EDITORIAL: The Herald Editorial Board's recommendations for the Florida House (Part 2)

Oct. 26--There has always been a deluge of issues for Miami-Dade residents to confront: the lack of affordable housing, healthcare, the economy, sea-level rise are prominent among them. But this election season, the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated these challenges, made them more pressing, but also presented the opportunity for deep and enduring solutions. Here are the Editorial Board's remaining recommendations for the Florida House, and the candidates who are best positioned to lead the state to a post-COVID world. The complete list is online at miamiherald.com.

DISTRICT 114

The Editorial Board originally was impressed with candidate Jean-Pierre Bado in this race. Though we did not recommend him in the primary, which he won, we called him "polished" and included him in the list of our recommendations.

However, a second viewing of our interview with him and his general-election opponent Demi Busatta Cabrera, shows her to be the more mature and levelheaded.

Bado, a Democrat and attorney, clearly is concerned about people left behind and left struggling in the district because of the pandemic. He has an impressive background, too, as a West Point graduate. However, his stances were more difficult to discern as he spent so much of his time attacking his opponent and got some of his allegations wrong.

Busatta Cabrera was a legislative assistant to the term-limited state Sen. Anitere Flores. Bado accused Flores -- and, inexplicably, Busatta Cabrera, who was not in elected office -- of voting to arm teachers. In fact, Flores courageously broke ranks with her Republican colleagues and voted against the legislation. Bado also accused Busatta Cabrera's husband, Kevin Marino Cabrera of consorting with the white-supremacist Proud Boys at a protest when U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to town. There is a disturbing photo of Marino Cabrera banging on a office door.

Marino Cabrera and Busatta Cabrera were not married at the time when he indeed participated in this protest. Busatta Cabrera repudiated the Proud Boys, their beliefs and white supremacy to the Board, saying that her now-husband is not a member of the hate group. The Editorial Board is loath to hold Busatta Cabrera accountable for the actions of another. However, she will have to speak with clarity that such beliefs will have absolutely no place her service to the public as a lawmaker.

Her top three issues are getting small businesses in district a boost to help them recover from lockdown. And she rightly wants the state to get serious about funding initiatives to confront sea-level rise and to continue to protect the Everglades and coral reefs. She also laments the lack of smart growth in her district, reflecting the concerns of its residents.

Given the experience she gained as a legislative assistant, the Herald Editorial Board recommends DEMI BUSATTA CABRERA for Florida House 114.

DISTRICT 115

State Rep. Vance Aloupis' focus on early-childhood education, bolstering young children's readiness for learning and enhancing student outcomes is critical to Florida's future.

The Republican representative is seeking his second term in the state House. As a member of the majority party who has been able to sway his more reluctant party colleagues to his side on these important issues, Aloupis should be allowed to build on what he already has accomplished.

He is being challenged by Democrat Franccesca Cesti-Browne, a knowledgable candidate who teleworks as director of finance and operations for Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She also assists nonprofits to improve their funding and effectiveness.

Aloupis, an attorney, said that when he realized that the practice of law was "not filling my soul," he pivoted into early-childhood education, got to see how things worked -- and didn't work -- in Tallahassee and ran for the Legislature in 2018.

He told the Board that his main goal is to ensure that every child has the same opportunity to excel. "The question should always revolve around outcomes," he said.

His accomplishments back up his mission: achieving the passage of comprehensive legislation to enhance professional development for early-childhood teachers and expanding music education. He says he brought increased funding for the Deering Estate and Lotus House, which provides services and shelter for once-homeless women and children. He also secured funds for a firefighters cancer initiative.

Cesti-Browne is a community-engaged candidate who says she has been on the front lines of helping residents who were left food-insecure because of the coronavirus pandemic. She has done her homework on the issues and wants to amplify the voices of people in need in the Legislature. We would encourage her to seek elected office again.

The Herald Editorial Board recommends VANCE ALOUPIS for Florida House 115.

DISTRICT 116

The fight for this district has been highly usual. Let's start at the beginning. Daniel A. Perez, the Republican incumbent in this race, will likely be speaker of the House for the 2024 legislative session -- winning the honor by a unanimous vote in his legislative class.

But Perez found himself in an awkward position when current House Speaker José Oliva threw money at the campaign of Perez's opponent in the primary, Gabriel Garcia. It looked for all the world like a betrayal and that attracted more attention than the issues in the district.

Perez told the Editorial Board that he has no personal feud with Oliva and doesn't believe photos he took during a trip to Cuba before he was elected three years ago are the reasons for the hostility toward him. Those photos, however, were used against Perez in a previous campaign. He said he went to Cuba to meet his now-wife's family.

Regardless, Perez defeated Garcia in the primary and now faces Democrat Bob Lynch, a former bond trader. He accused Perez of being ineffective. But in recent weeks, Miami New Times reported, Lynch allegedly exchanged racist and misogynistic text messages with fellow Democratic Party candidates, disparaging of a Black Hispanic senior party adviser. Lynch was removed from the party's slate and cut off funding, New Times reported. A candidate who saw the texts confirmed this to the Board. Voters should reject Lynch's candidacy.

