We have district voting in part to ensure that we have diversity on the County Commission and the districts are drawn to help achieve that goal (look at the gaping hole in the middle of the map above). We have 4 Black, 7 Hispanic and 2 White Commissioners at the present time. So, what will happen with the District 8 seat, one of the two? That is the big elephant in the living room that no one is talking about. Will Whites avoid voting for a Hispanic in this race, even if they think that candidate is better, because they want to hold on to this seat? I don't know. I tried to find the demographics for District 8 but couldn't get them except that in the 2006 election, 18,128 people voted. I believe the White vote is at about 50% in the district.
I am just throwing this out there because you just know the Miami Herald will avoid this issue and I think if race/ethnicity becomes a factor it could change the whole ball of wax in this election.
15 comments:
There are two hispanics running in this race who are very well funded and probably on the bottom of the total lack of doing anything within District 8, other than living in it.
I would hope voters pay attention to the candidates, their work within the District and not their war chest - but call me a dreamer! Most voters will not take the time to get to know who they're voting for.
As far as I'm concerned, with so many candidates, this is a toss up.
It will be interesting to see the 2nd quarter financials and who is donating to who.
I'd also be staying away from any candidate with Union and/or Chamber endorsements.
I believe that the people of my district will do as you speculate.
With 6 of the 7 Hispanics on the commission being among the worst we have, I think the district will elect Flinn. Too bad this candidate pool is weak.
Hmmmmmm. The insinuations here are interesting.
White > Hispanic or Black
I Guess Huey "Kingfish" Long was hipanic like Bruce Kaplan and Mayor Richard Daley was black like Steve Clark. What was Nixon? Asian?
IDIOTS and THIEVES come in all colors and speak many languages.
NO ONE RUNNING IN DISTRICT 8 is worth wasting fossil fuels or valuable time to cast a ballot for very few folks are.
How come we have all these elections and things "progressively" get worse? Mobocracy is here, your either get W with an endless war and deficit spending or Obama with deficit spending and an endless war.
How big a role will ethnic politics play in this election? District voting feeds into keeping our electorate divided and feeds our distrust of others. I opt that it will play a very large role. The same division of peoples is playing out in Commissioner's Rolle's district where Haitians are unable to unseat him, an African American incompetent.
Don't think this will be a factor. May the best candidate win!
I don't think race will be an issue here either. I don't know if the best candidate is going to win though because it's going to depend on turn out and absentee ballots! It also depends on who one thinks is the best candidate!
I live in the District and I want to know what is their vision for the County, how will our area and other suburban areas be protected from further encroachment of intensive and incompatible land uses, how they feel about moving toward efficiency in govt,how they view the role of the County with those of the new cities . . . This is my starting list, I will add more as we get closer to election day.
Then you should take a close look at Pam Gray anonymous above.
District 8 is the Commission race to watch!!, Not Rolle, Not Souto, Not Sosa or whoever, It's 8.
The demographics strongly favor an Hispanic candidate just like Moss's District. Moss should also look at the numbers where a majority are now Hispanics.
The Commission will be predominately Hispanic leaving only one Anglo candidate. As for the Haitians, Edmonson has more Haitians that can vote than Rolle. Easier for Haitians to get elected in her seat than Rolle's seat. LOOK AT THE MAP!! The Haitians base is in Edmonson,s district. Plain and simple.
Unfortunately for the Haitians they do not have the distinct privilege, luxury, or God's distinct honor that Cubans have in having a fast track to citizenship in this Great Country. That's a topic for another BLOG!!
Get used to it, numbers do not lie. "8" is going to a HISPANIC?
And you know what GENIUS??????
Who cares!
^^^^I'm Annette Taddeo and I approve this message^^^^
Who cares? One can only hope that if you live in the district you DO CARE. This seat is our only vehicle into environmental sanity. This is the seat that always said what had to be said even if the vote didn't pan out.
I care. I want the person to win for the right reasons.
The anon above is right - with the exception of "who cares."
The district has become majority Hispanic since the last census and because people vote their comfort, it is likely that the Hispanic candidates will get a bit of a boost. It isn't a guarantee of anything though. This district is generally more affluent, although not as much as District 7, and educated, and engaged in their government.
District 9 is indeed even more Hispanic than 8 is, but Commissioner Moss has the power of incumbency (fund-raising) and has remained practically scandal free for his 16+ years on the commission. Incumbency is more powerful than race politics in this County.
Besides, I have a black President and will work to elect an Hispanic Congressman (Joe Garcia), so my personal ethnicity is moot. Hopefully that will be true for this Commission seat too.
Haitian base is north Miami area - Rolle is the commissioner in that area.
People do vote for candidates with whom they are more comfortable. Race and ethnicity are key if the voters don't know much about the candidates, or if there isn't a great difference between them. Anglos are barely still the largest voting group in District 8, which helps Anglo candidates like Mayor Flinn, who also has a base of past supporters and favorable municipal experience (which is why I support him). Realistically, if more Hispanic candidates jump in, followed by more ethnic-based voting, all the better. The last numbers I saw were 47,000 Anglo, 45,000 Hispanic and 10,000 Black.
Moss may have some trouble after redistricting, even with his solid record on the BCC, as more Hispanics have moved into his district.
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