusing even lawyers and judges couldn't figure it out.
This is a big deal, as Amendments 5 and 6 have the potential to be transformative and to fix one of the biggest things wrong with Florida politics: the very partisan gerrymandering of our electoral districts.l
Amendment 9 was an attempt to get out the Republican vote by offering a meaningless attempt to block part of Obama's healthcare program. It was meaningless and deceptive because the US Constitution contains something called the Supremacy Clause, which makes federal legislation trump state rules — even state constitutional rules. But voters were not told that, being led to think that their vote might mean something. Florida requires accuracy in ballot summaries.
Also chopped was Amendment 3, which would have given new homebuyers a tax credit, again for leaving out key details.
All the votes were 5-2.
Scott did win. Amazing.
Judge Newman pulled it out, ending up with 53% of the vote, but Judge Seff didn't come close, only getting 43%.
Otherwise, it doesn't look like anything major changed overnight. (Earlier post: So How Did We Do?.)
Sink, check; Meek, check and bigtime (over weird and unsavory billionaire Jeff Greene); Gelber, check.
(The ones I voted for are in bold.)
Locally, with about 2/3 of the precincts reporting…
Circuit Judges - Group 45: Samantha Ruiz Cohen coasted to victory over incumbent Judge Peter Adrien. This is good.
Circuit Judges: - Group 62: Robert Kuntz seems to be losing big to Monica Gordo; a shame, I think, but not a problem.
County Judges - Group 7: Incumbent Judge Edward Newman (50.6% at this moment, but it's varied) neck and neck with Manuel 'Manny' Alvarez.
County Judges - Group 11: Incumbent Judge Flora Seff seems to have lost to the relatively unqualified but Hispanically-named Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson. I don't think this is good, both because the incumbent didn't deserve to lose and because this (and perhaps the Newman race above, although that is more complex) tends to support the widespread and not-unreasonable belief that a lot of uninformed voters just vote for the judge with a Hispanic name.
School Board District 6: Dr. Kitchka Petrova never had a chance. The only question was how big a margin Raquelita Regaldo would win by. In the last days before the election, her campaign sent me a box with an apple in it containing a note saying “For the apple of your eyes and mine, we must salvage our public education”. The next day it was a small (mini-golf size) pencil and a sharpener (“Salvaging our Public Education from Financial Disaster Require that We Sharpen Our Pencils and Get Back to Basics!”) Education, teachers, apples and pencils, get it? So far the margin is overwhelming, pushing 60% of the total vote. Name recognition and a huge financial advantage.
Charter Amendment Eliminating the Office of County Manager: I supported NO, but suspected Yes would win — voters liking the sound of eliminating a government job. So far Yes is winning 60-40, so I think that's the outcome. Pity.
Home Rule Charter Amendment Authorizing County Commission to Abolish Municipalities of Twenty or Fewer Electors: Everyone was for YES. Winning but only 64-36.
Home Rule Charter Amendment Relating to Franchises: I supported NO, feared Yes would win, but NO is winning 67-32.
The other races I was watching were:
I'll update this in the morning if the final totals change anything. The closest races are the GOP primary for Governor, and the nail-biter for County Judges - Group 7
The lower part of Miami-Dade ballot contains non-partisan races that often don't get the attention they deserve. Here are some recommendations on how to vote:
Circuit Judges - Group 45: Samantha Ruiz Cohen
Circuit Judges: - Group 62: Robert Kuntz
County Judges - Group 7: Edward Newman
County Judges - Group 11: Flora Seff
School Board District 6: Dr. Kitchka Petrova
Charter Amendment Eliminating the Office of County Manager: NO
Home Rule Charter Amendment Authorizing County Commission to Abolish Municipalities of Twenty or Fewer Electors: YES
Home Rule Charter Amendment Relating to Franchises: NO
Explanations for these suggestions will be found in these five blog posts:
Part I: Introduction
Part II: Circuit Judges
Part III: County Judges
Part IV: School Board, District 6
Part V: Miami-Dade County Charter Amendments
[UPDATE: forgot to mention the obvious — today is election day for these races!]
Sadly, the height of coverage of the Florida primary election may be this report in the St. Pete Times, A view inside the Florida political circus.
