Hello. I’m Scott Galvin. I’m an elected member of the North Miami City Council and I’m running for Congress in Florida’s open 17th District.
That’s the district where the Republican referred to President Obama as "buckwheat" last week.
The seat is open because Congressman Kendrick Meek (D) is leaving the seat to run for U.S. Senate.
Since I’ve only been in the race a few days and this is my first post here, I’m not even asking for your financial help right now. If you’re really inclined to donate, you’re a fine American. Here’s the link at ActBlue: (https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/entity/24133) But I’m really here to introduce myself.
I was born, raised and went to school in the district. I represent the 17th district on the North Miami Council and had the honor of working for Kendrick Meek’s mother, former Congresswoman Carrie Meek, when she represented the district.
To me, the 17th District isn’t some lines on a map. It’s home.
More than a decade ago (1999), I was elected to the North Miami Council. Five years later, when the Miami Herald wrote about me "coming out" as an openly gay elected official it was big news. Since then, I’ve been re-elected and have been proudly serving my community as one of a few openly gay elected officials in Florida.
I won’t go through every line of my resume (a more detailed one is here for those interested) but in addition to my elected service, I served two terms as President of the Greater North Miami Chamber of Commerce and currently serve on the Board of Florida Marlins Foundation and the AIDS Healthcare Foundation – the largest provider of HIV/AIDS Healthcare in the nation.
Maybe in some parts of the country it’s not such a big deal to be a gay elected official running for Congress. But this is Florida and it’s still a big deal here.
Of the 192 people who are elected to state and federal offices in Florida, not one has ever been openly gay. It’s still the south and Florida is still a ‘battleground’ state.
In case there was any question, I’m a Democrat: I support President Obama, support health care reform, oppose the Iraq war and there’s no way Speaker Pelosi will ever confuse me with John Boehner.
It’s a good thing too because Florida’s 17th District is heavily, heavily Democratic – Obama got about 87% of the vote here (h/t SSP).Which means to win, I have to finish first in what is shaping up to be a 12-way Democratic primary.
Yes, 12. Maybe 10. Maybe 14 – the final field won’t be set until late next month and Florida has no run-off elections so the most votes in the August 24 Primary wins.
Thank your for reading my introduction and learning about this race. I’m really excited to read your comments and thoughts and will do my best to respond. I’ll also do my best to keep you updated on big events in this race.
It’s going to be exciting. As the Miami Herald wrote when I announced, it’s going to be one "helluva race." No question about that.
For more information:
My campaign website: www.Galvin2010.com
My campaign Facebook page is here.
Thank you!
Scott Galvin