State rep’s move to county clerk ‘and comptroller’ could expand the role

When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed State Rep. Juan Alfonso Fernandez Barquin (R-District 118) as the new Miami-Dade County Clerk — to replace longtime clerk Harvey Ruvin, who died five months ago — he also called him comptroller, a financial role the clerk officially serves but which Ruvin had always de facto conceded to whoever was the county mayor.

Fernandez-Barquin, an attorney with a degree in economics and ambition, is likely not gonna do that. In fact, las malas lenguas say he is excited about making the role a more public elected post — he has to run for office again in 2024 — with the same powers as other clerks in other counties in the state.

“As Clerk and Comptroller, I will work my hardest to streamle services, enhance technological capabilities and increase outreach to our residents,” Fernandez-Barquin said in a statement. “Thank you, Governor Ron DeSantis for your vote of confidence in my abilities.”

Notice how he said “Clerk and Comptroller?” Is this setting up a power struggle between Fernandez-Barquin and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava?

The clerk’s office already has massive responsibilities and services for the 2.7 million residents of Miami-Dade: Traffic fines, parking tickets, marriage licenses, divorces, civil complaints, mortgage foreclosures, property tax deeds, child support and alimony and so much more it will make you dizzy. Additionally, it supports the operations of the 11th Judicial Circuit and County Courts as well as providing professional services to the public, the judiciary, the legal community and the Miami-Dade County Commission.

The Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts manages the largest and highest volume of court filings and official records in the State of Florida and is the fourth largest judicial circuit in the country.

But the intel is that Fernandez-Barquin — who is already the clerk and comptroller on the website — wants to do more. He also wants to take over the budgeting part of the fees and tickets collected by the department — how they are imposed, if they are raised, and how they are spent. He just might be better suited for that kind of thing than Levine Cava, what with his economics background. But what about who comes next? It’s scary to think about someone incompetent with such powers.

Fernandez-Barquin was first elected with 53% of the vote to District 119 in 2018, before the district maps were redrawn, to replace Jeanette Nuñez, who became the lieutenant governor. In 2020, he had a barely there Democrat opponent named Imtiaz Ahmad Mohammad who got half the votes the state rep got, winning 65% to 35%. Last year, he defended two Republican challengers in the primary before beating the Democrat perennial Johnny Farias with 68% of the vote.

Before he was elected, Fernandez-Barquin was an assistant public defender for the 15^th Judicial Circuit and was an adjunct professor at Miami Dade College. He is currently chairman of the Hearing and Speech Center of Florida and a board member of the Jackson Public Health Trust. He got his bachelor’s degree in economics from Florida International University and his juris doctor from American University in Washington, D.C.

Ladra expects the office to become more partisan. Ruvin was a Democrat but it was hardly even known. Fernandez-Barquin is card-carrying Republican who has been an ally of DeSantis. He’s the state rep who sponsored the guy’s priority “anti-riot” legislation in 2021 in response to the George Floyd Black Lives Matter protests, establishing new limitations for demonstrators and increasing penalties. This year, Barquin was the sponsor of a new law — opposed by Levine Cava — that requires Miami-Dade to turn over its police department and all its assets to the new sheriff’s department in 2025.

It’s going to be hard to shed his red stripes now, if he even wants to.

He has to run for the seat next year, when voters also elect a sheriff, a tax collector — Miami Beach Commissioner David Richardson has already filed paperwork — and a supervisor of elections (Christina White has said she is running). Miami-Dade Police Director Freddy Ramirez has also filed paperwork to run for sheriff, one of five candidates so far but certainly the front runner.

Meanwhile, who’s going to run for District 118? And is there even going to be a special election? According to Florida Statutes, “if a vacancy in office occurs in any district in the state Senate or House of Representatives or in any congressional district, and no session of the Legislature, or session of Congress if the vacancy is in a congressional district, is scheduled to be held during the unexpired portion of the term, the Governor is not required to call a special election to fill such vacancy.”

But what about next year’s session? Does that count? DeSantis can’t possibly make the voters in the district wait until 2024 to get representation. The District and county leaders and GOP influencers in Miami-Dade should make it clear to the governor that we want a special election, pronto.

And there are already rumors swirling about one potential candidate. Las malas lenguas say that David “King Nine Lives” Rivera is prowling about. Sure, he was arrested on federal charges that include failing to register as a foreign agent — about an alleged $50 million contract with Venezuela’s government in 2017 so he could lobby U.S. legislators on their behalf. Maybe he should shoot higher.

After all, Donald Trump has been indicted and was arraigned Tuesday on federal espionage charges — and he’s running for president.

Esta de moda.

Juan Alfonso Fernandez-Barquin

State rep’s move to county clerk ‘and comptroller’ could expand the role added by Ladra on June 14, 2023
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