Here's a quick summary of my recommendations for the lower part of Miami-Dade ballot — the non-partisan races that often don't get the attention they deserve:
Circuit Judges - Group 45: Samantha Ruiz Cohen
Circuit Judges: - Group 62: Robert Kuntz
County Judges - Group 7: Edward Newman
County Judges - Group 11: Flora Seff
School Board District 6: Dr. Kitchka Petrova
Charter Amendment Eliminating the Office of County Manager: NO
Home Rule Charter Amendment Authorizing County Commission to Abolish Municipalities of Twenty or Fewer Electors: YES
Home Rule Charter Amendment Relating to Franchises: NO
Explanations for these suggestions will be found in these five blog posts:
Part I: Introduction
Part II: Circuit Judges
Part III: County Judges
Part IV: School Board, District 6
Part V: Miami-Dade County Charter Amendments
Early and absentee voting in Miami-Dade is now open. Details on how to register and vote are in Part I of this series. I'll try to remember to re-run this post on election day, which is Tuesday, August 24th.
(Meanwhile, perhaps this summary will attract the South Florida Daily Blog?)
Votes on charter amendments make judicial elections seem a model of clarity and participation. Voters are given impenetrable summaries on the ballot. Even in their abbreviated form they are fairly long, and I wonder how many voters bother to read them. Of the voters who bother to read them, only a fraction can understand them, particularly as they are often deliberately opaque. Even if you can parse what they mean, it would be impossible to understand the implications without a much greater knowledge of local politics than any normal person would want.
So it pays to be prepared.
Charter Amendment Eliminating the Office of County Manager
Shall the Charter be amended, effective November 2012, to eliminate the office of the County Manager as a charter office which currently assists the Mayor in administering County government?
Of the three initiatives, this is the only one that feels at all like a hard call. The proposal would abolish the position of County Manager, the non-partisan professional who used to run the county back in the days of our 'weak Mayor' form of government. In 2007 Miami-Dade county switched to a “strong Mayor” government, taking a lot of the County Manager's power and giving it to the elected Mayor. The argument for this new amendment is that the County Manager is now basically redundant. The argument against the amendment is that the County Manager still has plenty to do, and Miami-Dade County needs all the professionalism it can get.
I opposed the 'strong Mayor' amendment. While he is far from perfect, the uncomfortable truth is that Mayor Alvarez is one of the better Miami-Dade (or just Dade County) Mayors in recent history. We've had some pretty terrible ones, and it seemed wrong to me to concentrate power in the Mayor's office just because we happened to temporarily have a decent person in the job. Similarly, even if — and opinions differ — the County Manager isn't really needed now, we may need one the next time we have a truly corrupt county Mayor. History suggests that won't be far in the future.
The Herald recommends a NO vote. I agree, and plan to vote NO on the County Manager amendment.
Home Rule Charter Amendment Authorizing County Commission to Abolish Municipalities of Twenty or Fewer Electors
Shall the Miami-Dade County Home Rule Charter be amended to add to the provision that no municipality shall be abolished without the municipal governing body calling an election and without the approval of a majority of electors at such election to provide that the Board of County Commissioners may by ordinance abolish municipalities with twenty or fewer electors?
To be honest, I had no idea what this was about when I first read it. Here's how the Miami Herald explains it:
This is aimed at Islandia, the municipality in Biscayne National Park that was created in 1960 to pave the way for a mega resort. Environmentalists blocked plans to develop the 33 specks of land, and now just six people — mostly park rangers — are registered to vote on what is largely federal property.
Taxes are collected, but there is no municipal authority to spend them: The county finance department is sitting on almost $6,000 in unclaimed checks. The Miami-Dade tax collector says the city “went off the radar.''
The last mayor went west and hit the lottery. Tax reports have not been filed to the state in more than a decade.
This city exists in name only.
The Herald recommends a YES vote, and that seems reasonable to me.
Home Rule Charter Amendment Relating to Franchises
Shall the Charter be amended to make it consistent with the practice of all Florida Charter Counties by allowing the Board of County Commissioners to grant a franchise or amend a franchise agreement upon approval by a two-thirds vote of board members present without requiring subsequent approval by a majority of the electorate as is currently provided for in the Charter?
