August 28, 2018 Primary Recommendations
For many of us, this is the first time we have cast a ballot in almost two years.
We all have horrible memories of when those results were unveiled and are currently experiencing the aftermath of that.
It has not been good.
However, out of the ashes of the painful losses in November of 2016, democrats and progressives are fired up and for maybe the first time since I first started voting in 2000, democrats actually have a slate of candidate running in the Seminole County thanks to an aggressive effort by our County Party.
For so long, we have had to choose between republicans in even nonpartisan School Board elections.
Not anymore.
With that though means we have to make the hardest decisions when we are choosing amongst our fellow democrats.
Here are my recommendations for Florida Governor, U.S. House District 7, Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture, State Representative District 29, Circuit Judge, County Judge and for School Board Districts 1 and 4. Please note I do not have one for The State House District 30 primary nor any City Elections.
Governor
I have been through FOUR Gubernational Elections as a voter. All of them have been losses but there is something else they have in common.
The Democratic nominee has either stumbled down the stretch (Bill McBride in 2002) or not really excited the base (Jim Davis in 2006, Alex Sink in 2010 and Charlie Crist in 2014).
I actually thought Charlie Crist ran a good campaign that year but the base never forgave him for his past positions as a republican and Rick Scott just killed him on the air that final weekend.
Anyway, I feel this time democrats need to nominate a candidate who is more than just the candidate with the "Dem" next to their name.
There have 5 major candidates running this time. Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, formder U.S. Representative Gwen Graham, Businessman Jeff Greene, Businessman Chris King and former Miami each Mayor Phillip Levine.
At the top of the ticket, you need someone who everyone is excited about and can bring out the base of the party not just a generic person.
The other big race is for the U.S. Senate where Democratic Senator Bill Nelson is running for Re-Election.
Some of Nelson's recent votes to confirm Gina Haspel to run The CIA among others and the fact he is more of a centrist is not really firing up the base and while the climate helps, not being Rick Scott might not be enough to win him re-election.
This is another reason why we need an energetic progressive nominee for Governor.
Of the major candidates running, my 5th choice is Jeff Greene.
The man just has money, has a very questionable history and I am sick and tired of his damn mailers.
Phillip Levine is my 4th choice. He has done some good things on climate change and does the money to compete. I am very skeptical of his record though and has a lot of scripted lines that don't come off as authentic.
Gwen Graham is in the middle of the pack for me. She has proven that she can get Indy votes. Unfortunately, progressives are still upset about her vote for The KeyStone Pipeline along with a few other votes.
In addition, she is the only candidate not to fully embrace legalizing Marijuana for recreational use which would have many benefits to this state. In another year, I think she would have the same result as our previous 4 nominees for Governor but in the year of the woman and because of the favorable climate for democrats, she might be able to pull this out.
Newcomer Chris King is my second choice.
I was skeptical at first that he should run for Governor rather than a lower office first. However, that change as this campaign has moved in.
King has shown to be very smart politically and has not been afraid to take on the interests like Big Sugar or proposed big ideas like a "Bullet" tax.
Another thing I admire vabout Chris King is despite coming from a wealthy family and going to an Ivy League School, the guy decided to start a business for affordable housing while paying his employees fair wages and full benefits.
To me, this shows what a big heart he has and this campaign would not be what it is without him. The affordable housing issue desperately needs to be addressed and he brought it in front and center.
While my choice for Governor would probably pick a legislator for their Lt. Governor, I would love to see Chris King in this role.
Either way, Chris King has earned his place in this party and if he is not on the ticket, may this not be the last time he runs.
My choice for The Democratic Nominee is Andrew Gillum.
The man is the most viable progressive candidate for Governor that we have ever had in the State of Florida. He can draw out minority and low-income voters who do not tend to vote as much and I know he would stand up to the Legislator and not compromise with the Judicial Nominating Commissions stacked with Rick Scott's appointees on the nominees lists that they submit for Florida Supreme Court and Lower Court Vacancies.
It is so critical that we get three progressive judges to fill the upcoming three vacancies on The Florida Supreme because if they get one more conservative, they will let that legislator which will likely at least have a conservative do whatever the hell they want.
Gillum is so authentic and if he is the nominee, the money will pour in for a top of the ticket race unlike a down ballot so I am not worried about the money situation.
