When Miami Commissioner Jeffrey Watson got appointed to replace Keon Hardemon, who became a county commissioner, Watson told everyone at a public meeting that he would not run for the seat when it came up this year.
But that was ten whole months ago.
This week, Watson — who came out of nowhere, doesn’t know anybody and still has a 202 area code telephone number — qualified to run in District 5, which covers Overtown, Wynwood, Little Haiti, Liberty City and the Upper East Side. It is a majority Black district.
It wasn’t entirely unexpected. Watson has been raising money quietly for a political action committee since July. He’s already got almost $100,000.
Know more: Miami Commission appoints Jeffrey Watson to vacancy in a new power shift
And folks might want to remember that Watson really didn’t want to bow out of the race preemptively last year. Or, at the very least, he was hesitant. He was pressured, hard, by Commissioners Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Manolo Reyes to say that he would not enter the race with all the advantage that being a de facto incumbent pulls.
Twice, he said he had “no intention” to run, using those careful words. Twice. He told commissioners he didn’t want to be an unaccountable lame duck commissioner.
“Would I pledge not to run? Most folks would not want me to make that pledge,” he said at the Nov. 18 meeting where he was ultimately selected. “It would go against whatever the community might decide.”
That should have been a hint.
But the commission wore him down. “I’ll pledge not to run. I don’t know what is going to happen in November. I may not be here, in one form or another. So I have no intentions nor will I run in November.”
ADLP didn’t believe him. Who knew The Dean would be right? Watson had to return to the podium a second time to reassure Diaz de la Portilla that he would not run in this race. He even took his COVID-19 face mask off, purportedly to be better understood.
“I won’t run,” he said, as he stared right at DLP. “Is that good enough?”
ADLP was pulling for Christine King, president of the Martin Luther King Economic Development Corp. and Hardemon’s handpicked heir.
King, who has raised $188,850, did not return a call and text for comment.
Also in the race are community activist Francois Alexandre, who was beaten by Miami Police in 2013 after the Heat won the title, Zico Fremont, who owns an auto parts shop, Michael Hepburn, who lost in the Democratic Congressional District 27 primary in 2018, the Rev. Shoshana Lincoln, who runs the People Helping People Gain Self Reliance non-profit and community activist Stephanie Thomas, a former deputy city clerk in North Miami.
Know more: Miami City Commission hopeful plans to walk every block in District 5 in March
It’s a crowded field and King was widely seen as the front runner. Keyword: Was. Watson will make it a much more competitive race now.
It’s a big deal because if Watson wins, Commissioner Joe Carollo — who is fighting with ADLP, the chief and, well, everyone — will keep his three-vote majority block. Watson is an ally. He named Carollo attorney Benedict Kuehne as his deputy treasurer, according to the paperwork he filed Friday. Reyes the other Carollo ally who had also pressured Watson to commit to not running, has already said he will support him.
So now we know his word is worth squat.
The appointed commissioner, an economic development consultant, did not return calls and texts to three different telephone numbers Friday. The third one — a number displayed on a billboard that appeared overnight in the District — was answered by a recording at the Gibson law firm in Coral Gables. Charles Gibson is the registered agent and treasurer of a political action committee called Fighting For Change, which Watson opened in July.
Gibson also owns Lemon City Development LLC, which in turn owns a vacant parcel zoned for five stories and multi-family on 66th Street and Northwest 4th Avenue, according to property records. That’s in District 5. By the way.
Watson did tell The Miami Herald last month that he was thinking about running but wanted to see first if he could raise the funds necessary. The PAC collected $92,600 in August, according to campaign finance reports. Most of it is from development and real estate interests.
See how quickly Watson caught on?
He just opened a campaign bank account last week, so Watson hasn’t reported anything there yet. King has almost $190K in her campaign account, including $60,150 collected just in August, her best month ever. Guess she ramped it up when Watson started collecting.
Jeffrey Watson goes back on his word, runs for full term in Miami’s District 5 added by Ladra on
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