I am very progressive, and some of my recommendations may be controversial. but the most important factor besides endorsing candidates is to provide a list of judicial candidates that I can recommend, because figuring out who to vote for in the judicial races is next to impossible for the average voter. My own research may be of some help to you.
In regards to judges, my personal philosophy is that even if a sitting judge had been appointed by a Republican governor, there’s no reason for that judge to lose his or her seat unless there have been widespread complaints from others in the legal profession in Broward County about that judge’s performance and/or demeanor on the bench. Therefore, with the exception of only two seats, I am endorsing every sitting judge- and the ballot doesn’t tell you who’s an incumbent and who isn’t- so I hope that my list will be helpful to you. In some judicial groups, all the candidates are good choices, so it can be very hard to make a selection. I have done so based on talking to others who are familiar with the legal community that participates in Broward’s courtrooms.
I cannot endorse candidates in County Commission or School Board seats that are not representing my own district, with the exception of a couple of races. I have, however, made selections for my own Congressional District 17, School Board District 1 and 8, and for County Commission District 6 as well as added on a couple of races outside my districts because I have strong feelings about them.
Rather than providing a list for you, I am instead describing how I reached my conclusions. Feel free to comment, but I don’t intend to start an argument, and my descriptions are not intended to offend anyone:
United States Senator: Maurice Ferre
Glenn Burkett is on the ticket as a Democrat, but he’s very thin on the issues, such as advocating “healthy lifestyles” as the solution to the massive health care access disparities in our nation, and he’s somewhat conservative as well, which I certainly am not.
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Jeff Greene is a joke that is very unfunny, except for his very brief attempt to characterize his illegal yacht visit to Cuba as a “humanitarian mission,” which really had me laughing out loud. Millionaires and billionaires attempting to buy up campaigns and vastly outspend any other candidate for office is a great danger to our democracy that I object to and will never support. Campaign financing is an overriding issue to me, but Jeff Greene can be best summed up with one word: “scumbag.”
Unless you’re a terrific fan of Heidi Fleiss or Mike Tyson (personal friends of Greene’s, including Tyson acting as best man at his wedding), I can’t imaging how any voter could be duped into considering Greene for the job as our Senator unless such a voter is easily duped by massive mailings and television advertising, let alone a guy who talks out of the side of his mouth and apparently has a history of voting for Republicans, not voting at all for years, previously running for office as a Republican and treating some of his employees and tenants of his properties with shocking disdain.
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Kendrick Meek is a good choice, but an exceedingly conventional one. Congressman Meek’s personal stances on the issues are really pretty irrelevant when it comes down to his votes in Congress because in the end, he always tows the line of the Democratic Party and the President. Congressman Meek knows that his political career, with its generous salary and benefits, depends as much on the voters at election time as it does on the financial and logistical support of his party. If there’s some doubt or controversy, such as the vote a couple of weeks ago to continue off-budget funding in the tens of billions of dollars for military operations in Afghanistan, he may abstain from voting at all as he did in regards to continued funding of this war.
I personally have found Congressman Meek’s district office in North Miami to be aloof and rather uninterested in the needs of ordinary constituents whose personal interests may not always jibe with the interests of the big-money special interests that our political parties seem to continually depend upon. I have also questioned Congressman Meek face-to-face on his votes in Congress on one particular issue, and he had not a clue as to what I was referring to. He provided to me an email address and asked me to send along my question so that he could further research, but I never heard back from him. I later passed along that question to one of Meek’s congressional aides in his Miami office, and could not get a response until I met up with the aide again personally at some event or other, and the aide’s response was entirely dismissive of the issue.
I would certainly choose Meek over the two previously listed candidates, but I make every attempt to personally meet each candidate and research their positions on the major issues, and while Meek is generally progressive, his personal interests tend towards his career in Washington rather than any movement advocating for progressive legislation.
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I had no prior knowledge of Maurice Ferre. I didn’t live in Florida while he was Mayor of Miami for twelve years, and his policy positions as a senatorial candidate were unknown to me for months because he carefully creates his position papers with much consideration before posting his stances on his campaign website. I met his campaign director at a local Democratic Club meeting, however, and she enthusiastically went over all of his positions on the major issues that have been posted on his website (www.mymauriceferre.com) over the period of months since I had last checked.
