Ferre can win by tackling the Cuba issue
Al’s Loupe
Ferre can win by tackling the Cuba issue
By Alvaro F. Fernandez
alfernandez@the-beach.net
After a brief stint in the Florida legislature, Maurice Ferre became mayor of the City of Miami in 1973. Born in Puerto Rico, he became the first Hispanic mayor of a large North American city. As Miami’s golden boy in that decade of the 1970s, Ferre turned the city from a sleepy southern town where northerners spent their winters into an important international business center. Young and vibrant, Ferre drove Miami forward with the power of one who looked to tackle the challenges of the 21st century. He ended up serving the city for 12 years — the longest of any Miami mayor.
In a recent meeting where he debated the pros and cons of running for office, I told Ferre that I believe that much of what is good in Miami today, he can take much credit for. A lot of what is bad, I added, he probably had a hand in too. I asked him if he was ready to purge the bad. At that point, he went on to the next question.
Ferre, a democrat, announced last week that he was running for the U.S. senate seat recently vacated by Mel Martinez in Florida. A year out, he starts way behind Charlie Crist for the republicans and Kendrick Meek for the democrats, who have collected millions in campaign contributions. And in our system of democracy… the money usually wins.
A bettor’s view
All things considered, though, and taking into account a bit of my idealism, I believe Ferre has the capacity to surprise in this race. So I will bring out my magic crystal ball and handicap the race going forward.
As I predicted, Meek will drop out of the senate race (Why risk a sure and influential seat in the U.S. House of Representatives?), making Ferre the favorite to win the Democratic Party nomination. At this point, the pundits have anointed Governor Charlie Crist the winner already. Putting Crist aside for the moment, I believe that whether Meek backs out or not, with the right amount of money raised, Ferre can beat Kendrick statewide.
Which then raises an important question: Can Ferre cobble together the money needed to run in a senate race already attracting record amounts in contributions? I don’t believe he can. Ferre, I’ve been told, feels differently. So for the sake of this column, I’ll take his word for it.
What does Ferre need to win?
Money and his 1970s charisma. Without the two, there is no chance Ferre will get very far.
As compared to his early glory days, Ferre, now 74-years-old, runs as the elder statesmen. Wisdom, based on his years of a diversity of experiences, must serve to rid him of the “bad” he still carries from his past. He must also find his patient side. Impatience in a young man can sometimes be seen as a good thing, in an older man it is too often interpreted as arrogance or just the fact that he has gotten old. That he comes off as professorial is not a bad thing. But it must be tempered with a strong message which points to the doorway of a challenging future full of opportunity. In other words, his charisma must now shine, but through a different perspective — not an easy task.
As for purging the bad, over the years Ferre has been loyal to his friends. That’s a good thing. But some of those “friends” have hung on for too long and taken advantage — at times dragging him down. Other times they’ve exposed him to the seedy side of Miami politics and cronyism. It’s time to cut those strings, Mr. Ferre. They’re in the past, you must look forward. A new generation must take charge.
The winning issue
Some will call me crazy for what I am about to write. I don’t think so. Any campaign for higher political office in the U.S. today must deal with the staple issues: economy, health care, jobs, environment, etc. That’s understood. But there has to be something which brings them together. Sure it will make you enemies, but at the same time it will perk up the ears and spirits of many others around the state. An issue which identifies you as a leader.
That is why I believe Ferre’s issue must be Cuba. Not from the point of view of Cubans, mind you, but from the vantage point of Americans, and specifically Floridians. An opportunity is being squandered, he must say, adding, it is time to look forward and not rehash the past. Start out by holding a press conference a week in each and every port city in the state. Let Floridians know that, for example in Miami, more than 40,000 jobs are being lost and north of a billion dollars tossed by the wayside because of a failed 50-year-old policy held hostage by a small and powerful group enriching themselves because of it.
In discussions, I have been advised that Ferre has already faced the Cuba question from the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, who happens to be Sen. Bob Menendez. Truth be told, Menendez is a powerful argument against tacking towards a newer, more progressive Cuba policy. I understand that. But I also understand that Menendez will offer a practically unreachable carrot in a state where they don’t see a win in 2010. So the money Ferre may expect from the DSCC will not be there in the end.
My counter argument, though, is that there is an enormous interest nationwide to open doors to Cuba. As a potential U.S. senator, Ferre must start thinking globally and leave behind some of what I term “the Miami fear” we all carry. He must again put on his visionary’s hat and open new horizons for all Floridians. And in the process, that Cuba interest I just mentioned can also translate to more dollars than Bob Menendez will ever give Maurice Ferre.
Finally, Mayor Ferre helped build Miami to what he once touted as the “doorway to the Americas.” Miami and the rest of Florida can truly become that doorway the day we figure out our differences with Cuba. Not everyone has a chance in life to finish what they’ve started. With this senate race, Ferre may just get that opportunity. Oh! what a legacy he could leave us…
