Next Miami-Dade Democratic Party chair will be a good one, no matter what

Billy Corben vs. ‘Shev’ Jones means nobody loses

No, it’s not a joke. It’s not a gimmick for his podcast or a campaign stunt against Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Billy Corben, the award-winning documentary filmmaker who is also a potent activist — especially in the city of Miami — and an acerbic observer and commentator on South Florida Politics, is really running to become the next chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, which is one of his favorite targets.

Is he going to start blasting himself? Ladra wouldn’t put it past him.

Corben may not seem at first blush like a likely candidate for leadership in the party that “doesn’t miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity,” as he likes to say. “The brand’s not broken. The brand is dead,” he also says.

But he’s taken on more bad Republicans than many of the party’s supposed leaders and electeds, who, granted, can’t be as brazen as Billy in public. And he’s done more to expose corruption and ethical breaches at the city of Miami than maybe anyone. He has taken on not only Commissioner Joe Carollo, his favorite whipping boy, but also current and former Commissioners Sabina Covo, Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Christine King and Manolo Reyes, City Manager Art Noriega, and former City Attorney Vicky Mendez, among others. He called Covo, a Democrat, ADLP in a wig in a great video mocking her and her Democrat support in last year’s Miami District 2 race.

An equal opportunity critic, which Ladra loves, he’s even bashed Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava over the head a few times. What Ladra fears is that he’ll stop. Will Corben continue to hold La Alcaldesa and other Democrats accountable after he is heading the county party? Or will he be quiet through November so she can be more easily re-elected.

Corben and quiet in the same sentence is more than weird. And he says he’s not gonna change.

“I’m a Democrat. I’m not in a cult,” Corben told Ladra. “Our responsibility is to civically involve voters, to find the best candidates in an election, to support them — and, once elected, we have to hold them accountable. I’m not going to defend the person I last voted for regardless of their job performance.”

He voted for DLC the last time, even arguably helped her get elected. But he’s said in the past that the alternatives were abysmal. And this year’s contest between Levine Cava and Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid, a hardline Trumpster, looks like a repeat. “The issue is who is the best candidate for mayor,” Corben said. “I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s a pretty objective decision.”

This is a special election to replace Robert Dempster, who was suspended last month by Florida Democratic Party chairwoman Nikki Fried who blamed repeated violations of the state party’s rules and bylaws. Many Dem insiders say it was a political hatchet job and Dempster was a scapegoat for a party in disarray. The winner of this insider election — only about 300 members of the county’s Democratic Executive Committee can vote on Friday — will serve the rest of the term through December. Then there is a new election. It is unclear if Corben and Jones want to serve beyond December.

But he’s already making Billy style trouble.

Corben has called for the election to be rescheduled because it falls on a Jewish holiday. “In order to maximize participation by my fellow Jewish DEC members and to avoid any perception of anti-Semitism, the event must be rescheduled,” he wrote on the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Dempster said he’s not endorsing anyone. But he mentioned how grateful he was that Corben volunteered his time and talent to create a web video ridiculing Ron DeSantis on some school board thing. “He worked on it for free. And it’s one of the most successful things we’ve ever done,” Dempster said.

Of course, that’s Billy’s wheelhouse.

His popular Instagram videos of Miami City Commission meetings and his Because Miami social media feed are staples in Miami’s political landscape. Corben was also behind the roving billboard truck that has made several appearances at City Hall and Carollo events with the commissioner’s YEAR mugshot and the audio of his daughter calling 911 in a domestic violence incident against his then wife. He recorded former Miami Marlins President David Samson calling the Miami Freedom Park deal a million dollar heist and found the cheat notes and talking points left by Mayor Francis Suarez about the firing of former Police Chief Art Acevedo, on a podium and shared it with the world.

Carollo has mocked him publicly, using his birth name, Billy Cohen, as some sort of anti-semitic dog whistle. And Mendez once called him a “vile little man,” which Corben — who has used that name professionally since his child actor days — immediately put on a T-shirt.

He also orchestrated the Pollo Carollo protest at Maurice Ferre Park during the opening of the dog and cat sculpture walk thing. Corben had several people dress up as chickens in wifebeater camisetas with Carollo’s mugshot go around clucking. One chicken was arrested. If the goal was to show how Carollo is just a buffoon who abuses his power, mission accomplished.

This battle for party chair is much more civilized than what he’s used to.

Corben is going up against Democrat Sen. Shevrin “Shev” Jones, a likable guy who goes down in history as the first gay person and first Black member of the LGBTQ community elected to the Florida Senate. Corben said he would not have run if Jones wasn’t unopposed when he threw his hat in. And he’s glad that since he announced his candidacy last week, two others have joined the race, even if they it’s just to take away votes from him. It’s really a two-man contest, anyway, between the filmmaker and the senator, who could not be reached for comment.

