Corporate donations, NRA funding, xenophobic rhetoric, all feed into Republicans driving their base to vote. But there is one key thing we can take away from Republicans. The vote by mail advantage.

By Wayne Brody and Dany Garcia

The American Dream Mega Mall, the proposed shopping and entertainment behemoth at the edge of the Everglades, will exacerbate every one of the region’s environmental threats. It could have nightmarish impacts on South Florida’s water, energy, air quality, transit, traffic, resilience, and Everglades restoration. (read the full letter by the Caucus to the commission here)

For over 20 years, the Republican-controlled state legislature has had a foothold on setting policy in our state. Republican majorities in the House, Senate, and governor’s mansion have allowed lawmakers to drive through legislation that benefits campaign donors and special interests at the expense of the middle class, minorities, and the environment. For everyday Floridians, the impact of a self-serving legislature is clear – a lack of affordable housing and mass transit, unaffordable basic health care options, stagnant wages, and ongoing gun violence.

La comunidad puertorriqueña en la Florida debe demostrar su fuerza en el ámbito político para así mejorar nuestras oportunidades de lograr cambios muy específicos a nuestro pueblo. Muchos de nosotros nos fuimos de nuestra isla en busca de una mejor vida, y para que esto se haga realidad, debemos de unirnos y exigir acción a nuestros líderes con nuestro voto. Sólo de esta manera podremos mantener una buena calidad de vida en los Estados Unidos y a la vez, ayudar la situación que actualmente deteriora a nuestro Puerto Rico.

I was recently appointed to the FDP Rules Committee. In a recent conference call last Thursday, the Rules Committee discussed how to best present the proposed FDP bylaws changes, the culmination of a year-long process. There are some major changes to the bylaws including changes to the "weighted voted," changing eligibility rules to run for State Chair, and other changes (many of which are dependent on changing the weighted voted).

On Thursday March 22, the Rules committee voted to ask the State Executive Committee to consider the "weighted vote" question first, followed by the rest of the amendments. While I'm not entirely sure in what exact manner the amendments will be presented, I would like to share the documents that were discussed:

• Proposed Bylaws Changes
• Allocation of State Committee Members

The State Party will meet on Sunday, April 15 at 10am in Orlando to vote on these proposed amendments. Over the next few days, I hope to break down what all these amendments mean and how it will impact our DEC.

This movement is being led and will be won by young people. With a coalition of partners, we are organizing a large scale convening of high school student leaders in Miami-Dade.