She’s in.
Taking a cue from Hillary Clinton at the national level, Teresa Sarnoff officially
filed paperwork Tuesday designating a bank account for her bid for Miami city commissioner in the seat to be vacated by her termed-out husband, Commissioner Marc Sarnoff.
It’s been rumored and expected for months. Maybe the recent rash of candidates filing for that juicy open seat in the last eight weeks pushed Mrs. Sarnoff to finally make the move.
Read related story: 3 hope to replace Marc Sarnoff don’t include wife — so far
Or was it Commissioner Sarnoff who pulled the trigger? Or their now shared campaign consultant/gatekeeper lobbyist Steve Marin?
She claims that she is an independent thinker in the same Miami Herald story where her husband rises to her defense. But we should soon have the opportunity to see for ourselves if that’s true.
And, really, what’s the big deal? We are rife with political dynasties around these parts. It’s, like, tradition. Look at the Regalados, the Suarezes, the Diaz-Balarts, the Diaz de la Portillas, the Barreiros, the Kerdyks (just to prove it ain’t a Latino thing).
Ladra doesn’t want to write off the missus just because she is the wife of a polarizing commissioner who everyone regards as a stand-in. We want to give her the benefit of the doubt despite the fact that she’ll still have Marin in her ear, like he does, and despite the $250,000 he’s raised for a PAC that he can use to help her, if he wants (read: knows what’s good for him).
But we already know that more money does not guarantee a victory. We saw that when the last spouse tried for a seat: Mark Bell, husband of former county commissioner and former Homestead mayor Lynda Bell, lost the mayoral election in that southern city in 2013. And, frankly, what did that bode for Lynda? Didn’t she just lose a race the incumbent should have won over a relatively unknown newcomer? Maybe Mr. Sarnoff ought to think about what a Mrs. Sarnoff loss could do to his political career, if he wants to run for a higher office one day as it is widely rumored.
Read related story: Mark Bell’s Homestead loss ripples over to wife Lynda Bell
Might this become a trend? Wouldn’t it be lovely if the wives of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos “Cry Wolf” Gimenez and Commissioner Xavier “Mayor Sir” Suarez decided to run for office, too? Wait, can you imagine Raiza Robaina running for mayor in Hialeah?
That’s the stuff reality shows are made of.
No other political spouses in this race so far, but there are already three other 
identified candidates in the race, and none of them are married into government: Activists Grace Solares, Rosa Maria Palomino and Mark Roger Simpson. Exactly. This race is just too good an opportunity for someone new with real gravitas to come in and immediately become the serious frontrunner, despite the missus.
Names floated about: Pollster Fernand Amandi, who once laughed at Ladra when she brought it up, and Matt Haggman, a former journalist who is now program director at the Knight Foundation.
If these guys are serious about future elected office, they should think long and hard about this one. These opportunities do not come by often. Once someone is in, it is much harder to beat them.
More so if you’re going up against a dynasty.
Mrs. Sarnoff makes the move for her hubby’s hand-me-downs added by Ladra on
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