David Richardson to make his city case at Tuesday breakfast meeting

• Tweet
• Sumo

• Tweet

Former State Rep. David Richardson first wanted to be a state senator, toying with inheriting the seat once held by Sen. Gwen Margolis before it was redistricted in 2016. Then he wanted to be a congressman, but lost the primary last year to former UM president Donna Shalala. who went on to win the seat once held by U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

But now he wants to be a city of Miami Beach commissioner. Might as well. It’s what’s left.

Richardson is running for the Group 6 seat vacated by Commissioner John Elizabeth Aleman, who is not seeking re-election after one term. With a slight but comfy $60,000 lead in fund raising, Richardson is the muy obvio front runner against restaurateur Adrian Gonzalez and Blake Young.

Read related: Miami Beach commission election gets interesting already

The first openly gay legislator elected in Florida will likely talk about his platform at the Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club meeting where he is the guest speaker this week (starts at 8:30 a.m. at Puerto Sagua Restaurant, 700 Collins Ave.). For a preview, go to Richardson’s very bare website, which says Miami Beach has certain challenges yet to overcome.

“The city must address recent public safety concerns. It must address climate change issues. It must consider and balance the interests of our residents, developers, and the robust tourism industry,” the website states. “And, the city must root out any remaining remnants of corruption and self-dealing by fully implementing and supporting a strong and independent auditor.”