Hillsborough County Democratic Hispanic Caucus says it endorsed Manny Diaz for FDP Chair; state caucus disagrees

FDP Chair Diaz wants divestment from Russia.

Editor’s note

The Florida Democratic Hispanic Caucus on Thursday disputed a Hillsborough County Democratic Hispanic Caucus announcement Wednesday that members had voted to endorse former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz for Florida Democratic Party Chair.

The disagreement between the state and local caucuses set up a back and forth between parties and Florida Politics raising major doubt about whether the endorsement was legitimate and whether it was even permitted under the state caucus’ bylaws.

State Caucus President Cesar Ramirez previously emailed DiMaio and other county caucus presidents instructing them not to endorse any candidate for FDP chair. They were told they could vote to “support” a candidate but not “endorse.” Support could be “demonstrated in the form of active lobbying for the candidate but does not include publicly representing the DHCF as a whole or a subsidiary otherwise known as a chapter,” the state chapter wrote in an email.

Hillsborough caucus President Victor DiMaio, who distributed a press release announcing the endorsement, claims Ramirez does not have the authority to block local chapters from making an endorsement in that race. DiMaio provided documentation of those bylaws to reference via text. However, Ramirez said they are not valid because the state caucus has not approved them.

Ramirez made clear the dispute does not mean the caucus does not support Diaz, rather there is a process in place to ensure any official caucus endorsements are made through a fair and democratic process. He said the caucus may yet endorse a candidate in the FDP chair race and, ahead of that possibility, celebrates the diversity among the current pool of candidates. He said there are indeed many members who do support Diaz.

“The Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida is absolutely excited about Manny Diaz’s candidacy for FDP chair and quite a few of our chapter are supporting him,  as he is an experienced leader not just in the Hispanic community. We are also equally excited for the other candidates that represent the strong diversity within our Democratic Party and they each have chapters within our caucus supporting them. This is the most Diverse we have ever been and a true representation of our Party,” Ramirez told Florida Politics.

“While chapters cannot endorse we encourage them to support their favorite candidate, but we as an organization are not ready to endorse because of the diverse support. We had an amazing candidate forum where the candidates got to share their plan to turn Florida Blue and all of the candidates are of high caliber, well-qualified and truly concerned for our community. The Democratic Party has a lot to celebrate with such a strong group of leaders.”

Ramirez also disputes whether a majority of the Hillsborough caucus even supported such an endorsement. Of the approximately 50 participants on a zoom call in which DiMaio claims the vote was made, Ramirez said only about nine were members of his county caucus and some objected to the vote citing a lack of a quorum. DiMaio claims support was shored up through email responses. Asked to provide those emails, caucus member Elio Muller declined citing privacy concerns. In a follow up text, DiMaio declined to provide a vote total saying, “it’s an internal matter within our caucus.”

Florida Politics’ original story on the Hillsborough caucus’ support is below.

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The Hillsborough County Democratic Hispanic Caucus voted to endorse former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz in his run for chair of the Florida Democratic Party.

While it’s a bit of a jab at the county’s local chair, Ione Townsend, who is also running for the statewide seat, the endorsement isn’t surprising considering Diaz himself is Hispanic.

Diaz has nabbed a number of endorsements since his announcement to run — many from Tampa Bay area Democrats, some of which endorsed Diaz before Townsend had publicly decided to run.

“As the only Hispanic candidate in the race for FDP Chair, it is imperative that our next FDP Chair speaks directly to Hispanic voters across Florida in their own language,” said Casa Biden Chairman Elio Muller in a news release. “As the largest and fastest growing minority block of voters in Florida from diverse countries in central and south America and the Caribbean there is no better candidate in Florida that knows and understands the diversity of the Latin culture than the mayor of the international city of Miami.”

This Hillsborough Hispanic Caucus decided to endorse Diaz after a statewide Zoom meeting with him last Thursday, and is joined by Miami Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and other county Hispanic Democratic caucuses. 

So far, Diaz has garnered support from Tampa Bay area state Senators Janet Cruz and Darryl Rouson, Reps. Susan Valdes and Diane Hart,  and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist.

Townsend has received endorsements from several local party chairs, including Pinellas Democratic Party Chair Barbara Scott, Pasco County Democratic Party Chair Kelly Smith and Polk County Democratic Party State Committeewoman Karen Welzel. Rep. Andrew Learned, who was elected under her party leadership, is also backing Townsend.

The upcoming election takes place next month to succeed outgoing Chair Terri Rizzo, who has held the seat since 2017. Rizzo is stepping down after Democrats’ poor performance in November, although she will retain her role leading the Palm Beach County Democratic Party.

Also running for FDP chair are Cynthia Moore Chestnut, who leads the Alachua County Democratic Party, and Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida Chair Janelle Christensen. Nikki Barnes, who has served as a Democratic National Committee member, is also eyeing the job.