This one is just sleazy. Weirdly, the explanation appears in a Herald editorial but not as far as I can tell in any of its news columns:
Voters are likely to be baffled by the thickly-veiled ballot language in the last of the charter amendment questions. The proposal asking whether voters would like to give up their say in county franchise agreements fails to mention the only entity that has such a contract: Florida Power & Light.
In other words, this amendment attempts to clear the decks to ram through a sweetheart deal for FP&L without having to submit to the voters for their approval. Don't be fooled: Vote NO on this amendment.
Part I: Introduction
Part II: Circuit Judges
Part III: County Judges
Part IV: School Board, District 6
Part V: Miami-Dade County Charter Amendments (today)
(Find your School Board District here.)
There are a lot of candidates for School Board in District 6:
Raquel Regalado, 36, is a trademark and patents attorney with a law degree from St. Thomas in 2001. While I do think legal training is a good background for the school board, and it would be nice to have a younger member of the Board, it's hard to think of many legal specialties less relevant to the job. (Now, a real estate attorney or CPA….) Indeed, the candidate's resume generally seems rather light on relevant experience. The Herald endorsed Regalado as did the United Teachers of Dade, the teachers' union. (I would expect better from the Herald. Sadly, I don't expect better from the UTD.) The elephant in the room, however, is the identity of Regalado's father, a subject explored in the Miami New Times's With No Experience and Lots of Cash, Miami Mayor's Daughter Raquel Regalado Runs For School Board.
Dr. Zayas-Bazán, 74, a Professor Emeritus in Foreign Languages at East Tennessee State University, is the candidate who has raised the most money after Raquel Regalado although she has out-raised him by about 3:1. He was the subject of an extensive and largely sympathetic New Times profile in 2008 relating to his participation as a frogman in the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Based on their answers to this questionnaire, particularly their support of student-led group prayer in the public schools and their pandering willingness to endorse a blanket ban on government funds to any agency or organization that offers abortions — even for activities that have nothing to do with abortion — despite this issue's irrelevance to the School Board race, I am opposed to Dr. Maria Peiro, Dr. Eduardo Zayas-Bazán and Raquel Regalado.
That leaves Alex Diaz and Dr. Kitchka Petrova. Mr. Diaz was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, and has relevant work experience with nonprofits, youth groups and in education. He sounds like the kind of person who belongs on the School Board. But.
As it happens, I know Dr. Petrova because she taught science to one of my sons in Ponce Middle School's IB program. She is an intelligent and kind person, and an excellent teacher. It would be amazing to have her on the school board (even if she has the lamest website of any of the candidates; here's a link to a scan of the inside of the Petrova campaign brochure).
Dr. Petrova has won some unusual awards, notably an Einstein Fellowship. Dr. Petrova is a member of the National Science Teachers Association. She also serves as a member of the Educator Advisory Board of Florida Agriculture in The Classroom, Inc and the Judging Panel of Toyota/TAPESTRY Grants for Science Teachers. (I've even run into her in the Coral Gables library as Dr. Petrova was poring over the applications; she takes this seriously!) In 2008 she was awarded a White-Reinhardt Educator Scholarship by the American Farm Bureau. In 2007, Dr. Petrova received the Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture Award for the state of Florida; and the 2007 National Award for Excellence in Teaching about Agriculture.
Dr. Petrova holds a Master's degree in Biology/Microbiology from Sofia University “St.Kliment Ohrdiski” (Bulgaria) and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from Moscow University “M.V.Lomonossov” (Russia). She is not your usual Miami candidate. And honestly, I suppose she doesn't really stand a chance. But even so…
I am voting for Dr. Kitchka Petrova for School Board District 6 and I urge you to do so too. I've even sent her a contribution. Zayas-Bazán (over $47,000) and Regalado (over $130,000) are the candidates with the big bucks in this race, so Dr. Petrova is the longest of long shots. Even so, it would be great if she won.
Part I: Introduction
Part II: Circuit Judges
Part III: County Judges
Part IV: School Board, District 6 (today)
Part V: Miami-Dade County Charter Amendments
As I wrote in Part II, about the Circuit Court races,
Unlike most law professors I know, I support the idea of judicial elections at the state level, although if it were up to me I'd have the executive branch pick judges, perhaps with legislative confirmation, followed by a California-style retention election every few years in which there would be an up or down vote on the incumbent. If the vote was down, the executive would pick a new judge. It seems to me that the right question is “has this judge done a good (enough) job” — something voters might be able to figure out — rather than trying to figure out which candidate might be the best judge.
