If Pablito Rivera lived in Little Havana, you’d hear him yelling — over the sound of his moped, Marc Anthony wafting from some window y las gallinas next door — “The Democrats are coming! The Democrats are coming!”
Local Dems invaded Little Havana, so to speak, this week when they opened their official headquarters Monday in the same neighborhood office space that Organizing for America used last year for the presidential campaign.
That’s right. A full 18 months before the next partisan state race — as the Republican Party locals continue to seemingly lick their wounds — the Miami-Dade Democratic Party is, well, engaged.
“This is not the same party anymore,” Miami-Dade Democratic Chairwoman Annette Taddeo Goldstein told Ladra before she presented the line-up of politicians there. “We are not going away.”
Blame it on Barack. Yes, again. The fever raised during last year’s reelection campaign for President Obama, winning Miami-Dade by 208,000 votes, and the help it gave to ushering in two new Democratic hopefuls in the 305 — Congressman Joe “At Last” Garcia and State Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-Miami) — has given local and state Dems a shot of confidence.
And, like all political junkies, they want more.
“We are building a foundation of Democrats elected in Florida and we’re going to go all the way to the Governor’s Mansion,” Taddeo later told the crowd, in what seemed like pep rally go-get-’em fervor. “We’re going to beat Rick Scott!”
“This is why we’re going to make a difference in the next election,” said Garcia, who knows he has a big bulls eye target on his back as the #1 Dem freshman that the local GOP is going after (J-Rod is the secondary target).
Garcia called the Hispanic community “ground zero for this fight” and reminded the preacher’s crowd at the opening — more than 50 strong at 11 a.m. on a weekday, which could mean a lot of Dems are either unemployed or doing very, very well — that Obama lost in Hialeah only by two points. “This is the most Hispanic city in the United States,” he said. And one of the strongest Republican strongholds in Florida — if not the country.
Taddeo had said earlier that they had intended on having their headquarters “in the heart of the Hispanic community.” The corner of Southwest 21st Court and First Street seems like just that. Taddeo thought it was in J-Rod’s district, but it is actually in the one represented by the other local freshman Dem, State Rep. David Richardson, whose Spanish is decent for a gringo but much worse than J-Rod’s, who has obviously been brushing up. Good for him.
The location of the party HQ, at 2141 SW 1st Street, will be good for both of them, however, perhaps even better than it is other Dem electeds, some of whom were proudly displayed at the event, including Miami Shores Vice Mayor Jesse Walters, Miami Shores Counciwoman Ivonne Ledesma, Doral Councilwoman Sandra Ruiz, Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner, Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora and Taddeo’s political madrina, School Board Member Dorothy Bendross Mindingall. (For more photos, visit our facebook page). Congresswoman Federica Wilson was there — for about 90 seconds before she had to leave. Garcia left right after his little speech also, saying he had to jump on a plane to D.C.
There was a surprise cameo appearance by former Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez — who was described as the pioneer of Hispanic Democrats and has been more politically active, appearing on television talk shows and having a press conference against legislation that removed the county’s home rule rights on certain workers’ issues (more on that later). She introduced him as someone she had learned much from when they ran for Congress at the same time in 2008, he against Lincoln Diaz-Balart and she against Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. When asked to speak, Ruiz gave her time to Martinez, saying that “as the only Democrate elected in my municipality,” she wanted to hear from the pioneer. “In the strong Republican stronghold of Hialeah, we had a Democrat leader,” Ruiz said.
“I need to practice my English,” Martinez opened, referring to Richardson’s practice of his Spanish.He told the crowd how he really started in Miami. A graduate of Miami High, not Hialeah High, Martinez worked as a student volunteer for former mayor Maurice Ferre. He also lost both his most recent bids — one for Congress in 2008 and the other for mayor in his old city again in 2011.
“When I see Joe elected, I go back to 2008 and what we started,” Martinez said, inferring that he and Taddeo paved the way. “We made it better in 201 and then we made it work in 2012. We had obtained what we lost many years ago — someone who doesn’t represent the party, but represents the people.
“In 2014, we’re going to do much better. And wait til 2016. It’s going to be sweet,” Martinez said. “As someone who has been around so long, you can see the trends.”
One might imagine that the local Dems may also be helpful in non-partisan races to high profile party fellows like Denis Rod and Alex Dominguez in two Miami Commission races. “So far, they haven’t,” Rod told me as we waited for the speakers to begin. “Maybe now, especially with an office open in Little Havana. It’s good for people to be able to come in even if they have questions because there is so much misinformation out there,” said Rod, who is the only Democrat in a crowded field of Republicans running for the open seat vacated by Commissioner Francis Suarez, who is running for mayor against incumbent Tomas Regalado. Dominguez is going up against Commissioner Frank Carollo.
While they haven’t given funds from the party — at the same time as Taddeo and Garcia stump for party donations, talking about how the message needs money to get moving — Taddeo said they will provide fundraising training and a copy of their donor lists to candidates for municipalities or school board races. Maybe, when the time comes, they’ll provide a little phone banking like they did for Ross Hancock‘s commission run in Coral Gables (not that it helped him at all).
Juan Carlos Cuba, executive director of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, said the office — for which the local party pays half the $2,000 rent, with the other half coming from the state Dems — will be more about outreach and giving volunteers a place to work from than the individual candidates.
“We’re trying to keep the momentum going from the 201 election. Really, 2014 is just around the corner and if we don’t continue to engage the volunteers workin with us, we’ll have to start from scratch again,” Cuba said.
“And we can’t let that happen.”
To that end, and in order to not miss a beat, the local party has hired a trio of former Obama campaigners: Field Director Steve Jackson, Regional Director Roy Aguillon and Communications Director Rachel Johnson. The Florida Democratic Party provided them with an additional staff member: Mayra Macias, who is in charge of Hispanic outreach, which is apparently of utmost importance. The local party moved its office from Miami Beach — in the same office building on Arthur Godfrey Road as Democratic moneyman Alexander Heckler. Though maybe it was because former State Rep. Marcelo Llorente, a Republican, joined the firm.
Still, will they be looking for candidates to run in 2014 against Republicans? Yes, no doubt about it, Taddeo said. When asked who they would be targetting, Taddeo only smiled. But we all know — don’t we?– who might be weak. State Reps. Erik Fresen and Michael Bileca — based on their slim wins in 2012, even if it was Obama fueled — are the easiest choices. State Rep. Carlos Trujillo, who might be credited for killing the Dolphins stadium bill but is also bashed for championing the parent trigger bill, is another option. Our three Republican State Senators seem safer — but like Ladra said ealier, there are still 18 months to go.
The party might not have to go far to find someone to run against Bileca. Taddeo — who lost the 2008 Congressional bid and a county commission run in 2010 — is widely rumored to be looking at getting back on a ballot. While some say she may challenge Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, Ladra thinks that non partisan race may not be looking as good to her — or the party, which is going to put its best resources where it can make the most gains.
Like in Little Havana.
Local Dems stay in step, start slugging for 2014 and beyond added by Ladra on
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