Staff Reports
Democrat Joe Geller has support from the person he hopes to succeed in his campaign for the Miami-Dade County School Board.
District 3 incumbent Lucia Baez-Geller (no relation) on Monday announced her endorsement of Geller, who earlier this month filed paperwork to run to replace her. Baez-Geller is not seeking re-election. Geller is a former member of the Florida House and former North Bay Village Mayor.
“It is incredibly important that we elect a strong advocate for our students, our parents, and our teachers,” Baez-Geller said. “And that is why I am supporting Joe Geller.”
Geller commended Baez-Geller on her tenure, noting her “unwavering support for our LGBTQ youth and most vulnerable students.”
He hopes to build on that legacy.
“It is a privilege to be supported by such a tireless advocate for education, inclusivity, and the safety of our children,” Geller said.
School boards across the state have been in focus lately as they’ve tip-toed around legislation like The Parental Rights in Education Act, or what some have called the “Don’t Say Gay” law. It was a priority for Gov. Ron DeSantis last year.
Just last month Baez-Geller clashed with the law. She was one of three members on the Miami-Dade County School Board to vote in favor of a bill declaring October “LGBTQ History Month” in county schools. Other board members rejected the proposal — despite a county lawyer’s green light — saying that it ran afoul of the 2022 legislation.
What transpired during that meeting inspired Geller.
“I was so proud of our School Board member Lucia Baez-Geller for leading the effort, and it resolved me even more to make sure that we do not suffer a leadership gap on the School Board in the wake of her decision to not seek reelection to the Board,” Geller later told Florida Politics.
The District 3 race, along with other school board races, is nonpartisan in name.
If any candidate secures more than 50% of the vote during the Aug. 20, 2024 Primary Election, that person will secure victory outright. If none do so, the two candidates with the most Primary votes will compete in a runoff culminating in the General Election on Nov. 5, 2024.
3 comments
Disgusting
September 25, 2023 at 10:52 pm
Watching term limited former legislators (regardless of party) go for county, constitutional officer, and school board races smacks of just trying to pad their terms of service to enhance their very lucrative “elected officers class” benefits from the Florida Retirement System (FRS).
Charlotte Greenbarg
September 26, 2023 at 7:29 am
Exactly. And….there’s a lot of money to be made from lobbyists working the Facilities projects.
Never Geller
October 2, 2023 at 8:47 pm
We need someone who has actual experience within the public school system who is well versed on what the current conditions and problems are, not an aging politician who wants to hold onto power. I’m very curious as to what he will be endorsing Baez-Geller for next as this certainly seems like more back-door politics where it’s “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” and I highly suspect that she has an ulterior motive given that she has made an endorsement so quickly without speaking with other candidates or waiting to see who else will run. I don’t trust it, and I don’t trust him (and now I don’t trust her). We need someone actually committed to positive changes in our public schools; not someone trying to hold onto political power. Enough with these awful political games.
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