As its strong incumbent departs, 6 Democrats battle for an open north Miami-Dade House seat

Clockwise from top left: Wallace Aristide, Loreal Arscott, Monique Barley-Mayo, Wancito Francius, Christine Olivo and Faudlin Pierre. Images via the candidates.

Six Democratic candidates are battling it out for the soon-to-be-open seat representing House District 107 in north Miami-Dade County.

No matter who gets the most votes by Aug. 20, it’ll be their first time winning elected office.

Christopher Benjamin, the district’s current Representative, confirmed with Florida Politics last August his plan to skip seeking a third two-year term and instead run for a judgeship on the Miami-Dade Court.

One of Benjamin’s past election foes and a handful of other political hopefuls hope to succeed him.

Every candidate listed improving housing affordability and public safety as priorities.

Atop the list, alphabetically, is Haiti-born Wallace Aristide, who ran for the Miami-Dade Commission in 2022, when he placed fourth among six candidates with 18.4% of the vote.

Aristide is running on a platform prioritizing local business growth and support, lowering rent and promoting local safety initiatives.

Aristide has raised roughly $97,000 between his campaign account and political committee, Miami Dade District 2 United, since he lost his County Commission bid two years ago. That includes a $4,500 self-loan, $2,500 from the re-election campaign of Miami Gardens Council member Linda Julien and $2,000 from lobbyist Ron Book and his eponymous Hollywood-based firm.

Aristide also spent close to $20,000 on various campaigning and campaign upkeep expenses.

If elected, he said, he wants to be an intergenerational bridge builder. And as a 34-year educator now working as the principal of a technology magnet high school in Miami, he has the experience and dedication to do it.

“We need this generation of voters to connect with our next generation of voters,” he said in a statement. “This campaign is all about protecting our youth and seniors.”

Lawyer Loreal Arscott, a lifelong HD 107 resident, is running to improve education conditions, crack down on gun violence, revitalize public spaces and upgrade local infrastructure, among other things.

She believes the Legislature has grown too divisive and become an extension of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, passing laws that have weakened school, civil rights and public safety.

“Yet despite this barrage of attacks on our liberties, I’ve also seen how our residents have persevered and carried through it all,” she said in a statement. “I’m running because I know we can do better for our families and this community. I know we can elevate our community to accomplish its best.”

Before going into private practice, Arscott worked as a Miami Gardens Assistant City Attorney, lawyer for State Farm Insurance and Division Chief of Children’s Legal Services at the Florida Department of Children and Families.

She serves as Chair of the Miami-Dade Independent Civilian Panel, which is tasked with reviewing and holding public hearings on grievances against county law enforcement officers.

State records show she’s raised $41,500 since entering the race in late March, including $3,000 from organizations tied to the Florida Association of Realtors and a $5,000 self-loan. Of that, she’s spent $22,000.

Miami Democratic Rep. Ashley Gantt, who represents nearby House District 109, and former Miami-Dade Commissioner Betty T. Ferguson have endorsed Arscott. So have the South Florida AFL-CIO, AFSCME, Metro Dade Firefighters, South Florida Council of Fire Fighters, Miami Realtors, Florida Medical Association, United Teachers of Dade and SAVE Action PAC.

After back-to-back runs at county offices, business consultant Monique Barley-Mayo is setting her sights even higher with a House run.

She ran in 2020 for Miami-Dade Mayor, placing fifth among six candidates. Two years later, she ran for the County Commission and placed last in a six-person field. She originally filed this cycle to again seek the mayoralty but quickly switched to the HD 107 race.

And so far, she’s raised nothing since filing for the House contest in November. She reported no spending either, but is listed on the Division of Elections website as having paid a state qualifying fee.

If elected, Barley-Mayo vows to bring “energetic, knowledgeable (and) truthful” leadership to the district. Her campaign website says she wants to make Miami-Dade “affordable friendly” and “provide a better quality of life to the residents of Miami-Dade County.”

Barley-Mayo’s website and various social media accounts list no endorsements. However, she was named as a participant of an event that conservative social media influencer and Miami-Dade Mayor candidate Alex Otaola advertised in late July.

The event, which was to focus on supporting democracy in Venezuela, was canceled.

Another lifelong Miami-Dade resident, small-business owner Wancito Francius, challenged Benjamin in 2022 and lost by 62 points. With Benjamin now out of the picture, he hopes to fare better.

Francius, the proprietor of North Miami-based Lion Intelligence & Security Services, plans if elected to help create and support small businesses, increase public school funding, enact “just and humane” immigration policies, improve citizen-police relations and overhaul Florida’s “broken correctional system.”

He also vows to reduce gun violence and make government more transparent and accountable.

“I will work tirelessly to create a better future for our community (and make it) a better place to live, work and raise a family,” he said in a statement.

He reported raising $22,500 since entering the race last July. Of that, $18,000 was self-given and the rest came through seven separate contributions.

If he wins, Francius may not make it to the House floor. The Miami Herald reported last month that Francius changed his voter registration from Republican to Democrat last year six months past the deadline required by state law.

He’s appearing on the ballot anyway because, as the 1st District Court to Appeal determined in 2022, the law’s vague language provides no mechanism for courts to remove ineligible candidates.

Those involved in north Miami-Dade politics may be familiar with Christine Olivo, an El Portal-born teacher, business owner and two-time congressional candidate.

Olivo ran as a no-party candidate in Florida’s 24th Congressional District in 2020, securing 4% of the vote behind Republican Lavern Spicer and Democratic U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson. Two years later, as a Democrat, Olivo challenged Republican U.S. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart in Florida’s 26th Congressional District. She lost with 29% of the vote.

Now running for HD 107, her campaign website says she wants to eliminate barriers to housing like “arbitrary fees, credit checks and income requirements.” She also wants to fill the nearly 6,000 vacant faculty positions in Miami-Dade Public School and partner with the federal government on job-creating initiatives.

“Florida does not have equal representation in the state Capitol. It’s time we change that,” she said in a statement. “Property taxes are being raised, Black history is being rewritten and AI is taking over our jobs. I won’t stand for it and neither should you.”

Olivo raised close to $23,000 between July 2023 and July 2024, including almost $4,000 in self-loans. Of that, she had about $6,500 left going into August.

Miami-born Faudlin Pierre, a civil rights, consumer rights and sports law lawyer, said he wakes up every day with the sole goal of being better than he was the day prior. He aims to do the same for Florida’s government, if elected.

Pierre supports a livable wage, increased assistance to financially limited seniors and expanded access to virtual prekindergarten and Head Start programs. In his legal and private life, his campaign website says, he has “championed police accountability, fought against the placement of Confederate statues, and secured funding to preserve Miami’s historically black library.”

“The cost of living has gone up. Wages stay the same. Our schools are underperforming and students are falling behind. Government is more concerned with silencing its citizens than listening to them,” he said in a statement.

“I envision a Florida where dreams are affordable, education is quality and voices are heard. This won’t be easy, but I believe in our collective power to fight for it.”

Pierre raised nearly $68,000 between when he filed in January and late July, by which he spent less than $12,000. Many of his donations came from outside the district, with about a quarter coming from outside Florida.

There are nearly 100,000 registered voters in HD 107, which spans Miami Gardens, North Miami Beach, a small portion of North Miami and the unincorporated Golden Glades area.

The Primary is on Aug. 20.

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Editor’s note: This report has been updated to state that the 1st District Court of Appeal, not a judge, ruled that the vague language of a Florida Statute about candidate party switches provides no mechanism for courts to remove ineligible candidates from the ballot.