Jesse Scheckner
The Florida state chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) is backing former state Sen. Annette Taddeo for Miami-Dade County Clerk and Comptroller.
Taddeo’s campaign this week announced an endorsement from the union, which joins United Teachers of Dade, Latino Victory Fund, Ruth’s List Florida, SAVE Action PAC, the South Florida AFL-CIO and a few SEIU chapters in siding with her.
Workers are backing Taddeo, according to AFSCME Local 199 President Se’Adoreia Brown, because she “has stood with and fought for our workers time and time again.”
“Miami-Dade needs public servants that understand our public workers are the ones that keep our community strong,” Brown said in a statement.
“Sen. Taddeo will create a Clerk and Comptroller’s office that serves workers and families efficiently, and eliminate policies and practices that make it harder for them to access the services they need.”
Taddeo said in a statement that the AFSCME Florida nod is meaningful “because nobody knows our community like the public workers that dedicate themselves to it.”
“A community is as strong as its public workers,” she said. “In Miami-Dade, we’re lucky to have so many incredible men and women working every day to make our community a better place, and we must support them!”
Taddeo, a former Chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party who served in the Senate from 2017 to 2022, is running to unseat former Republican Rep. Juan Fernandez-Barquin, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Clerk last year.
No-party candidate Rubin Young has also qualified to run as a write-in candidate.
Polling from late last month found Taddeo, who also carries endorsements from every member of the Florida City Commission, holds a 12-percentage-point lead over Fernandez-Barquin.
The General Election is on Nov. 5.
