For Senate District 39, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell ... by gimleteye

For Senate District 39, first-time candidate and Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell wins our support. We often lament the shortage of qualified individuals to run for political office. That is not the case, this year, in District 39.

Debbie, a fluent Spanish speaker, is a long-time contributor to Miami-Dade's diverse communities. She is challenging the incumbent, Anitere Flores.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell has been endorsed by Emily's List, Florida Planned Parenthood,  and SAVE PAC.

Flores is against Planned Parenthood and supports restricting access to reproductive healthcare. Off shore drilling is OK with Flores. What the NRA wants, Flores delivers: stand your ground, open carry, whatever.

Flores has been employed by the Trump-like Doral College and voted, while employed by a private college, to hike tuition for public schools. In 2013 Flores pushed legislation that would have made Florida public schools spend $80 million on private tutoring companies like the one run by her employer, Academica.

Today Flores claims to be shocked by FPL's massive pollution of the sole source drinking water aquifer in the district, including South Dade and threatening the Florida Keys, through failed cooling canals at the Turkey Point nuclear reactors, but during the entire term of her service in the legislature, she never once questioned the violations of state law that were known to be occurring. Flores voted to rescind required inspections for septic tanks; in other words, out of sight, out of mind. For this South Floridians in Flores' district are paying a very heavy price.

One of the names that rises as a contributor to the Flores PAC is the Voice of Florida Business, filled with campaign contributions from the state's largest utilities like FPL and polluters like Big Sugar/ Florida Crystals. In 2013 Flores voted to give sugar companies a 30-year no bid lease on critical parcels of Everglades land; lands which are as important to Everglades restoration as inspecting septic tanks is to protecting Florida's badly damaged rivers and estuaries feeding the Everglades and of tremendous value coastal communities. Flores has received over $50,000 from Big Sugar, including a $10,000 contribution from US Sugar in May 2016.

According to FloridaStrong: "Miami has the highest rate of uninsured in the state and one of the highest rates of uninsured among any county in the country due to the legislature’s refusal to expand health care coverage to Floridians." Flores voted to slash the minimum wage for low-wage workers.

"During the 2016 legislative session, Sen. Flores and the Health Policy committee chose to defund Planned Parenthood – which provides important STD testing and treatment services – instead of closing the health care coverage gap. Flores has been a long-time leader in the effort to restrict access to reproductive health, even trying to amend the constitution to block access."

Debbie has spent two decades in Miami-Dade County dedicated to improving the South Florida community, both as a non-profit executive and consultant and volunteer.

As an FIU fundraising professional, she helped raise over $50,000,000 to improve public higher education and community-based healthcare at FIU’s College of Medicine and College of Health and Urban Affairs.

Debbie raised money to improve services to individuals with developmental disabilities at Hope Center. For the past several years, while raising small children, she has been an independent consultant to non-profits and volunteer for the Coral Restoration Foundation, the Zoological Society of Florida and the Florida Aquarium. Debbie is a frequent visitor to the Florida Keys where she snorkels, fishes and dives with her family. She wants to make sure that we preserve our oceans, reefs, sea life and wildlife for our children’s generation to enjoy.

Debbie signed the Now or Neverglades Declaration, calling for land acquisition in sugarcane production south of Lake Okeechobee, to eventually relieve pollution damaging both Florida coasts and the Everglades. Although her opponent, Anitere Flores, has also signed the declaration -- her late conversion to support for this measure is not matched by her record.

The choice for District 39 voters is clear. The incumbent GOP candidate Anitere Flores supports Donald Trump, she has voted to increase costs of public education while taking a salary from private competitors, and her conversion to Everglades champion is opportunistic, based on Fair Districts and reapportionment which she and the Florida GOP opposed, spending millions of taxpayer dollars in the process.

Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a Democrat, is an experienced professional with a record of public service, a committed volunteer and leader in South Florida, a young mother active in her community, a voice for choice and a secure economy based on sound values.  For District 39, we support Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.