Florida's system, however, pits one or more challengers against the incumbent or else, lacking opposition, the incumbent wins reelection automatically. My personal view is that I will vote for the incumbent unless there's reason to believe they're doing a bad job. Fortunately, that only happens occasionally.
In both of the County Court races I support retaining the incumbent.
County Judges: Group 7
There are two candidates, Manuel 'Manny' Alvarez and the incumbent, Judge Edward Newman.
Judge Newman (UM Law '87) has been a judge since 1995 and, despite the occasional brickbat, he seems worth retaining. I admit that receiving candidate literature touting his years as an offensive guard for the Miami Dolphins as a qualification for being a judge did give me a moment's pause, but I got over it. His Dade County Bar Association poll numbers are good: 27.5% say he is exceptionally qualified and 50.9% say he is qualified. Here is Judge Edward Newman's Judicial Candidate Voluntary Self-Disclosure Statement.
Manuel “Manny” Alvarez (UM Law '86) doesn't seem to have filed a Judicial Candidate Voluntary Self-Disclosure Statement. He has a lot of relevant litigation experience, and good Dade County Bar Association poll numbers: 26.3% exceptionally qualified and 54.2 qualified. He was a co-recipient of the ACLU Act of Courage Award in 1998.
Word is that Mr. Alvarez would make a good judge. [Update (8/16): Those who disagree point to the 19-year-old incidents recounted in the DBR's 8/12 article, Judicial candidate was arrested on gun charge; to me the arguably relevant part isn't the dropped charges but rather the restraining order.] But Judge Newman doesn't seem like the sort of judge who deserves removal; on the contrary, despite the occasional critic of his tough courtroom style, there are many who say he's one of the good ones. The Herald endorsed Judge Newman.
I plan to vote for Judge Edward Newman.
County Judges: Group 11
There are two candidates, Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson and Judge Flora Seff, the incumbent.
Judge Seff (UM Law '79), 57, has two years experience as a judge. Previously she was a state prosecutor for 28 years, including time as the head of the felony division. She got ratings of 31.8% exceptionally qualified and 45.8% qualified in the Dade County Bar Association poll. Here is Flora Seff's Judicial Candidate Voluntary Self-Disclosure Statement. I have not heard anything bad about her. The Herald endorsed Judge Seff.
Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson, 38, graduated from St. Thomas Law school only nine years ago, which seems somewhat recent for someone wanting to become a judge. She doesn't appear to have filed a Judicial Candidate Voluntary Self-Disclosure Statement. Her bar poll numbers are not nearly as strong as Judge Seff's: 12.2% rated her exceptionally qualified, and 41.2% said she was qualified. More than twice as many respondents (46.6%) rated Ms. Gonzalez-Paulson unqualified as said that of Judge Seff.
This one is easy: vote to retain Judge Flora Seff.
Part I: Introduction
Part II: Circuit Judges
Part III: County Judges (today)
Part IV: School Board, District 6
Part V: Miami-Dade County Charter Amendments
There are four judicial elections on the August 24, 2010 ballot. Unlike most law professors I know, I support the idea of judicial elections at the state level as a reasonable democratic check on what I believe should be the expansive power of judges to interpret the state and federal constitutions. Although, if it were up to me, I'd have the executive branch pick judges with legislative confirmation, followed by a California-style retention election every few years in which there would be an up or down vote on the incumbent. If the vote was down, the executive would pick a new judge. It seems to me that the right question is “has this judge done a good (enough) job” — something voters might be able to figure out — rather than asking voters to try to guess from electoral statements which of two or more candidates might be the best judge.
Florida's system, however, pits one or more challengers against the incumbent or else, lacking opposition, the incumbent wins reelection automatically (as happened with most of the judges whose terms expired this year). There are also open seats when the incumbent retires. My personal view is that I will vote for an incumbent judge unless there's reason to believe they're doing a bad job. Fortunately, that only happens occasionally. But, as you will see, it does happen.
Today I'm writing about the two Circuit Judge contests. Next, in Part III, I'll look at the County Court races.