Please do not buy this garbage FBI scandal either. Andrew Gillum makes $150,000 a year between his two jobs and his disclosures show how he would have been able to pay cash for that vacation given his salary and what he has in his savings accounts. The man came from a family who lived paycheck to paycheck like too many families do in this state and has earned everything he has. Read this link if you have any doubts.
https://www.tallahassee.com/…/gillums-financial-…/717262002/
Gillum is inspiring to progressives and we need someone who can be more than just the person with the "Dem" next to their name.
Recommendation: Andrew Gillum
U.S. House of Representatives District 7
In 2016, Stephanie Murphy came out of nowhere to defeat longtime republican congressman John Mica. The district was redrawn due to a court order to be a pretty even district but many expected Mica to hold on.
Murphy aggressively campaigned and was able to knock off Mica. It was the first time in my voting life that I would be represented by a democrat in the U.S. House.
During her first term in Congress, Murphy has established herself as a centrist democrat aligned with the Blue Dogs. It's not a favorite group of progressives.
Some of Murphy's votes including for a banking bill have ticked some progressives off and I myself disagree with those votes.
Chardo Richardson is challenging Stephanie Murphy from the list. He is an honorable who has served our country in the military.
One of the things he wants is Medicare for All which Murphy has yet to support.
We definitely need a better solution on healthcare and would prefer Single-Payer to Medicare for all.
Another important thing is a better tax structure that doesn't have almost all the gains going to the 1 percent which I would expect a primary from the left to better emphasize. I see it no where on Richardson's website. I do hate money in politics but his fundraising is a problem.
I am not against primaries and was in favor of the one in Illinois to U.S. Rep Dan Lipinski (refused to endorse President Obama for re-election in 2012 in a deep blue district along with some conservative votes) earlier this year. I also favor primaries in Hawaii to likely U.S. Representative Ed Case (ConservaDem in very blue district) and Tulsi Gabbard (Look more closly at her record). It would also be nice if New York did not have candidates run on different lines so Cynthia Nixon would have a clearer shot at taking out Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Aligned with republicans and rogue democrats so republicans could control State Senate) who will still be on the ballot if he loses the democratic primary.
Even though I do disagree with some of Rep. Murphy's votes, my calculation of her has always been that she is not really a political person and that she would evolve politically to the left and hope she will continue to do so.
Unlike Lipinski's district and the Hawaii's districts, this is a swing district and even though I do like Chardo Richardson, I like Stephanie Murphy and feel she is better suited as a candidate fundraising wise and via appeal to Indy's.
Recommendation: Stephanie Murphy
Attorney General
Two solid progressive democrats are running for the Attorney General nomination.
State Representative Sean Shaw and Ryan Torrens.
I really both candidates and no matter what happens, I hope this is not the last time the candidate who does not win the primary runs for office. Shaw and Torrens would both do well as Attorney General.
Please note that I am not happy about the lawsuit and counter lawsuit by the two candidates and feel it was unnecessary.
For me, this comes down to who has the best chance to win and I believe that is Sean Shaw due to his fundraising ability.
Even though we all hate money in politics, you need to be able to do raise funds to be competitive in The General Election especially in cabinet races other than Governor where the nominee will be well-funded.
Recommendation: Sean Shaw
Commissioner of Agriculture
Three democrats are running for the nomination in the first contest democratic primary for Commissioner of Agriculture since 2002.
The candidates are Nicole "Nikki" Fried, Jeffrey Duane Porter and Roy David Walker.
The later two have been running for a while and Fried jumped into the race around the filing deadline.
Recently, revelations that Fried had donated to republicans came to light and this has enraged a lot of democrats.
It does not make me happy either.
The other two candidates Porter and Walker have struggled to raise money and even though some like Walker myself included, I do not believe he or Porter is viable.
This race is not going to get a lot of attention and the republicans including the likely republican nominee for this position Denise Grimsley will be well-funded.
Nikki Fried will be able to raise money and will advance the agenda on medical marijuana, be a progressive cabinet vote and I think she would do a lot better protecting the environment than republicans.
Be mad at her donations as a lobbyist or for her old friends but republicans are not for marijuana like she is and I think Nikki Fried will do just fine as Agriculture Commissioner.
Most of all, she gives democrats a chance to win.
Recommendation: Nicole "Nikki" Fried
State Representative District 29
I cannot believe that we have a primary in Florida House District 29.
Sure, Seminole County first beat Chris Dorworth here back in 2012 before their big victory against him this past week but that was still a close race that Mike Clelland was mainly able to win because of scandal.
Last cycle, our nominee Fred Marra had to drop out towards the end.
The district is trending in our direction although it is still republican by a few points.
