The Miami Herald Editorial Board’s recommendations for the Florida Senate | Editorial
Term limits have left two open seats in the Florida Senate for Miami-Dade voters to fill. The third is a race in which the incumbent has drawn a challenger. Here are our recommendations.
DISTRICT 35
In the August primary, State Rep. Shevrin Jones defeated three Democratic opponents to reach the general election, where he is facing a write-in candidate in the race to replace the term-limited Sen. Oscar Braynon II.
Opponent Darien Hill, an independent, has been essentially inactive in the race. Jones is full of fresh ideas and solutions for the district and is proud to serve as Florida’s first openly gay Black lawmaker. As we said in our initial recommendation: “Getting anything done as a member of the minority Democratic Party in Tallahassee is tricky, but Jones has managed to do it well. He pushed for Florida police to wear body cameras. Touched by the case of a female inmate who had a baby alone in a cell, he has called for “more dignity” for female inmates. He supports full legalization of marijuana and a ban on assault weapons. On the coronavirus front, Jones says “ the state reopened too soon.” He’s right.
Jones will be a champion for the district, which straddles the Broward and Miami-Dade line and includes West Park, Pembroke Park, Miramar, Miami Gardens and Opa-locka. The Herald Editorial Board recommends SHEVRIN JONES for Florida Senate seat 35.
DISTRICT 37
State Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez has done everything a legislator is expected to do for constituents. He has focused on the issues that matter most: those include pushing historic climate change legislation, protecting tenants in foreclosure, reforming condo law and bringing home millions for infrastructure projects.
The Democratic state senator accomplished all this, even though a member of the minority party, by reaching across the aisle to Republican colleagues, building consensus, and even wearing rubber galoshes on the Senate floor to drive home the point that sea-level rise is real, and coming for us.
Rodriguez is being challenged by Republican Ileana Garcia, a former TV and radio commentator who once was deputy press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security and with whom the Editorial Board was unable to meet. She also has declined to be interviewed by Herald news reporters.
The founder of Latinas for Trump, Garcia, in a statement, has branded Rodriguez as having a “far-left agenda.” It has been a reliable, potent and, ultimately, dishonest Republican mantra this election season against Democratic opponents.
One of Rodriguez’s singular accomplishments was getting Senate Bill 178 passed and signed into law by Florida’s Republican Gov. DeSantis. The bill requires any development receiving state funds to provide a “sea level impact” report to account for how rising water levels would affect the development.
Rodriguez worked closely with Republican state Rep. Vance Aloupis in the House and found unexpected allies in the builder and development industries.
He found common ground. That’s how to get things done when you’re outnumbered. The Herald Editorial Board recommends JOSE JAVIER RODRIGUEZ for Florida Senate seat 37.
DISTRICT 39
Two members of the state House are vying for this Senate seat: Rep. Javier Fernandez, of District 114, and Rep. Ana Maria Rodriguez of District 105.
Both are focused on affordable and workforce housing, education and climate change. Both are attractive candidates to fill this seat left vacant by the term-limited Anitere Flores.
Though in the minority party, Fernandez has worked well across the aisle to protect the interests of his district. He said that by working with Republican Rep. Daniel Perez, in line to become House Speaker, he was able to defang an “onerous” bill that would have resulted in Coral Gables paying $350,000 in legal fees. He also was able to modify a public-education bill by working with Republican Rep. Vance Aloupis, to bring more resources home.
Rodriguez has paid particular attention to the Keys, securing a reverse-osmosis plan and money for Habitat for Humanity housing.
We give Fernandez the edge here for his additional focus on social-justice issues, which were pushed to the forefront this year. These are complex issues that will need all of the persuasive advocates they can get in a state Senate reluctant to address them.
The Herald Editorial Board recommends JAVIER FERNANDEZ for Florida Senate seat 39.
