State Rep. Javier Fernandez (D-Coral Gables) announced Wednesday that he will run next year in Senate District 39, where Anitere Flores (R-
Kendall) is termed out and Democrats have a real opportunity to pick up a seat.
But first, he has to move there.
There is no other Democrat in the race now. Pinecrest Councilwoman Anna Hochkammer, another carpetbagger who announced in April, has withdrawn for health reasons. But former State Rep. Robert Asencio (D-Hammocks) has said he will also run for the seat, creating a blue primary.
Is this the best the Florida Democratic Party can do?
Because this means Democrat voters in district 39 could have to choose 
between a state rep with 15 months and one session of experience who has to move to the district because he doesn’t live there now or a former state rep who lives in the district and barely beat King David “Nine Lives” Rivera in 2016 by only 57 votes but lost his first re-election 51 to 49% to a relatively unknown guy because, apparently, the party doesn’t really like him.
Lucky Republicans. Maybe we should just hand freshman State Rep. Ana Maria Rodriguez (R-Doral) the seat already. If only she weren’t also a carpetbagger, as readers reminded Ladra! It’s the carpetbagger district!
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Fernandez, an attorney lobbyist and one-time chief of staff to former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, doesn’t see himself as a carpetbagger because he was raised near Coral Way and 134th Avenue.
“I grew up in the district,” said the Columbus grad, class of ’93. “My mom still lives in the district so I’m very familiar with it.
And he defends his short record, citing monies he got for West Miami’s water upgrades and Cutler Bay’s storm water system as well as having the first Democrat amendment passed for a bill, which he says saved Coral Gables hundreds of thousands of dollars now that the styrofoam ban was overturned.
“We had a good year in appropriations and held the line on some bad policy that would have hurt the district,” Fernandez told Ladra. None of his own policy bills moved. “But that’s because I’m in the minority.”
Fernandez, who must live in the district by Election Day 2020, told Political Cortadito that he would start looking for a place to rent toward the end of the 
year. “With redistricting, I don’t want to make a final commitment until I know where the lines are,” said the father of two.
“This is an opportunity to step up to a bigger platform and work in the bigger chamber where, frankly, the real conversations are about the issues that matter to me, chief among them is transportation.”
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It’s also an opportunity for Democrats, who may see Fernandez — who collected almost $800,000 for two elections six months apart — as a better fundraiser than Asencio, who could not raise a quarter of that as an incumbent. Asencio, who did not return calls and texts, should probably better stay in House District 118 for a rematch where he lost by less than 2%.
Many political observers see District 39 as one of the most flippable seats in 
2020. While voters in Monroe County and the southernwest portion of Miami-Dade defended Flores since 2010 — and parts of it (there was redistricting) since have elected other Republicans since at least 2000, including J. Alex Villalobos and Mario Diaz-Balart — supported Andrew Gillum over Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2018, Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016 and Barack Obama over Mitt Romney in 2012.
It’s what House District 114 was in 2016, when Republican State Rep. Erik Fressen was termed out and the open seat, long held GOP, turned blue with the election of Daisy Baez.
Fernandez was first elected in a special election in May 2018 after Baez was caught living outside District 114 lying about it, and was forced to resign. He raised more than $400,000 and beat Republican Andrew Vargas. He kept the seat in November last year against Javier Enriquez after raising $380,000. Asencio raised $79,300 for his first race in 2016 and $179,500 as an incumbent. State Rep. Anthony Rodriguez beat him with $261,000.
In a prepared statement, Fernandez pitches himself as a moderate.
“The people of this district deserve a senator who will put their interests first by steering clear of partisan politics as usual. They need someone who will get things done,” Fernandez said in a statement.
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“As I have during my time in the House,” said Fernandez, who has been in the Florida House all of 15 months, “I’ll work hard to build consensus with the ultimate goal of bringing dollars home in order to fund our public schools, overhaul our deficient transportation infrastructure, support our agricultural and commercial interests, and combat the adverse effects of climate change on our community.”
“I’ll also protect our unique way of life by addressing the issue of affordable housing and by ensuring that politicians in Tallahassee do not overstep their bounds on matters of preemption and local control.”
According to a Miami Herald story, he already has the support of Sen. Annette Taddeo, a fellow carpetbagger who might give him some good leads on rental agencies.
Rodriguez, the former Doral councilwoman who is considered the front woman in the Republican primary, so far only faces singer/activist Angie Chirino, daughter of famous Cuban salsero Willy Chirino, who lost the congressional primary in District 27 last year.
But there is plenty of time for more candidates to come out.
State Rep. Javier Fernandez turns carpetbagger to run for Senate added by Ladra on
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