Juan Cuba leaves Dade Dems for union job, doing the same

A new year, and a new job for Miami-Dade Democratic Party Executive Director Juan Cuba, who quit the job he’s had for two years to join big labor as a political strategist for the Service Employees International Union.

Cuba, who takes too much credit for the victories of Homestead Mayor Jeff Porter and Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava, will continue to work in Miami-Dade for the SEIU’s state council. He probably got to better know the labor political team over the course of these two campaigns, since labor involvement was heavy in both, especially in Levine-Cava’s race against longtime labor foe Lynda Bell.

“It has been an incredible honor and privilege to work with all of you,” Cuba posted on Facebook earlier this month, plugging both the former chair, Annette Taddeo — who resigned to serve as Charlie Crist‘s running mate in the campaign for governor they just lost — and Sen. Dwight Bullard, who took over, allegedly.

Apparently, Cuba is not leaving because he’s upset that they practically abandoned him after first encouraging him to run against none other than State Rep. Jose Felix “Selfie King” Diaz. Cuba was beaten 2 to 1, but 33% of the vote is still sorta respectable for a newbie Dem with zero name recognition in a GOP-dominated midterm year. Diaz, if he’s as strong as everyone thinks, should have kept Cuba at 12% or so.

Here’s the rest of his statement.

“I’m especially thankful to have worked with so many amazing people: two great Chairs, Annette Taddeo and Dwight Bullard; a talented staff; a dedicated steering committee; amazing donors; hard working DEC members; and our progressive partners and allies. We have done some great things together — electing a strong progressive in Daniella Levine Cava to the county commission, defeating Mark Bell in Homestead, partnering with the coalition to save our libraries from the Mayor’s budget cuts, expanding our donor base, and much more. We did it together.

“I’m not going far. In the new year I will be starting a job with SEIU State Council responsible for political strategy in Miami-Dade. In that role I’m looking forward to continuing our work to build a lasting progressive movement in Miami. Onward.”

It is probably for the best that he left out that little defeat of Congressman Joe Garcia, which is where the Dade Dems really should have been busting their butts, rather than the non-partisan city races and the “No Free Rides” challenges of seven incumbent state reps — all of whom didn’t just lose but were designed to lose and very well could have helped turn out the GOP vote for Gov. Rick Scott.

Ladra is almost 100% sure that Cuba, who we believe still wants a job with the Dems presidential campaign in 2016, left those tidbits off his resumé.

We wish him well in 2015 and hope he can use his new gig to better hold electeds’ feet to the fire.

Annette Taddeo, Juan Cuba, Miami-Dade Democrats

Juan Cuba leaves Dade Dems for union job, doing the same added by Ladra on December 29, 2014
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