“This has already been successful,” Corben said of his campaign. “I wanted to have a conversation, not a coronation.” A debate that was planned for Wednesday at Gramp’s, however, has been cancelled because Jones, Corben said, backed out.

In a group chat among Democrats, Jones said he had an issue with the moderators (read: Dempster) and that the event should have been handled by the party leadership — the party leadership that endorsed him. That’s not a better idea. Maybe a bitter idea.

An educator born in Miami Gardens, Jones served as a state rep from 2012 to 2020 in a district that included southern parts of Broward County. Term-limited, he ran for the Florida Senate in a crowded primary in District 35 and was elected with no Republican opposition in the general. He is currently vice chair of the Appropriations Committee on Education and serves on the Education Postsecondary, Education Pre-K-12, Fiscal Policy, Regulated Industries and Rules committees.

Okay, so he’s not done a lot in Tallahassee. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t been busy trying. Jones introduced at least 51 bills and co-sponsored another 27 since 2020. Most have died in committee or been withdrawn, but it’s not his fault that his party has been made ineffective by a GOP-held legislature.

In a statement released last week, when he was running unopposed, he said he was motivated to boost Democrat candidates up and down the 2024 ballot.

“We’ve seen what happens when we don’t invest in robust, focused outreach and take communities for granted. This moment calls for a reset for our Miami-Dade County party so that we can re-elect Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and re-elect President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to finish the job. That starts with a willingness to step up, show up, and listen to voters’ concerns,” said Jones, a Biden-Harris 2024 National Advisory Board member.

“I’m committed to learning from past mistakes and working with organizers across the county as we rebuild and register voters, bring disengaged people back into the fold, engage with candidates in every corner of Miami-Dade, and increase Democratic turnout this fall,” Jones said in his statement.

“Across the state, we’ve seen voters reject MAGA Republicans’ extreme agenda of higher costs, an economy rigged for the rich and powerful, and fewer freedoms. The contrast could not be more stark, and it will take all of us, working in tandem, to not only re-elect President Biden but also uplift the hardworking down-ballot candidates running this year. I look forward to meeting with advocates and leaders across Miami-Dade to ensure we’re leaving no stone unturned and head into November in a stronger position.”

Before Corben came to the table, Jones got endorsements from Levine Cava ~~and Sen. Annette Taddeo, a former chair~~ (editor’s note: My bad, Taddeo was never on his list), as well as Sen. Jason Pizzo, Miami-Dade Commissioners Eileen Higgins, Danielle Cohen Higgins and Kionne McGhee as well as Congresswoman Federica Wilson, four state reps and several DEC members, including acting chair Laura Wagner and Ricky Junquera, who is running for vice chair. He said Dempster endorsed him also, but Dempster said that’s not true.

It’s only natural that Jones has the establishment support. They’ve probably all been a target of Billy’s at one point or another. And this is probably not what Fried meant with the billboards and her campaign launched last week to get more Florida Democrats to run for office.

Corben said that consultant Christian Ulvert, who represents many of the Dems that endorsed Jones, will not let him get elected.

“The consultant class cannot allow me to win,” he said. “This is not going to be a democratic process.

“It’s disgusting that Democrats act the same way that we criticize Republicans for.”

Corben’s battle is also uphill because his message is so unpalatable: That this November is a wash and Miami-Dade Dems have to learn to live with some short-term losses in order to make long-term gains.

“But those have to be strategic losses,” Corben told Political Cortadito, adding that county and state Dems have to start being honest with themselves. “Florida is not in play. We’re not fooling anyone.”

His straight talk and no-nonsense approach has its fans, even if they are afraid to be quoted by name.

“The current state of the party locally is a shambles and Billy is a proven and effective community leader, solutions oriented activist and talented communicator that can bring in fresh, new blood, is not afraid of fighting the good fight and has been doing it effectively and with undeniable results,” one active Democrat, not on the executive committee, told Ladra.

“I have no idea why he’d want this thankless job, but I think he’d do a credible job and put real fear into many of the locally elected Republicans crooks, as he has been doing for decades.”

Yeah, but how good will he be at fundraising?

If Corben were to miraculously beat the “consultant cabal” and win this party leadership race, it’s going to be an interesting year, to say the least.

But Dems could also do worse than Jones. And then Billy can go back to his day job of pissing off bad politicians from both parties by keeping them accountable.

Billy Corben, Miami-Dade Democrats, Shevrin Jones

Next Miami-Dade Democratic Party chair will be a good one, no matter what added by Ladra on April 22, 2024
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