The Miami-Dade Dems Newsletter, February 14, 2020
During Black History Month, let us each take the opportunity to celebrate the importance of Black history and the outstanding contributions Black Americans have made to our society and to the history of Miami-Dade County. Black history is American history and we should celebrate Black history every month.
On Wednesday, February 5, Miami-Dade welcomed Stacey Abrams, former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and founder of Fair Fight, and Fair Count to our county for a roundtable discussion about voter protection. Leader Abrams spoke to a roundtable of College Democrats about the importance of exercising the right to vote. “Voting is power and I will not let anyone steal my power. No one is going to say how American I am, I’m going to tell you at the ballot box," she said. She was welcomed by Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo, and introduced by County Commissioner Jean Monestime.
This weekend, we continued our efforts to register people to vote. On Saturday, February 8, voter registration volunteers showed up for the Trayvon Martin Peace Walk to register voters. And on Sunday, our volunteers showed up bright and early at Bayfront Park to register voters at the Miami Marathon and Half Marathon. Our clubs and caucuses are stepping up and holding voter registration events around the county as well. We are really proud of the dedication of our VR team, and thank them for doing this important work. Want to help register voters? Come to one of our VR trainings. We have some upcoming trainings here.
On Monday, February 10, we held our bimonthly Democratic Executive Committee meeting at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Coconut Grove. We invited Miami-Dade County Commissioner Barbara Jordan to speak to the body about her efforts to slow down the push to bring Formula One Racing to the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. The Commissioner pointed out that the Miami Gardens community is overwhelmingly opposed to bringing the noise, traffic and air pollution associated with the race into their community, and she views it as her job to represent their point of view to her colleagues on the dais. Notorious Trump backer, and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross is pushing to bring the race to Miami Gardens over the strenuous objections of local homeowners and elected officials.
The DEC unanimously passed a resolution in support of Commissioner Jordan’s efforts to stop Formula One racing in Miami Gardens, and the Commissioner encouraged all members to call their own county commissioners and ask them to support her items at the next county commission meeting. You can find your commissioner’s contact information here.
At the end of the meeting, the DEC continued the initiative started in 2017 by Dr. Norman Whyte and Dr. Flore Lindor-Latortue to present a Black History Month Honoree and honor our fellow Democrats for their services. This year’s Black History Month Honoree is the Honorable Jacques Despinosse. Among a lifetime of service to the community, Mr. Despinosse is the founder of the Haitian-American Democratic Club, the Haitian American Citizenship and Voter Education Center, Inc. and was elected to the North Miami City Council in 2001.
Chair Steve Simeonidis, First Vice Chair Maria Elena Lopez, Vice Chair for Outreach Ricky Junquera, Secretary Robert Dempster, Parliamentarian Edith Owens, Sergeant at Arms Deltravis Williams, Miami-Dade Democratic Black Caucus President Verlance Echoles and the entire body gave Mr. Despinosse, who recently lost his spouse, a standing ovation.
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