I agree with Ferre across the board, including with his position in regards to our apparently futile efforts in Afghanistan. I may differ slightly with Ferre in regards to his hardly-unusual assertion that same-sex unions should be called “civil unions” and not “marriage,” but oh well, you can’t have everything. I just personally believe that equality means equal, and whether or not “marriage” is customarily a religious matter, the state recognizes marriages performed by religious institutions as an contract enforceable in our courts, so any legally binding union can and should be called a “marriage,” but Ferre, like Meek, believes in equality for the LGBT community, and I believe that sexual orientation is not the business of the government in regards to unions other than the division of property between those who choose to be a legally binded couple. Therefore, I believe in legal same-gender unions between those who ask for them, and I believe in universal health care and aggressively pursuing clean energy sources and other progressive issues that Ferre also advocates for. Ferre also enjoys an outstanding reputation as a political leader in Miami during a period of tremendous upheaval and change, and his tenure leading the city resulted in undeniably positive progress. There is controversy about his stance on relations with Cuba, but his position has not been updated since his tenure as Mayor.
Many people scoff at candidates who don’t have big or even viable campaign funds and who choose to run in a tough race despite being ignored by the major media and political advocacy groups, one of which Ferre is suing because they excluded him from an upcoming debate while apparently ignoring their own criteria on the matter, but I don’t scoff at any such candidates just because they don’t get the attention they deserve. I believe that in a primary election, you should vote for whomever the hell you want to vote for based on your own principles.
Personally, I would likely prefer Kendrick Meek to Charlie Christ in the General Election, but I’m not yet sure about that.
A general election is another matter, where votes based solely on idealism can result in a Republican winning instead of a Democrat, and no matter the differences any of us may have with the two-party system and the Democratic Party maneuverings in the state and in the country, I don’t advocate supporting Republicans. So, scoff if you want to, but I’m voting based on my own principles, and I therefore advocate that you vote, as I will, for Maurice Ferre for U.S. Senate.
Representative in Congress District 17: Marleine Bastien
I have personally met and spoken with seven of the nine candidates in this race to replace Kendrick Meek in Congress, and most of them are very capable for the job. I do look for candidates that are progressive across the board, and war and LGBT issues are pretty much my litmus test in that regard. Marleine Bastien received the endorsement of Progressive Democrats of America, a group that has been pretty much absent on the issue of campaign financing and acts as an activist group rather than organizes communities as Marleine Bastien has had such a strong history of accomplishing. Ms. Bastien is a progressive across the board who has engendered tremendous respect from those in the South Florida community who have advocated on issues such as human rights, health care, immigrants and the needs of our Haitian community. I’ve been especially impressed with how well-organized and streamlined her campaign operations appear to be despite lacking the big money of Rudy Moise or the higher profile of Frederica Wilson. Other candidates in the race may sound progressive on one issue or another, but when I’ve talked with them personally and/or seen them speak at candidate forums, their knowledge of the issues is apparently not equal. I think that Marleine Bastien for Congress District 17 is an excellent choice, and you should vote for her, too. Marleine Bastien exhibits true leadership, and she has also been endorsed by the National Organization for Women (NOW).
Governor: Brian P. Moore
Now this choice may raise eyebrows, and Alex Sink may very well be a fine candidate, but she’ll likely win this race and we’ll need her to win against the Republican candidate in November. For the primary, however, I object to how the Florida Democratic Party operates. It seems like the party chooses the candidate, and then they hand Miss Bank of America to us on a silver platter and expect us to vote for her. In fact, in the phone call script to get-out-the-vote for Organizing for America, they tell us to tell voters that the President supports Alex Sink in Florida’s Democratic primary. Shouldn’t that be up to us, the voters?? Michael Arth had been running as a very progressive Democrat for the primary race for governor, and Bud Chiles said that he had approached the party about running. Both claim that they were given no support whatsoever, however, and so they are both running as Independents. How does that help Democrats in the General Election??? Any votes for Independent candidates basically only take away from votes for the Democrat in the general election, thus giving a better chance to the Republican. That seems like gross mismanagement of the Florida Democratic Party to me, but that should be no surprise.
Brian P. Moore is very progressive, and in fact has previously run for office as a Socialist, but he’s also run as a Republican. Moore claims that he’s supported candidates that run for office based on his advocacy for policies that benefit average working Americans. Moore is entirely progressive on social issues, however, and he’s anti-war, which should be indicated by his founding of the Nature Coast Coalition for Peace & Justice. You can check out his website for his policy positions at www.votebrianmoore.com. I can certainly understand if any voter chooses to vote for Alex Sink, who has been selected by the Democratic Party powers as the corporate and banking executive who might best appeal to Florida voters, but I’ll be voting for Brian P. Moore as the Florida Democratic Gubernatorial candidate.