Perez, who is the in-house counsel for a large HMO, cites his work in getting teachers a considerable salary increase, fighting against a ban on sanctuary cities and pushing to bring down the cost of prescription drugs.

He told the Board that, if re-elected, he would to focus on addressing the cost of property insurance in the state -- and especially in his district, which includes parts of Doral, Fontainebleau, Olympia Heights and sections of Kendall.

Perez thinks that Gov. DeSantis has done a "good job" in tackling the coronavirus pandemic, but realizes the state's "unemployment website did experience hiccups in the beginning." Perez said his district will benefit if he is reelected because of his legislative experience and his ability to get things done."I know the silos, the demographics and the issues," he told the Board. Plus, if Perez makes it to speaker, which he should, it will be beneficial for South Florida to have a local representative in such a prestigious position.

The Herald Editorial Board recommends DANIEL A. PEREZ for Florida House 116.

DISTRICT 118

Ricky Junquera's personal stories of loss and challenge make a convincing case that he should be the next representative for this district.

One can tell that Junquera, a regional press secretary for the Sierra Club and vice chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, truly understands that no one should be without health insurance, that securing unemployment benefits should never be a struggle, that funding for traditional public school should not play second fiddle to charter schools and that getting the state through the coronavirus pandemic will take not just hard, bipartisan work, but also compassion.

He is challenging first-term incumbent Anthony Rodriguez, who owns a property-management company and has helped tightened up regulations on plastic-surgery centers, where many people has lost their lives because of slipshod practitioners. However, he expresses more pride in what the Republican majority in the House was able to accomplish -- including teacher raises -- than for much that he himself accomplished. He has first-term colleagues on both sides of the aisle who seem to have gotten more done.

In his capacity with the Sierra Club, Junquera brings the added benefit of working closely with Republican elected officials in several states to potentially bring them on board to support environmental protection. That's a talent that will serve him will in the state House.

The Herald Editorial Board recommends RICKY JUNQUERA for Florida House 118.

DISTRICT 119

Republican incumbent Juan Fernandez-Barquin is being challenged by newcomer Imtiaz Ahmad Mohammad, who has done little, if any, campaigning. He did not respond to the Editorial Board's invitation for a candidate interview.

First elected in 2018, Fernandez-Barquin has had some success despite being a junior member of the House.

A highlight of the latest session resulted from his quick reaction to the Miami Herald's revelation that Tiffany Carr, the former CEO of the taxpayer-backed Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, had arranged to get a multimillion dollar compensation package for herself. Fernandez-Barquin quickly sponsored a bill in January allowing the state to cut ties with the umbrella agency and repealing a requirement that the Department of Children & Families had to use the organization to disburse state and federal funding to local domestic-violence agencies. The measure was fast-tracked in both the House and Senate.

"It was very satisfying to be able to act quickly to end this incredible abuse of taxpayer dollars," Fernandez-Barquin told the Board.

Fernandez-Barquin also sponsored a bill this year that would revise who can administer vaccines. His bill recommended that immunizations or vaccines could be administered by a pharmacist or registered intern under certain conditions. The bill died in committee on March 14, a day after Florida shut down for quarantine. Fernandez-Barquin should consider reviving it as the administering of COVID-19 vaccines will likely overwhelm the state in the future.

The Herald Editorial Board recommends JUAN FERNANDEZ-BARQUIN for Florida House 119.

DISTRICT 120

Republican James Mooney overcame an ugly campaign and a too-close-to-call primary and made it to the general election. We recommended him in the primary, and still find him the better-prepared candidate to represent the interests of this district, which comprises all of Monroe County and includes Homestead and Everglades National Park.

Clint Barras, a Democrat who is vice president of a digital development company in Key West, is Mooney's challenger.

Mooney is a real-estate agent and has been an Islamorada councilman. Through his legislative experience, he has gained a deep understanding of district challenges and potential solutions.

For instance, he said it will take guts and leadership to install sewers, as Monroe County did, because septic tanks are untenable. It's true, sea-level rise is leaving them cracked and leaking human waste into our waters, endangering the environment and the public's health.

Water quality is a priority to bolster recreational opportunities and the environment. Mooney is also focused on the economy of this fragile district, under pressure from development and now, of course, the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

Barras take a broader approach to climate change, exhorting everyone and every city, county and state to stop climate change at its sources. And while Barras is familiar with the challenges of the district, he is somewhat vague on targeted solutions.

Mooney also wants to make sure that agricultural landowners in South Dade aren't pressured to sell their land to developers. The candidate, indeed, is going to have to be more of a presence in the Miami-Dade portion of the district and ensure that he is plugged into the challenges residents and business owners face. In August, he got the least number of votes from Miami-Dade in the three-candidate primary.

Mooney definitely understands governance, able to connect the dots from problem to solution. The Herald Editorial Board recommends JAMES "JIM" VERNON MOONEY for Florida House 120.

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