Circuit Judges: Group 45
There are two candidates, Judge Peter Adrien, the incumbent, and Samantha Ruiz Cohen.
Judge Adrien has a bad reputation. He got the lowest rating in the Dade County Bar Association’s judicial poll: 55% of respondents said he was 'unqualified'. That's pretty bad. And he gets reversed on basic issues of fairness to defendants that you'd think anyone would get right. See Foster v. State. Here's his Judicial Candidate Voluntary Self-Disclosure Statement. This is the rare sort of record that makes me think a judge is ready to be replaced.
Fortunately his challenger has a good record, and a fine reputation: 35.5% of respondents in the Dade County Bar Association’s judicial poll rated Samantha Ruiz Cohen as 'exceptionally qualified' for the bench and another 51.3% said she was 'qualified'. The Miami Herald endorsed Samantha Ruiz Cohen. (There doesn't appear to be a Judicial Candidate Voluntary Self-Disclosure Statement, however.) After graduating from Hofstra University School of Law in 1991 (a fact oddly absent from her campaign biography, perhaps because it's not a local law school?), she spent ten years at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. Then she jumped to civil litigation, and now does products liability cases in private practice. She has taught trial advocacy at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) and constitutional law to undergrads at FIU (I'm not sure if teaching law to undergrads is a plus or minus for a judge; maybe a plus in dealing with jurors…).
I'm going to vote for Samantha Ruiz Cohen and you should too. Incidentally, Judge Adrien got on the bench in an ugly election when he defeated an exceptionally fine Judge, his predecessor, Henry Harnage. Karma, I tell you.
Circuit Judges: Group 62
There are two candidates, Monica Gordo and Robert Kuntz. There is no incumbent. Both candidates are rated highly by their fellow lawyers in the Dade County Bar Association poll: 24.7% rate Kuntz as exceptionally qualified and 53% say he is qualified while a nearly-identical 24.5% rate Gordo as exceptionally qualified and 51.3% say she is qualified.
Robert Kuntz, 50, is a former journalist. He graduated from UM law in 1996 summa cum laude (which really meant something back then) and started out at Holland & Knight. Currently he practices commercial litigation at Devine, Goodman, Pallot, Rasco & Wells, with an emphasis on aviation law. The Unity Coalition endorsed him. Local certified sane lawyer Jack Thompson hates him, which may be a good enough reason for me to vote for Kuntz right there. Here's Robert Kuntz's Judicial Candidate Voluntary Self-Disclosure Statement.
Monica Gordo is only 35, which I believe to be about the minimum age for a judge given that I want them to have some experience-based wisdom. She graduated from UM Law in 1999, cum laude (which is good, but not as good as a summa), and has worked as a prosecutor since then. She's served as a Director of the Cuban American Bar Association. I know of no reason to think she'd be anything other than a fine judge, although I don't know that the local bench suffers from a shortage of former prosecutors. The Miami Herald endorsed Gordo because she has more trial experience than Kuntz. She also got the SAVE Dade endorsement. Here's Monica Gordo's Judicial Candidate Voluntary Self-Disclosure Statement.
Based on my personal knowledge of both candidates I'd be happy with either, but I am planning to vote for Robert Kuntz. As you can see from his judicial statement and other statements he's made during the campaign, he's a thoughtful person, the sort of person one wants on the bench. I like the fact he had another career as a journalist before he went to law school as I think it provides a healthy perspective. And he's smart (don't forget that summa). It is true that Mr. Kuntz has substantially less trial experience then Ms. Gordo, but he does have extensive general litigation experience. Lawyers from the civil side frequently see fewer full trials than members of the criminal bar, but it would be wrong to staff the local judiciary wholly with lawyers who are former prosecutors, PDs, or criminal defense lawyers.
Part I: Introduction
Part II: Circuit Judges (today)
Part III: County Judges
Part IV: School Board, District 6
Part V: Miami-Dade County Charter Amendments
Early voting for the upcoming primary and judicial election in Miami-Dade County begins today. The Sample Ballot for the August 24, 2010 Primary in Miami-Dade County is now available. (And it is already subject to one correction: Ronald Brise has dropped out of the race for District 108 State Rep.)
