Carlos Caruncho: I’m a Cuban independent voter; elected Republicans need to put people over ideology

People voting early at the Ocean County Library in Brick, NJ on Oct. 29, 2022. [Daniella Heminghaus]

I came to this country from Cuba in 1993, when persecution from the government and its rigid ideology made it impossible for my dad and I to stay. We came here as refugees, and I have worked hard to build a new life for myself.

As an immigrant, I took any job I could get — factories, construction sites, grocery stores — eventually working my way to a stable, union job at Jackson Health System.

I help patients get the right antibiotics and run their lab tests; if you got a PCR test at Jackson in the past three years, it may have been me getting you those results. As hard as I had to work to build a life in the States as an immigrant, I’m proud of where I landed, and I would do it all over again.

I’m so lucky.

One of the best things about living here is our political system, where every citizen — including those who were born here, like my kids, or those who immigrated like me — gets to voice their own beliefs. My union is the perfect example. Unions aren’t Democratic or Republican, they’re everyone, and at my union meetings, I sit next to gay people, Haitians, Jewish people, Christians, immigrants, folks who were born here — everyone is at the table together. Yes, we do disagree often — and that’s the best part.

I remember what it was like living in Cuba, trapped in one political ideology, no one being allowed to dissent. That’s why I am a proud independent voter — I don’t have to follow anyone else’s ideology or any one political party’s rules.

I vote based on who I think will do the best job. I’ve voted for Democrats and for Republicans. I voted for Bush. I voted for Obama’s second term. I voted for DeSantis’ first term.

But now, I’m starting to question my choices. It feels like Republicans, including many whom I voted for, aren’t thinking so fair-mindedly. They’re choosing ideology over the people they represent. For example, they’re passing bills that make it harder for folks like me to form and stay in our unions. My union membership means that I have a voice at work, just like I do at the ballot box. It means the people who do the work have a say in how the work is done, which leads to better care for patients. It means I have the good wage and benefits that made my family’s American dream possible. Why would anyone want to disrupt that? Because of ideology.

And our elected Republicans aren’t stopping there. They’re taking over local governments, making it harder for communities who know what they need to get what they need.

What does someone in Tallahassee or Orlando know about how the sewer system in Miami should work? Or public transportation? Or what the beach opening hours should be? On the subject of beaches, “Republicans don’t believe in global warming” — another ideological hard line that’s hurting Floridians. It’s like they don’t remember it’s Floridians who elected them, and their job is to serve Floridians, not the Republican Party.

I’m proud to work in service of my community, and that my kids are going into service, too — my daughter as a teacher caring for our kids, my son is planning on law school to help folks navigate our justice system, and my stepson helps folks keep the lights on as an electrician.

Looking at where I came from, and looking at my family now, I see the American Dream.

But the choices our Republican legislators are making here in Florida are closing opportunities for the little guy to live that dream, to make it. And I was once a very little guy. I came to this country with nothing. I was an entry-level minimum wage worker for many years. I paid for my school and I came out of school without debt, and it was simple.

But now, my kids are in college, and they’re gonna graduate with debt. They can’t buy a house. They have more resources, but fewer opportunities.

We need our elected leaders — Democrats and Republicans — to put us, the people who elected them, first. We should be more important than sticking to a rigid idea of what a Republican should do, more important than following in the footsteps of extremists who are reshaping our politics.

Elected Republicans in Florida: the little guys like me need you. We voted for you. And you’re losing our votes.

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Carlos Caruncho works in medical technology at Jackson Health System, is a member of SEIU 1991, and is a proud Miami Dade Community College dad.