Daniel TilsonThere’s an important primary election coming up Aug. 26, and early voting has already started in many areas.
John Paul Alvarez is a Democrat running for state representative in House District 100. He faces three opponents. Two are candidates. The third is the Florida political system.
Although I’ve done some past paid communications work for the Alvarez campaign, I’m writing this column as a concerned citizen, Democrat, and political blogger. All observations and opinions expressed here are my own.
I started working with John at a reduced rate. When campaign coffers ran low, I continued on anyway. That’s because to me, he represents a future for Florida that can’t come soon enough, featuring a new generation of fearlessly “no strings attached” legislators willing and able to put the public’s best interests over special interests.
For a lot of people, John’s election will help fulfill other dreams too, as he’d be the first openly gay and Democratic Hispanic legislator in Broward history.
A 30-year-old Cuban-Jewish third-grade public school teacher, John embodies what a new and improved Florida Democratic Party (FDP) could be: More representative of Florida’s diversity, more willing to champion progressive initiatives, and less willing to rely on the kind of corporate cronyism, Old Boys Networks and insider deals that are the calling cards of the state GOP.
In his District 100 race, Alvarez has insisted on running a people-powered campaign. No corporate donations from companies that put profits over people. No special interest deals in exchange for support. Just knocking on doors all across the district for almost two years, getting grassroots input and support for “A New Way Forward for Florida”.
So what does that mean?
It means making special interests and lobbyists get out of the way and take a back seat in Tallahassee.
It means fighting to put public schools first and pushing back against power elites pushing privatization.
It means making government move forward on a minimum wage hike, Medicaid expansion, progressive tax and insurance reforms, energy and environmental initiatives, and immigration reform.
It means our ship of state keeps sliding backward instead of moving forward, leaving Florida with awful statistics on wage and income stagnation, income inequality, poverty.
It means whatever the FDP has done as “the loyal opposition” during decades of Republican rule has failed to change the bottom line and reverse middle-class decline.
It means millions of young and diversely emergent “New Majority” citizens see Florida politics as a game rigged to reward insiders with the right connections. Rather than play along, they remain disengaged.
It means too many Democratic officials, labor and other organizations keep supporting “usual suspect” primary candidates with the biggest war chests. By supporting whoever has the bigger bank account and better insider connections, they perpetuate the dismal status quo that fuels disillusionment and disengagement.
It means other Democratic VIPs make the same mistake in more politically correct fashion, pointing to the consistently compromised party “rule” of not endorsing in a primary.
It means a “money bomb” lawyer and longtime party insider is the supposed “frontrunner” in District 100 — even though he’s been part of Florida’s decline for decades, and last year was fired as lawyer for Miami Lakes amid questions about billing practices and connection to a public corruption case.
It means the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida have endorsed Alvarez’s other opponent, a young businessman and fan of school privatization.
In the end, it means it really is time for a new way forward.
If you agree, then there’s still time to help Team Alvarez drop a People Power bomb on the Florida political establishment come Aug. 26.
Daniel Tilson has a Boca Raton-based communications firm called Full Cup Media, specializing in online video and written content for non-profits, political candidates and organizations, and small businesses. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