Most of the ink gets spilled on the high-profile primary races: the Senate (I'll vote Kendrick Meek, faute de mieux), the Governorship (Alex Sink), with a little oxygen left over for the race for Higher-Office-in-Waiting Attorney General (in which I'm strongly leaning Dan Gelber).
But little gets said about the the other contests and issues on the ballot, even though voting on these is in some ways as important. Because these are local races or ballot questions there is a smaller pool of eligible voters than for statewide rares, and being downballot many people don't even bother to vote. If you vote, your vote counts that much more. Unfortunately, it's hard to get information about judicial elections. Plus, many people don't even know which state legislative district they live in. Find out which Florida Representative district you live in, or if you know your zip+4 number, find your State Senator, State Rep and US Congress district using the tool in the left margin of the Florida State Senate homepage. (Note: in entering your zip+4 number, don't enter the “+” sign, just the nine-digit number.)
So I thought I'd say a few words about the downballot issues on which I'll be voting. I don't have a primary vote in either the US Congress race, the State House or the State Senate, or even the County Commission (I live just outside the hotly-contested District 8 in which Annette Taddeo is running; you can find your M-D County Commission district here) but there are still a number of choices to make: two circuit judges, two county judges, a school board member, and three county charter amendments. (I don't live in a community council district although some are also on the ballot.)
In the coming days I'll explain how I'm voting in each of these downballot races or issues and give some reasons. Here's the plan:
Part I: Introduction (today)
Part II: Circuit Judges
Part III: County Judges
Part IV: School Board, District 6
Part V: Miami-Dade County Charter Amendments
Incidentally, if you don't know where to vote use the handy precinct-finder. It's too late to register to vote for the primary elections, but not too late to vote in the November general election, as registration closes 29 days before the election. Check your registration status if you are unsure whether you are eligible to vote.
Adam Smith of the St. Petersburg Times delves into Jeff Greene's history. It's telling stuff about the would-be Democratic candidate for Florida Senate. Here's just one of many anecdotes:
Harlan Hoffman, 37, was in a Fort Lauderdale yachting apparel store in 2007 when he saw a help wanted ad for Summerwind.
“There were two people from Australia there who said, 'Oh, good luck with that one… . We're still waiting to get paid by Summerwind.' I should have listened,” Hoffman said.
The deckhand was shocked while buffing Greene's yacht and wound up hospitalized.
A boat's owner is supposed to take care of on-the-job medical costs, but Hoffman said Greene — whom he never met — told the insurance company he had never heard of Hoffman and that he didn't work on Summerwind. It took eight months and legal action that included affidavits from other crew members vouching for Hoffman and trashing Greene to get his bills paid.
“This guy Jeff Greene threw tons of money into new diving gear, but the crew's basic equipment — food and supplies — he didn't want to spend any money on. Summerwind has a terrible reputation,'' Hoffman said. “Mr. Greene's yacht is known to be a party yacht. When it went to Cuba, everybody talked about the vomit caked all over the sides from all the partying going on.”
Just what Florida needs in a Senator: contempt for the working man so deep that he has to stiff them.
Previously: Meek Fights Back
Poor Kendrick Meek. He was husbanding his resources, expecting to coast through the Democratic Senate primary, when three problems ganged up on him.
The first problem was predictable: low name recognition outside South Florida. But there are ways of dealing with that if name recognition your only problem. (To the extent that there was also lingering animosity among South Florida progressives for Meek’s very weak support of South Florida 2008 congressional candidates such as Annette Taddeo, well that was just the cost of positioning Meek as a middle-of-the-road candidate who could win votes upstate.)
The second problem was less predictable: Governor Charlie Crist got hammered by Tea Party fellow traveler Marco Rubio in the GOP primary polls, so he decided to run as an independent. Between that and his grandstanding on the gulf oil spill, Crist sucked up most of the media oxygen in the race. Plus he started leading in the polls, winning many independents and even some Democratics (see problem one above).
The third problem is just gross: a sleazy billionaire named Jeff Greene decided to try to buy the Democratic nomination. It’s hard to exaggerate just how bad Greene is. Here are a few choice facts.
But if you have billions you can buy a lot of campaign commercials, and flood the zone with fancy glossy mailers (I’ve gotten at least two fat ones).
And it seems to be working: although there is a huge pool of undecided, Greene now leads Meek in the latest polls.
