Important headlines for June 25th – Party politics at the local level
Bottom Line: These are stories you shouldn't miss and my takes on them...
Excerpt: When Patricio Moreno filed his papers to run for a nonpartisan seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission this week, the local Democratic Party was by his side.
Juan Cuba, the Democratic county chairman, said he helped recruit Moreno, a real estate agent from Doral, to challenge Jose "Pepe" Diaz, a Republican who has held the District 12 seat for 16 years. So Cuba joined his fellow Democrat for the trip to the county's Doral election headquarters on Tuesday to help Moreno qualify to run in what could be the latest clash between Republicans and Democrats in a local race where party affiliation isn't supposed to matter.
"We want to make sure we're electing people who share our values," Cuba said. "Everyone comes in with their own perspective on how they see the world. Their choice of which party they align with is a very significant choice that any candidate makes. That's a big factor in how they approach issues."
The bid to inject party labels into county races has met outrage from Republican leaders and resistance from most Democratic commissioners, who opted to stay out of a recent contest between a Republican and Democratic candidate for an open seat on the board. Critics of Cuba's approach see partisanship spoiling an elected board that, for all its faults, manages to avoid party-versus-party dysfunction.
Hot Take: Without fail when polled Americans, regardless of political persuasion, will tell you they feel there's too much partisanship generally. But when it comes time to vote I've often found that many, if not most voters, want shortcuts and insight into the general belief system of local politicians. It's generally harder to ascertain information about local candidates and people who want to vote, and want to make an informed decision, often seem to like having that information in hand. Around election cycles I'm commonly asked about specific candidates – none more so than judicial candidates as they're often the hardest of all to find revealing information on in advance of holding office.
Generally, I think we're frustrated by partisanship but want people in office, top to bottom, that see the world the way we do. What say you?
Trump administration says it has plan to reunite 2,053 separated children still in custody - Sun Sentinel
Trump Is Grating, But He's a True Leader & America Needs Him Conrad Black, NP
Hot Take: I'm not sure there's a better summation of my thoughts available...
Until Tomorrow...