Annette Taddeo adds SEUI Local 1991 endorsement to Miami-Dade Clerk bid

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. 3/2/22-Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami, urges the Senate to approve her amendment to the bill prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Wednesday at the Capitol in Tallahassee. The amendment failed. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO

Former Sen. Annette Taddeo can now count SEIU Local 1991 among those supporting her bid to be Miami-Dade County’s first new elected Clerk in decades.

Taddeo’s campaign announced an endorsement from the group, which represents some 6,200 health care professionals at the county’s Jacksonville Health System facilities.

In an accompanying statement, SEIU Local 1991 President Vicki Gonzalez said Taddeo has “consistently demonstrated her dedication to improving the lives of working families and advocating for the rights of health care professionals.”

“She has proven her support for Jackson Health System and understands how vital our services are to the community’s health and well-being,” Gonzalez said. “We are proud to endorse her and look forward to her continued leadership as we work to bring high-quality health care to our community while advocating for our workers.”

A former Chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, Taddeo made history in a 2017 Special Election as the first Latina Democrat elected to the Florida Senate. She won re-election in 2018, but forwent seeking a second four-year term in 2022 for unsuccessful runs for Governor and Congress.

During her time in the Legislature, Taddeo filed bills yearly to expand Medicaid in Florida, including a joint resolution to place the issue on the ballot. She also fought to keep unemployment insurance checks flowing during the pandemic.

The SEIU Local 1991 endorsement joins one from Ruth’s List Florida, a nonprofit that backs Democratic women who support abortion rights.

“Jackson Health System is a jewel of our community and to receive the endorsement from the nurses, doctors and hardworking healthcare professionals of SEIU Local 1991 is a great honor,” Taddeo said in a statement. “I have been proud to fight alongside our healthcare workers throughout my time in elected office to ensure they have the protections, support, and pay they deserve so that our residents and families are receiving the best care possible.”

After months of mulling a run, Taddeo officially entered the race in early February. She raised $105,000 in just seven weeks before the end of the first quarter reporting period.

So far, she’s the only Democrat running to unseat Republican Clerk Juan Fernandez-Barquin, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed in June 2023 to replace longtime Clerk Harvey Ruvin. Ruvin died on New Year’s Eve after 56 consecutive years of public service.

Fernandez-Barquin faces a Primary challenge from Rubin Young, who ran for Clerk in 2016 as a write-in candidate and is also running for Florida’s 25th Congressional District this year. Young’s Clerk campaign reported raising $50,000 last quarter, all of it self-given.

The Primary Election is on Aug. 20, followed by the General Election on Nov. 5.