So Meek has gone on the air. But Meek’s second campaign commercial looks awfully defensive.
There is a mixed message here. Neither a “meet Kendrick” nor 100% an attack ad, the spot tries to do both at the same time, and maybe flails a bit at both. And any time you have to pay money to say “Kendrick Meek is not part of a fraud case,” you are in trouble.
Given his lackluster record on progressive issues, Meek is a difficult candidate to get excited about; only the abysmal quality of his opposition spurs one to sympathy. Charlie Crist has to be laughing: if Greene manages to buy this nomination, people like me may have to vote for Crist, even though he’s as principled and as reliable as a weathervane, just to avoid getting a hard-core rightist in Marco Rubio. Or we may sit that race out. Either way, if Greene wins, then Crist wins.
The Reid Report, which seems to be one of the canniest Florida poliblogs, asks What is he thinking? How Bud Chiles is knifing Alex Sink:
Lawton “Bud” Chiles' run for governor is good for precisely one thing: screwing Alex Sink.
<pedantry>While I find The Reid Report's political analysis admirable, I wish to register a protest to the use of an apostrophe without an “s” to indicate a singular possessive for names happening to end in an “s”.</pedantry>
Chiles to run for Fla. governor. That's Lawton Chiles III, son of the legendary walkin' governor. And he's running as an independent, making it a three-way race.
Lawton Chiles III announced Thursday he would run for governor of Florida as an independent, setting up a potential three-way race in November.
Chiles, the son of the former Democratic governor and senator of the same name, told reporters in Tallahassee that he would accept only small contributions and that he would not take funds from political action committees.
Chiles ran in 2006 as a Democrat…and had to withdraw because he had not lived in Florida long enough to meet the state law residency requirement.
I suppose the idea behind this run as an independent is to squeeze the Democratic vote and add in what there is of the sensible Republican vote and hope it makes the biggest pile.
Or is the plan to ride on Crist's coattails? Will there be coattails?
So, what does Chiles stand for? Children, it seems. Hard to find much else so far.
Even so, the Florida Governor's race could use some livening up, as it currently seems likely to feature two unexciting candidates, Sink and McCollum. Neither has their party's nomination yet, however, and both are being challenged in primaries by somewhat weird multi-millionaires. And on the Republican side, Rick Scott (the less sleazy and more extreme of the two millionaires) is making enough gains thanks to a bottomless-pocket self-financed TV ad campaign that McCollum must be sweating.
So maybe that's the Chiles strategy (if there is one): if Rick Scott wins the GOP nomination, there could be more than a few Republicans looking for an alternative and their number could be added to Democrats unenthusiastic about Sink. Whether a former Democrat could provide an alternative Republicans would swallow is unclear, but this is a weird state and a weird year. Plus the Chiles brand has some nostalgia value in Florida.
On the other hand, Democratic concerns about Sink are either that she's dull, or that she's too right-wing; running to her left won't pick up any Republicans; running to her right won't pick up many Democrats as there isn't that far to her right among the Democratic party mainstream. There are, though, all those independents, and in a three-way race it takes less to win….
Democrats win the congressional special election in PA-12, despite GOP claims that this would be their bellweather victory. This is a pattern:
For those keeping score, there have been seven special elections for U.S. House seats since the president's inauguration 16 months ago: NY20, IL5, CA32, CA10, NY23, FL19, and PA12. Democrats have won all seven.
The Democratic wing of the Democratic party also won in the Pennsylvania Senate primary, defeating ur-DINO ex-Republican Arlen Specter. Progressives tied in Arkansas, forcing incumbent and sometime corporate shill Blanche Lincoln into a runoff (although if I had to bet, I'd give odds she'll win the runoff, having better access to funds and likely winning more votes from the third candidate's supporters). And Democrats won the Republican primary in Kentucky, as the GOP voted down the bland establishment candidate supported by the party leadership, in favor of extremist anarcho-libertarian candidate Rand Paul, a man whose graciousness and charm are already winning deserved plaudits.
I was a big fan of Gov. Dean's “50-state-strategy”. Running candidates all over forces the other side to spread its resources. Allowing anyone to go unopposed means that their campaign funds can go to more marginal seats. Plus, by running candidates even if they don't win you build up infrastructure and good will, and that makes it easier to win when the tides and demographics turn.
