As the primary for the constitutional offices nears its closing, former State Rep. JC Planas, an attorney running for Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections, has gotten the endorsement of four mayors from Miami-Dade municipalities.
The Planas campaign announced this week endorsements from South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez, Bay Harbor Mayor Joshua Fuller, North Bay Village Mayor Brent Latham and Aventura Mayor Howard Weinberg, who each cited Planas’ experience as an elections attorney and his commitment to ensure election integrity as the main reasons for their support.
Planas is facing two other Democrats in the Aug. 20 primary: Political operative Willis Howard — onetime campaign consultant and chief of staff to former North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo, who was arrested last year on felony charges of illegal voting — and Arnold “Arnie” Benjamin Weiss, who jumped in this April and has loaned himself $21,000 of the $45,000 he has raised.
Planas is the best option against the Republican candidate, State Rep. Alina Garcia. But nobody brought that up.
“This is a crucial moment for Miami-Dade County and we must elect a Supervisor of Elections who is dedicated to maintaining our democracy,” Fernandez said in a statement. “Over the course of his career as an elections attorney, J.C. Planas has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to and willingness to fight for our democratic process.”
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Fuller also said that Planas had “spent decades working to ensure democracy is protected, election laws are followed, and that the voice of every voter is heard.
“Under J.C.’s leadership, I know that Miami-Dade will continue to lead the nation in free and fair elections, run with transparency and integrity,” Fuller said.
Said Weinberg: “There’s nothing more important than protecting our democracy, and that’s exactly what we must do this August and November by voting for J.C. Planas.”
Latham, who is running for Miami-Dade School Board in District 3, said pretty much the same thing about voices heard and “free and fair elections.” But his endorsement carries less weight since he was found last year, by the Florida Commission on Ethics, to have likely violated state law barring public officials from accepting expensive freebies from people doing business with governments they represent. The violation stems from a three-day trip to London paid for by the Argentine Football Association, which was in the midst of negotiations with the city to build a soccer-training facility and a new administrative building on city-owned land adjacent to Treasure Island Elementary School.
Planas, who already had endorsements from the South Florida AFL-CIO, SEIU Florida, and SEIU 1991, is pretty much made for this job.
From 2002 to 2010, Planas — who was also an assistant state attorney — served in the state House, where he had to deal with voter fraud and election denial. His 2002 opponent sued to overturn election results, and in 2006, two opponents were disqualified from the ballot. After leaving the House, he established his own practice as an attorney to other politicians. He also teaches election law and state and local government law at St. Thomas University.
“It’s an honor to have earned endorsements from these respected mayors from across Miami-Dade County who understand the importance of this moment for our community and our democracy,” Planas said in a statement.
“We must loudly and forcefully stand behind democratic principles at a time when some would prefer to call them into question. It’s up to all of us to protect our democracy and preserve Miami-Dade’s national reputation as a leader in elections integrity.”
JC Planas scores 4 mayoral nods in race for Miami-Dade elections supervisor added by Ladra on
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