A trapeze artist in a war with the county who is running a symbolic mayoral campaign against Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava was told last week that he can’t have his nickname on the ballot because it “is being used to mislead voters.”
Miguel “El Skipper” Quintero has gone by that name for years, he says. And he may appeal the decision, which he says was arbitrary, violating his due process. Quintero also says the decision indicates bias.
“It’s well established and known Miami-Dade County is a majority tri-lingual community: Spanish, English and Creole,” Quintero says. “Legal business can be conducted in any of these languages and recognized as binding.
“Having my nickname as ‘el Skipper is a testament of the diversity in America,” he says. “I wish my nickname to be ‘el Skipper’ on the ballot because that fits best with both the English and Spanish languages — literally encompassing my general identity as a candidate of two cultures.”
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Quintero was informed last week of the state’s decision by Miami-Dade Elections Assistant Deputy Director Vanessa Innocent. “Although you will remain qualified, your name will appear on the ballot as you designated without the non-compliant nickname,” she wrote June 22. “Your name will appear on the 2024 primary ballot as Miguel Quintero.”
The Florida state statute cited says candidates can use “a bona fide nickname customarily related to the candidate and by which the candidate is commonly known.” But the nickname can’t “be used to mislead voters,” it adds.
“A candidate may not designate a nickname that implies the candidate is some other person, that constitutes a political slogan or otherwise associates the candidate with a cause or an issue, or that is obscene or profane,” the law says. And it defines “political slogan” as “any word or words expressing or connoting a position, an opinion, or a belief that the candidate may espouse, including, but not limited to, any word or words conveying any meaning other than that of the general identity of the candidate.”
Quintero is not a very serious candidate. He knows this. He knows that his results August 20 will be in the low single digits percentage-wise. He has run this campaign to bring attention to what he says are inconsistencies and a double standard in the county’s code enforcement (more on that later).
The nickname “el Skipper” might be silly for a grown man who is not on a boat, but it has nothing to do with a cause or issue. It is not obscene or profane. It does not fit the definition of a “political slogan.”
“I did not give myself this nickname. Others gave me the name and it stuck,” Quintero said, adding that it was given to him by the captains of the yachts when he would set up his trapeze swing set next to a marina. They asked his staff who was “the skipper,” or team leader, he explained, but in Spanglish — “el Skipper.”
And it stuck.
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“My team ran with it and began referring to me as, ‘el Skipper,’ mostly because of my Spanish roots and being that I often spoke both English and Spanish, simultaneously, as one does in Miami,” Quintero wrote to Ladra and several other journalists in an email. “The nickname is often given to convey the general identity of the person in an affectionate manner.”
According to Wikipedia, “Skipper” can be someone’s name or a person who has command of a vessel, or an old timer in the British Royal Naval Reserve, or a Boy Scout troop leader, or someone who skips rope, or a member of a minor league hockey team, or a character in Gilligan’s Island, or a butterfly, or the name of Barbie’s younger sister or the manager of a sports team, or a semi-automatic pistol, or
“The reality is the statute is too broad and open to the opinions of a very few select individuals with the power to do anything about it. As we all know, the courts have ruled that statutes or laws with broad meanings are not enforceable,” he said.
Meanwhile, Miami-Dade Director of Public Safety James Reyes, whose legal name is Jems Reyes, has not been forced to put his legal name on the ballot, which should technically read “Jems ‘James’ Reyes.” Could this become an issue later if someone wants to challenge it in court?
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State: Miami-Dade mayoral candidate can’t use ‘El Skipper’ name on ballot added by Ladra on
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