Two candidates are running and they are both attorneys. They are Darryl Block and Tracy Kagan.
Either would be a huge upgrade over Scott Plakon and his extremist policies including going after Unions recently. He is so extreme that Trump fanatic Ron Desantis has him on his Lt. Governor shortlist.
Of the two candidates, I have nothing bad to say about Tracy Kagan and she would be a good nominee. However, I've supported Darryl Block since he entered the race and was honored to be one of about 1,100 people to sign his nominating petition getting him on the ballot via the Petition Method.
His backround as a social worker and mediator make him very suited for this role and has gotten most if not all of the progressive endorsements in this race.
Recommendation: Darryl Block
18th Circuit Judge Group 24
This one is pretty simple.
Adam Pollack is not registered with either party while Souto is a product of the republican establishment.
In addition...........
Melissa Dyan Souto was APPOINTED BY RICK SCOTT!
Let me repeat: Melissa Dyan Souto was APPOINTED BY RICK SCOTT!
He only appoints extreme partisans and word is Adam Pollack's wife has volunteered with the Seminole Democratic Party before.
This one should be easy for everyone.
Recommendation: Adam Pollack
Seminole County Judge
This race has three republicans running (Yes, I look up their party affliations).
The good news is there are usually more races on our ballot where we have to choose between republicans. Thankfully there is only one this go-around although I would have liked to vote in County Commission District 4 race but the fake Write-In Candidate Brenton Baker screwed us non-republicans out of that.
Anyway, word is Cameron Shackelford is a right-wing nut (He was at my early voting place waving his sign but I did not make eye contact) and also got a donation from recently resigned republican Seminole County Commissioner Carlton Henley.
Wayne Culver has republican establishment support including donations from School board member Karen Almond, retired judge Carmine Bravo and 18th circuit Public Defender Blaise Trettis.
However........
Debra Krause has gotten donations from Ryan Nadav who was the democratic nominee in State House District 30 in 2016 and Tracy Kagan who is running for the nomination in State House District 29 this go-around.
While Krause has gone to republican functions, her and her husband Mitch Krause who ran for Circuit Judge in 2014 ,have never had establishment support.
A lot of us have read about the mistakes she has made but I think you learn from those and also have never felt she was that partisan. When she gets donations from two people who have run or are running as democrats, it furthers my thought on Debra Krause.
Recommendation: Debra Krause
School Board District 1
We hardly ever have registered democrats run for School Board. Most of the time, they switch their party affliation to republican out of fear they have no chance to do win a race where your party is not even listed on the ballot. That is how bad things have been in this county with regards to the fear of the county's republican machine.
Well, we are lucky to have a good progressive democrat in Kristine Kraus running for this seat. She got over 3,000 signatures including mine to make the ballot via petition and her fund raising has been pretty solid compared to the other candidates.
The other three candidates are republicans.
This race will likely go to a runoff in November and Kraus, Cade Resnick and Alan Youngblood are competing for two of those slots with Fanny Benites likely to finish a distant 4th.
Being the only democrat in the race will help Kristine make the runoff but we all need to be sure to vote for her in the Primary.
Recommendation: Kristine Kraus
School Board District 4
In this election, we actually have two democrats Bobby Agagnina and Gerry Wright running and one conservative republican in Amy Pennock.
This is like another partisan primary for us.
It's unlikely Agagnina or Wright could get 50 percent to avoid a runoff since they are competing for a lot of the same votes. Pennock has the conservative republican lane to herself along with a massive financial advantage and it's likely just about all republicans will vote for her.
The key is keeping Pennock is keeping under 50 to allow Agagnina or Wright to advance to a General Election in November against her.
Of the two, I'm supporting Bobby Agagnina because of his bold ideas and experience as a current teacher in the Seminole County School System.
Agagnina also is very active on social media and the campaign trail.
Dr. Geri Wright is also a very qualified candidate with a distinguished career in public education but she just has not been as active on social media or on the campaign trail as Agagnina two things that are going to be needed against Amy Pennock and her strong political establishment money advantage.
I also feel the angle of a current teacher in the public school system could help a little bit more electorally.
Both Bobby Agagnina and Dr. Geri Wright would be great people to represent progressives and most importantly the parents, teachers, employees and children at Seminole County Public Schools.
However, the edge goes to Bobby Agagnina for me.
Recommendation: Bobby Agagnina
Regardless of whom you vote for in the above races, we all need to get behind the democratic nominees the day after the Primary results on August 29.
