5 November races that offer a glimmer of hope
Al’s Loupe
By Alvaro F. Fernandez
Most everyone you talk to, everywhere you turn, there seems to be a feeling of exasperation with our politicians and their inability to get anything done. Frustration runs deep. Voters are convinced that politicians are out for themselves – putting their constituencies deep down in their list of priorities.
The fact is that the fury felt is well founded, at almost all levels of government.
This vexation, if carried out by turning to an even greater apathy that translates to less voters going to the polls, plays into the hands of those same crooked and self-serving politicians we love to hate so much. It’s why I’ve determined to write a column based on a glimmer of hope. An optimism based on candidates vying for important electoral positions come November – less than 10 weeks from today right here in Florida.
I will concentrate on five races I consider terribly important for those of us who live in Miami.
U.S. Senate – It’s probably one of the most talked about national races. And to top it off there are three (not the traditional two) viable candidates. Marco Rubio terrifies me. In my opinion he epitomizes opportunism. He is what we are seeing more and more of around the country – people spouting hatred, and helping to divide in order to conquer. Marco has a good chance of winning, which would be horrible for Florida and the U.S. As for Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek, people give him little chance. Polls seem to back this up. But I say, careful with Kendrick. He is a tireless campaigner and many gave up on him during the primary. Yet, he won handily. Our best bet, though, I believe to be Florida Governor Charlie Crist, the independent in this race.
Surely, Crist is also an opportunist (what politician is not) and has come out on both sides of several issues. But in 2010, when the rubber hit the road, Charlie came through for teachers in Florida and later did not back down on the abortion issue with an important veto. In both cases he showed courage and did the right thing, which, in my case anyway, gives me a glimmer of hope.
Governor – This is an interesting battle. It’s republican Rick Scott who toppled heavily favored Bill McCollum in the primary by spending nearly $50 million of his own money. Taking on Scott is Alex Sink, who is the state’s chief financial officer. She is a former president of the Bank of America Florida operation. Scott is a multi-millionaire, former healthcare executive with plenty of baggage. He is a stray bullet and proud of pronouncing himself an ultra conservative seeking Tea Party support. He is very much in favor of an Arizona style immigration law here in Florida.
A Scott victory would take us two giant steps forward in the privatization of Florida government started by Jeb Bush that has us on a giant spiral downward. In other words, Sink needs to win.
Attorney General – Let me put it this way, Pam Bondi, the republican in this race, has been endorsed by Sarah Palin. Need I say more? On the other hand, the democrat in the race is Dan Gelber. He may not be a household name, but he is one of the most promising politicians in Florida right now (my opinion). I know him personally; he is from Miami Beach. He is smart, eloquent, honest, and the next attorney general will have to deal with the insurance industry, state lawmakers trying to deal with illegal immigration or even unconstitutional laws that try to tell us where we can or cannot travel to.
Remember the name, Dan Gelber. And vote for him on election day.
Miami-Dade County Commission District 2 – Dorrin Rolle is the incumbent. I’ve written about this commissioner. As I’ve stated in several columns, he may be the most ethically challenged politician in Miami – and in this city that’s a mouthful… Rolle finds himself in a runoff. Against a former North Miami councilmember. A young man and a native of Haiti by the name of Jean Monestine. There are several factors here: (1) it is about time we got Haitian representation at the county level; and (2) it’s also past due that we rid ourselves of the cancer called Rolle.
U.S. House of Representatives District 25 – This is the congressional seat abandoned by Mario Diaz-Balart in order to run for brother Lincoln’s safer district after Lincoln decided to call it quits for still unknown (and strange) reasons. It is another one of those races receiving national attention. David Rivera represents the republicans. The democrats are represented by Joe Garcia, who came within six points of beating Mario in 2008.
Rivera’s story has been plastered everywhere the past few months. He’s been shown to be a chronic liar and unscrupulous. He’s another one of those politicians who has us spinning downward uncontrollably. On the other hand, Garcia has never been elected to office but seems to have the smarts and the energy to help change the Diaz-Balart/Ros-Lehtinen stranglehold on a policy that has this area mired in failure and corruption for the past half century.
Like the Dorrin Rolle race, the Rivera-Garcia contest will test my belief in a system that too often rewards persons who represent most of what is wrong with politicians today.
One final warning: During the primaries almost twice as many republicans voted as compared to democrats. If that were the case in November, people like Joe Garcia, Alex Sink and Dan Gelber would have little chance of winning. And that would be a terrible loss for all of us.