So I was disappointed to see that the Democratic party failed to field a congressional candidate in four Florida congressional districts: the 1st, 4th, 6th and especially the 21st (where Mario Diaz-Balart is switching from the 25th district).
In case you are wondering (I was), the only Democratic candidate here in Florida's 18th is Rolando A. Banciella. I sure hope he ups his web presence soon — I couldn't find anything worth linking to.
Incidentally, there are “Tea Party” candidates in the 8th, 12th and 25th Districts — the latter being the one where Joe Garcia is making a second try, at what is now an open seat since Mario Diaz-Balart has jumped to the 21st. Will Joe Garcia hire Joe Trippi again, despite Trippi's taint of working on the sure-to-be-destructive Jeff Grenne campaign?
It's been rumored for a while, now it's official: Annette Taddeo is going to run for the County Council in a bid to replace retiring local icon Katy Sorenson.
Driven by my commitment to community service, I am excited to officially announce my candidacy for Commissioner of Miami-Dade's District 8, an area that includes the cities of Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, Homestead, and unincorporated Southwest Dade. The open seat is being vacated by the Honorable Katy Sorenson.Leaders emerge in the face of daunting challenges. I was inspired to run because I want to offer my talents as a successful small business owner and community leader to help steer Miami-Dade through the churning seas of unprecedented economic woes. I'm a fiscally conservative businesswoman who believes Miami-Dade government should slash wasteful spending, operate transparently and provide maximum value to the real bosses, the tax paying residents.
Jobs, crime, healthcare, education and “hold the line” are priority issues. I'm going to work tirelessly to create local jobs, reduce crime, advocate for affordable healthcare, and prioritize education. I will be a vocal champion of sustainable growth, green initiatives and the preservation and protection of our natural environment with a keen focus on the Everglades.
Unfortunately, I don't live in District 8, but it would be great if Taddeo, who ran a good Congressional campaign in 2008, got elected…although as a reasonable person she could be mighty lonely on the Commission (as was Sorenson, more often than not).
OK, this is a bit complicated and very Florida. Bear with me.
1. Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL21), who won a comfortable victory against a very flawed challenger in 2008, is retiring from Congress. Word has it that he's keeping his powder dry for a restoration of the ancestral kleptocracy in Cuba.
2. His brother, Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL25), who didn't win a huge victory despite a flawed campaign by a good challenger in 2008, is going to change districts and run from FL-21 instead of FL-25, because FL-25 is trending Democrat faster than FL-21, which remains a quality gerrymander.
3. Speculation is that Joe Garcia, currently heading the Office of Minority Economic Impact for the Department of Energy, may run again in FL-25. If so, I hope he runs a more grass-rootsy and less expensive-consultant-driven campaign. We don't need and can't afford Joe Trippi for this one. We do need a very experienced and organized campaign manger.
(More coverage in the Herald, Lincoln Diaz-Balart's exit from Congress sets off political scramble)
OK. Now we know what happened to Mike Gravel's media team: they're working for Cal Sen candidate Carly Fiorina. Here's an early but very strong entry in the contest for weirdest campaign video of 2010.
Via Kos which says, too kindly,
It's as if a very expensive Senate campaign for an incredibly wealthy woman in the biggest, richest state in the United States of America collectively dropped acid and decided to make an art school, prog rock “concept commercial.”
(Mike Gravel Flashback 2 and Flashback 1.)
Post-Massachusetts rumor: I hear that Jay Leno will be taking over as President due to Obama's sinking ratings.
Rob Miller is running for Congress in SC-02 against Rep. Joe Wilson, the yahoo who heckled President Obama during the healthcare speech. Mr. Miller got within a few percent two years ago despite a shoestring budget that resulted in his being outspent by a large ratio.
That's unlikely to be a problem this time. In the less than 48 hours since the (inaccurate) “You Lie” heard round the nation, ActBlue's Rob Miller campaign has raised over $800,000 from more than 22,000 donors.
And the number is still growing.
This is not a solicitation to donate to Mr. Miller — I don't actually know anything about him other than he's not Joe Wilson…which is almost, but not quite, enough. The public reaction, though, is more than impressive. I'm told the average contribution is $36 and the median contribution is $25, so it's a genuine grass-roots phenomenon.
