Miami-Dade Dems pick Laura Kelley as Chair, elect new Executive Board leaders, State Committee members

Image via Miami-Dade Dems.

It’s a new day for the Miami-Dade Democratic Party.

Members of the county’s Democratic Executive Committee (DEC) replaced all its leaders over the weekend. They also elected a new state committee delegation “mirroring the diversity of the local Party,” a party press note said.

Coming in as the new Chair is lawyer Laura Kelley, who previously led the South Florida Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

She replaces Miami Gardens Sen. Shevrin Jones, who had to step down from the Chair post he won in April in accordance with state party rules.

Beyond her professional bona fides, Kelley, a Texas-born bilingual lawyer, also boasts political experience. She unsuccessfully ran this year against GOP Rep. David Borrero, but lost in the Republican-leaning area after raising a respectable $54,000 with no monetary help from her state and county parties.

Kelley said her experience leading the lawyers’ group and as a first-time candidate provide her a “fresh perspective on how to make structural and system change” within the DEC.

That includes maintaining a presence in Miami-Dade communities during and between election cycles and consistently communicating through Creole-, English- and Spanish-language media outlets, she said.

“We need to get back to the basics of organizing at the precinct level, registering voters, and listening to what voters are telling us,” Kelley said in a statement after her victory Saturday.

“We also need to be ready to fight the incompetence, cruelty, and corruption of another Donald Trump term in the White House.”

Kelley beat three others vying for the job: former Acting DEC Chair Ricky Junquera, Miami-Dade Community Council member Venusmia Fernández Lovely and DEC Secretary Marco Reyes.

As First Vice Chair, DEC members elected North Miami Beach Mayor Michael Joseph. He replaces Millie Herrera in the role.

Joseph, North Miami Beach’s first Black Mayor, prioritized continued engagement with federal, state and municipal Democratic elected officials.

“We must work together,” he said, “to strengthen our Party, and also show up for them when they need it most.”

Other new officials include:

— Secretary Sam Dorr, whose more than 15 years of political experience includes ample field organizing work and current service as Treasurer of the Miami-Dade Democratic Hispanic Caucus. He replaces Reyes.

— Treasurer Kristen Browde, a lawyer, former TV journalist and politician who currently serves as President of the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus and trustee of the National Trans Bar Association. Browde replaces Gregory Frankel.

— Vice Chair of Programs Carisa Perez-Fuentes, an entrepreneur, production designer and former Design and Communications Director of the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora.

— Outreach Vice Chair Chuck Walter, an entrepreneur and self-described “communication synergist” who worked for nearly two decades at Univision to develop and expand the media outlet’s digital offerings. He replaces Justin Routt. In a statement, Walter said, “I look forward to involving, informing, and most importantly, listening to others on how we can build a stronger Miami-Dade Democratic Party that can deliver a positive impact for our communities.”

The party also elected 38 new State Committee members. They included Dorr, Perez-Fuentes, Herrera, Walter, Rep. Kevin Chambliss, Maribel Balbin, Stephaine Best, Franco Caliz-Aguilar, Tanisha Major-Castro, Maggie Chery, Justin Clarke, Juan Cuba, Mike Davey, Verlance Echoles, Antonio Eiroa, Dinah Escarment, Pitchie Escarment, Phyllis Harris, Bruce Jacobs, Bernard Jennings, Linda Joseph, Elizabeth Judd, Jackie Kellogg, Richard Lamondin, Frank Morra, Edith Owens, Robert Palacios, Faudlin Pierre, Skip Pita, J.C. Planas, Julio Rodriguez, Sandra Ruiz, Miguel Sahid, Luisa Santos, Evan Shields, Cecilia Tavera, Maria Corina Vegas and Sardebra Wright.

The change follows a seismic shift in Miami-Dade politics. Trump flipped the long-dependably blue county for the first time in 36 years, and all five of the county’s constitutional offices went to GOP candidates.

Christian Ulvert, one of Miami-Dade’s most influential Democratic strategists and a former Director of the Florida Democratic Party, called the Nov. 5 election a “day of reckoning” for the party.