In Miami District 5 election, the Herald recommends a candidate with a bolder vision | Editorial

This year’s elections offer voters a chance to challenge the dysfunction and status quo we see on the Miami City Commission.

That change could begin in District 5, covering Overtown, Liberty City, Wynwood, Midtown, Little Haiti and the Upper Eastside. The challenges in these neighborhoods — from the threat of gentrification to high poverty and lack of affordable housing — require a commissioner with bold ideas who also understands how government works.

Miami City Hall is in crisis over the firing of Police Chief Art Acevedo after long, arduous hearings by a mercurial commission that often uses the dais to attack political rivals as well as private citizens who speak at meetings. The District 5 commissioner will be walking into a lion’s den and must be able to hold their own.

The election happens on Nov. 2, and if no one gets more than 50% of the vote the top two candidates move to a Nov. 16 runoff.

District 5 incumbent Jeffrey Watson was appointed to fill a vacancy last year, when he pledged not to run once he finished his one-year term in November. But he changed his mind and is running against six other candidates.

Watson has extensive government experience, having worked as chief of staff for former Mayor Xavier Suarez and for the Clinton administration. Watson told the Herald Editorial Board he changed his mind about running because, “I thought it made sense to continue to serve because I have something to offer.”

But he went back on his word about running. When city commissioners chose someone to fill the seat, they didn’t want to give the incumbent an inherent advantage in this year’s elections. Many of his opponents also sought the nomination last year and think that Watson pulled a fast one. They are right to feel that way. Watson also has had serious financial issues: two unsuccessful attempts to file for bankruptcy, falling behind on his mortgage payments and owing taxes, Florida Bulldog reported.

Michael Hepburn, 39, is the candidate who offered the strongest rebuke to Watson during a Herald Editorial Board interview. Hepburn is an executive with the nonprofit Reimagine Miami Foundation and former coordinator for Miami Dade College’s Institute for Civic Engagement and Democracy.

Hepburn
Hepburn

He has deep knowledge about District 5 and well-thought-out progressive proposals. Among them is using anti-poverty funds each commissioner gets for their district to pay college or vocational school tuition for local public high-school graduates after they have exhausted their federal grants. He wants to use publicly owned land to build affordable housing and says he’s gotten a jump start on that by partnering with the Miami Workers Center to apply for a $500,000 grant for a project. He added he has been negotiating with the developers of Sabal Palm Village at Flagler Trail, a mega mixed-use, high-rise complex slated for Little Haiti, to reserve more units in the project for low-income residents.

Hepburn also wants more public transportation in District 5 with Miami’s trolleys running more frequently and better coordinating them with Metrobus routes. He proposed partnering with companies such as Uber so people have transportation once they get off the bus.

Hepburn is running a campaign funded mostly by small donations and his own money. He also has the support of national progressive groups, including The Collective PAC, dedicated to boosting Blacks’ participation in politics.

He faces a powerhouse in Christine King, who has the backing of Keon Hardemon, the previous District 5 commissioner who resigned to run, successfully, for the County Commission. She also has the endorsement of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

King’s powerful backers, no doubt, have helped her fundraising. She has $500,000 raised in direct campaign contributions and donations to a political committee supporting her.

King, 55, is a lawyer and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Economic Development Corporation, which has been the beneficiary of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars in anti-poverty grants from the city, the Herald reported. Her election to the commission might pose a conflict of interest if her nonprofit were to continue to receive taxpayer dollars, but King told the Editorial Board she will resign “immediately” if elected.

King said she’s helping develop an affordable housing project with 100 units in District 5 and vowed to push the commission to expedite the spending of $100 million in bonds that voters approved in 2017 for affordable housing, which she would like to use to help first-time home buyers. She’s a member of the Camillus House board of directors, which gives her a deep comprehension of Miami’s homelessness crisis.

King understands the issues and her experience has prepared her for a commission seat, but given her political ties she’s not the candidate who will challenge the dysfunction of Miami City Hall.

Stephanie Thomas, 52, has a background in healthcare and she previously worked for the city of North Miami. Zico Fremont, 34, is a treasurer and financial manager. Revran Shoshana Lincoln, 84, is an Overtown resident. They seem to want to make a difference in their community but didn’t have the same depth of knowledge as King and Hepburn.

Francois Alexandre, 35, seems ready to shake things up. He said he’s “part of the working poor” and was houseless in the past. The Florida International University graduate is the co-founder of Konscious Kontractors, which seeks to combat climate gentrification by beautifying communities. In 2013, he said, he was beat up by Miami Police officers after a Heat game, which gave him first-hand knowledge about police brutality at a time when Miami police is about to undergo another big change with Acevedo’s departure.

Alexandre was recording police with his cellphone as they forced fans off Northeast Second Street and, though he complied with police, he told the crowd they didn’t have to leave. A lieutenant put him in a headlock and five other officers drove him to the ground. Two officers were charged with excessive force and battery, and he filed a lawsuit against the city.

Alexandre would be a good advocate for the voiceless on the commission. He’s living the same struggles of everyday District 5 residents, including rising housing costs in his Little Haiti neighborhood. He vowed to push to use the affordable housing bonds to pay for home-ownership subsidies.

Hepburn brings the enthusiasm and energy to bring change in District 5. Better still, he has well-considered and doable policy proposals and a solid understanding of how the city runs.

The Herald Editorial Board recommends MICHAEL HEPBURN for commission District 5.