Attorney General: Dan Gelber
Dan Gelber is an outstanding candidate for just about any office, and he’ll be an excellent Attorney General. Gelber has innovative ideas of what the role of Florida’s Attorney General should be- advocating for the best interests of the people of Florida rather than simply soliciting on behalf of whomever is Governor or for what the legislators in Tallahassee may want. Gelber has been Chief Counsel in the U.S. Senate, a federal prosecutor for nearly a decade, and he’s received the endorsement of every major newspaper throughout the state. His opponent was well-described by the Palm Beach Post as a generally anti-consumer legislator in Tallahassee who takes a lot of money from insurance companies and advocates on behalf of big-business interests over the interests of ordinary constituents in his district. Dan Gelber is also a terrific speaker, the nicest man you could meet, an experienced attorney and policy maker, and I’m therefore happily voting for Dan Gelber as the Democratic candidate for Florida Attorney General.
State Senator District 35: Kevin Burns
This is not my district, but it’s the one being vacated by Dan Gelber for his run for Attorney General, and I attended a recent candidate forum that included the two candidates for this position. All I can say is that I found Gwen Margolis to be stunningly, well… bitter. Her disparaging of her opponent during her brief talk to the attendees was a bit stunning and inappropriate, and while she has a long and well-respected history in South Florida politics, including previous stints in Tallahassee, her opponent in this race also has a shorter but respected history in local politics and probably deserves a shot in the state senate. There has been some controversy about his advocacy as Mayor of North Miami for a big real estate development by FIU’s North Campus, but he’s openly gay, a nice guy, hardly as brittle as Ms. Margolis appeared to be last week, and so I’ll recommend to those who live in District 35 to vote for Kevin Burns as the Democratic candidate in District 35.
County Commission District 6: Steven A. (Steve) Geller
OK, you may have your own district candidates to worry over, but my district has probably the nastiest race in South Florida… so there! This is contentious to say the least. There’s a lot of controversy over this race, so my explanation for my endorsement is an extensive one:
Suzanne “Sue” Gunzburger certainly has a long history in local politics, including the past, I think, eighteen years on the County Commission, and if she’s re-elected, it would be her last term before she’s termed out. Gunzburger claims to advocate preserving land and creating parks and nature preserves, and sure, perhaps her heart’s in the right place, but ya can’t push your agenda forward if you’ve managed to alienate just about every major local official and too many constituents with an attitude of unhelpfulness and downright dismissiveness as has been portrayed by many politicos and average citizens in her district. Gunzburger has failed to get the major endorsements of many policy advocates, elected officials and unions, but Steve Geller has. Geller served several terms as the elected Democratic leader in Tallahassee while serving as a state senator for the district until he was termed out last year. Sure, he had advocated on behalf of clients of his law firm who sought development deals in our communities, but he did so legally, and hey, these guys have to make a living despite the $30,000 dollars or so we pay them to serve in Tallahassee. Geller’s a smart guy, no doubt, and he’s worked hard on behalf of a wide array of interests, including advocating on behalf of the parents of autistic children, but Geller could not have been elected and re-elected if he didn’t serve the interests of his constituents at least as well as the interests of his clients in his other job, especially in a generally progressive district here in Broward County.
Geller’s campaign tactic of focusing on Gunzburger’s deceased husband’s history of gaining contracts with the county for a Gunzburger company of year’s past, Better than Wood, may appear to be an opportunistic and even sleazy political tactic, but if you were to read the local newspaper articles from the period of time in question in the early nineties as I have, the situations involving the Gunzburgers and the county are actually pretty disturbing. Sure, Sue may have abstained from voting on issues involving her husband’s company and even left the dais during those votes, but the county’s criteria for the types of plastics allowed for use in county projects had been changed in a way that benefited her husband’s product, and there had been some talk of a degree of intimidation expressed by county employees who were made aware of the fact that a commissioner’s husband was involved in county projects. So yes, the issues of her family’s financial dealings with the county may be questionable and perhaps not even particularly pertinent, but they are of some interest in this race.
While Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti did drop a recent and very brief investigation into those old matters, the accusations that Geller and Lamberti conspired to open an investigation are muted by the fact that Lamberti has no love for Gunzburger whatsoever. Gunzburger had also joined the unanimous vote of the County Commission to end the county’s pre-trial release program, which was devastatingly portrayed as influenced by the bail bondsman’s lobby on NPR “All Things Considered” in a nationally broadcasted story focusing on the Broward County Commission and the tragedies endured by the poor and indigent thrown into the over-crowded county jail over very minor offenses despite the benefits the pre-trial release program had demonstrated until it was gutted by the commission to the delight of the bail bond lobby.
