Felicia Robinson faces Primary challenge in her bid for a third term

Democratic Rep. Felicia Robinson is facing a Primary challenge in her bid for a third term representing central Miami-Dade County from a Miami Gardens social worker mounting her first bid for elected office.

Gillean Stone had filed to run for the Miami Gardens City Council’s at large seat, but said she would be withdrawing from the city race because she wants to address state issues regarding immigration and rent control.

“My community is feeling threatened traveling to work,” said Stone, a Jamaican-born American citizen. Stone referenced Florida’s new immigration law (SB 1718) that regulates numerous aspects of everyday life for undocumented workers.

The two will be competing in House District 104, an inland district straddling Broward and Miami-Dade counties. It covers parts of Miami Gardens, Miramar and Pembroke Pines.

Robinson, whose 2022 election was unopposed, was part of the solid block of Democrats who voted against the immigration bill. The measure, among other things, imposes criminal penalties on people caught bringing an undocumented immigrant into Florida, which some say criminalizes innocent activities like giving someone a ride.

But Robinson voted with the Republican majority — and most Democrats — on housing legislation that also stops local governments from passing rent control regulations.

Robinson said she voted for the “Live Local Act” (SB 102) because it represented a step forward for funding affordable housing.

“We have been trying to get some type of housing improvement for years,” Robinson said. “I wanted more, but sometimes you work toward it.”

More than her voting, though, Stone says she’s giving Robinson a Primary challenge so that her generation has a more visible Representative in Tallahassee.

“I’ll do a better job by being more visible in outreach, connecting with the millennials in our district,” Stone wrote in a text.

Robinson, however, said she doesn’t know where Stone has been, but she’s out daily meeting with anyone who reaches out.

“I’m at eight events a day trying to be accessible,” Robinson said, noting that she’s distributed her cell number widely.

Robinson currently has about $4,000 to spend in her re-election bid. Stone’s first campaign report has not come due yet.