Democratic battleground emerges for South Florida open House seat http://t.co/kUSneVdiCv #SSNalerts #sayfie
— Sunshine State News (@SSNAlerts) July 24, 2013
Sunshine State News
Democratic Battleground Emerges for South Florida Open House Seat
By Kevin Derby
Posted: July 24, 2013 3:55 AM
With Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Pembroke Park, facing term limits in 2014, three Democratic candidates are already running hard to replace him in the Florida House. Gibbons, who is now running for the Broward County Commission, represents parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
So far, former North Bay Village Mayor Joe Geller, Hallandale Beach Vice Mayor Alex Lewy and teacher John Paul Alvarez are seeking the Democratic nomination to replace Gibbons.Read the rest of the article at:
http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/democratic-battleground-emerges-south-florida-open-house-seat
That's curious!
Voluble former Florida Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller's name never gets mentioned once in this interesting Sunshine State News article I read this morning, and neither do any of his very helpful friends in the area and their well-financed groups & PACS they represent, most of whom will be involved with his brother Joe's FL-100 campaign at some point.
Also never mentioned -whether another more pragmatic candidate from either Aventura, Miami Beach or Sunny Isles may yet emerge and get into the race against three very Liberal candidates, all of whom are Men.
In my estimation, an articulate and personable Moderate candidate focused more on genuine problem-solving, more Transparency and common sense in government, and decidedly less-inclined towards the sort of knee-jerk liberal orthodoxy in the year 2013 that the three current Democratic candidates continually exhibit -candidates who despite lots of time to think of a good answer, STILL CAN'T explain how they'll differentiate themselves before next August's primary- would do quite well in a much-changed legislative district presently represented by term-limited carpetbagger Joe Gibbons.
A district that's changed in important ways and that as of this past November, encompasses everything in the area east of U.S.-1/Biscayne Blvd. at Sheridan Street to State Road A1A, from just south of State Road 84/ Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale on the north, south from Dania to Hollywood and then HB, past Aventura, Eastern Shores, Sunny Isles Beach, North Miami and south of Bal Harbour and Surfside on the east, to the northern parts of Miami Beach.
Among other things, not that you've seen it mentioned anywhere by the South Florida news media, but the new FL-100 has six times as many constituents who classify themselves as Hispanic as African-American.
Hmm-m...
One of the good points of this profile of the candidates is that it specifically brings up Stand Your Ground, SYG.
Contrary to some Dems & Reps legislators who want to "Amend" SYG to make it "better" by being more specific about the exact circumstances under which it can be employed and used as a valid defense in court -regarding the initiation of contact or what is a reasonable, perceived threat, et al- as the link above says quite clearly, "Amend" is currently supported
by only 31% of FL's population.
So in that respect, both Lewy and Geller are real outliers on this issue by being within that 13% sub-minority that want to kill it entirely by repealing it, putting them in a minority opinion position not only within the state, but in my opinion, also within the immediate area.
Seriously, why would anyone in this area with its constant and well-founded fear of opportunistic crime want to help the criminals and actually make it harder for innocent people to defend themselves?
As a Moderate-to-Conservative person, I think that stand of theirs only further highlights their general incompatibility with this changed district, and their future ineffectiveness if somehow elected to the position.
It's for reasons like that that I continue to believe that a reasonably well-financed Moderate candidate, one who's properly focused on actually fixing problems in the state and improving the area's overall Quality of Life -which HAS clearly been diminishing- and bringing middle-management jobs to Florida, could win the race in November, whether a Democrat or a Republican.
Even while Geller and Lewy cannibalize each other over the next 12 months over who can be the biggest Liberal before the party primary.
And if that candidate to enter the race believes in what I've set forth as a very sound platform is an articulate and personable Moderate Woman, possibly a savvy and telegenic businesswoman from Aventura or Sunny Isles Beach, even more so.