Sue Gunzburger has at least two children that have been and are currently employed by the county, and I think there may have been a third. While her son, Ron, who is also her campaign manager, is an attorney working for the county tax appraiser, he’s generally known as a genuine talent in his job but also a very nasty campaigner on behalf of his mother. His sister had a very controversial stint working in the Sheriff’s office, however, which ultimately involved a law suit that put her on the losing end. Apparently, after being hired by the county, she was accused of being absent from her job, was fired, and then sued without success in regards to her termination. Sue Gunzburger certainly gets her back up when the subject is brought up, but there’s no love lost between her and Sheriff Lamberti, who endorses Geller, as does the sheriff’s dept. union- as well as the firefighters and the AFL-CIO, amongst others.
The Mayor of Hallandale Beach claims that her intention had been to stay out of this race in regards to endorsing either candidate in order to “protect” her city, but Joy Cooper ultimately decided to endorse Steve Geller, as has Hallandale Commissioner Dorothy Ross. While projects in Hallandale Beach involved development that Gunzburger apparently did not choose to support, Gunzburger’s lack of advocacy for Hallandale officials on the county commission seems to have been as much a matter of policy as it was about her attitude towards those in local city government, and the anecdotal stories about Gunzburger’s dismissive reaction to calls for her help on issues are too numerous for me to ignore. In fact, I had contacted Gunzburger’s office for help on a couple of Hallandale issues and found both her and her aide to be far less than enthusiastic. On one issue, it was then-county Mayor Stacy Ritter who turned out to be helpful in getting some answers in regards to massive traffic engineering problems in Hallandale after Gunzburger showed little interest. And it’s not just current city officials that express dismay about dealings with Gunzburger. Past personalities in local politics have expressed similar stories to me. There’s also a lot of frustration expressed about Gunzburger’s failure to address beach renourishment.
So, Gunzburger may mean well… perhaps… but perhaps there’s also something in her personality that ‘clicks’ after she’s elected that causes her to throw her cohorts in local politics under the bus. Too many of them aren’t there to support her now in this very contentious race.
Gunzburger’s mantra is basically anti-development, and Geller has had his business interests with developer clients of his firm, but someone posted a sentence on BrowardBeat.com that brilliantly said it all about the race between Gunzburger and Geller :
“Really, this is like choosing between being frozen to death or roasting to death.”
Gunzburger’s apparent tendency to freeze out cohorts and officials whose support she would have been grateful for now hasn’t served her or her district well, and progress on the district’s quality of life is questionable. Geller is an accomplished and savvy politician, so we as voters are always taking a risk that such politicos are smarter and more scheming than the rest of us, but we have to watch vigilantly if we don’t want to be roasted by the influences of special interests.
I feel certain that Steve Geller is a very smart guy, and he’s also had a long history not just in elected politics but in the inner workings of the Democratic Party in Florida since his youth. Geller had terrific respect as a state senator and advocated for progress in the community as well as improving the cost of insurance. Geller has quite obviously engendered the support of far more elected and politically involved personalities in Broward County than has Gunzburger. But in the United States of America, let alone in Broward County, it’s become exceedingly difficult to run for any elected office without either wide-spread name recognition or millions of dollars in personal funds. We don’t have an ordinary Broward citizen in the race for this seat. Take your pick. I’m going for the roasting. I’m endorsing Steve Geller for County Commission Seat District 6.
And on to the Judicial races…
Circuit Judge Group 2: Kenneth l. Gillespie
Circuit Judge Group 4: Elijah H. Williams
Circuit Judge Group 6: Carlos A. Rodriguez
Circuit Judge Group 9: Susan Lebow
Circuit Judge Group 15: Matthew Isaac Destry
Circuit Judge Group 22: Carlos Rebollo
Circuit Judge Group 23: Barbara Anne McCarthy (Alan Bernstein is challenging her seat, but he’s also a very good choice)
Circuit Judge Group 24: John T. (“Jack”) Luzzo
Circuit Judge Group 47: Lisa Porter
Circuit Judge Group 51: Sandra Perlman
Circuit Judge Group 53: Rhoda Sokoloff
County Judge Group 1: John Robert Howes
County Judge Group 3: Peter Barry Skolnik
County Judge Group 4: Edward H. Merrigan, Jr.
County Judge Group 12: John “Jay” Hurley
County Judge Group 13: Linda R. Pratt
County Judge Group 14: Mary Judd Robinson
County Judge Group 15: Mindy Solomon (Roshawn Banks is also a good choice)
County Judge Group 20: Kenneth “Ken” Gottlieb
County Judge Group 26: Nathaniel Adam “Nate” Klitsberg
And lastly the School Board…
School Board District 1: Ann Murray
School Board District 2: Patti Good (not my district, but Good’s opposing candidates are terrible, including a Tea Party gal)
School Board District 8: Jennifer Leonard Gottlieb
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The Democratic Party and your candidates of choice need your help in getting out the vote for both this primary and for the election in November. If you want to help the Party or any particular candidate, BlueBroward.org can put you in touch.
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