Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Raquel Regalado is firing back after her opponent criticized a campaign email following the Orlando shooting.
“I stand by my statements and by my track record. My track record on curbing gun violence and limiting access to semi-automatic weapons is clear and publicly documented. I have been talking about gun violence since Sandy Hook,” said Regalado in a statement. “And unlike Carlos Gimenez, as a Miami-Dade School Board member I’ve advocated in Tallahassee and beyond for the safety of our students, employees and parents in our public schools. I have stood at crime scenes and have condemned the epidemic of violent gun crimes that has plagued our community and taken dozens of young lives under Carlos Gimenez’s watch.”
On Monday, Gimenez, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, criticized Regalado for sending an email to supporters that called for action following the deadly shooting in Orlando. In the email, Regalado said there needed to be an “open and meaningful dialogue on how to curb gun violence, and especially the access and use of semi-automatic weapons.”
She also criticized Gimenez, saying he needed to “reinstate the special units he dismantled in 2014 and support our Miami-Dade County Police.”
“One of the reasons I am running for mayor of Miami-Dade is because we need someone who will build up our police force, not tear it down,” she said the email.
Gimenez shot back, calling her email “wrong and undignified.”
“With victims still yet to be identified and survivors recovering in hospitals, our thoughts should be with them — not on our political pursuits,” he said. “Meanwhile, the people of Miami-Dade County, and I as their mayor, will continue to find ways to respectfully support Orlando.”
In a statement, Regalado said Miami-Dade residents should be “offended by his failure to participate in the dozens of meetings on gun violence throughout Miami-Dade, offended by his failure to take a position on gun violence in Tallahassee and in Washington.”
“Beyond empathy and introspection, this is about protecting the residents of Miami-Dade County,” she said. “And while Carlos Gimenez takes this opportunity to reminisce about his over three decades in government, the rest of us will get back to the work of making our home safe.”
Regalado and Gimenez will face off in the Aug. 30 election.
