
Liza Dill is the Opinion Editor of The Catalyst. For the 2019-2020 school year she served as Community News Editor. She has been contributing since her...
Illustration by Andre Joseph '22
November 1, 2020
With Election Day 2020 nearing, the Opinion section of The Catalyst broke down the priorities and points of view of the candidates whom residents of Miami-Dade County will most likely see on their ballot. Our intention is to bring some clarity to the often confusing down-ballot elections, as well as the ever-evolving presidential election.
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Eileen Higgins (DEM)
Background
A former engineer, Higgins has served abroad as a Peace Corps country director in Belize, and has also served the U.S. State Department in Mexico and Southern Africa. She is a member of Miami Climate Alliance and Miami Downtown Neighbors.
Priorities and Points of View
Renier Diaz de la Portilla (REP)
Background:
A civil and criminal lawyer by trade, de la Portilla has served on the Miami School Board and the Florida Legislature.
Priorities and Points of View
Keon Hardemon (NPA)
Background
Hardemon has served as an Assistant Public Defender and City of Miami Commissioner.
Priorities and Points of View
Gepsie Metellus (NPA)
Background
Metellus is the Co-founder and Executive Director of the Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center. She has also served on the Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent’s Business Advisory Council and the School Bond Oversight Committee, and she is a member of the Miami Chapter of the International Women’s Forum and the Greater Miami Chapter of The Links, Inc., an international volunteer service organization led by women of color.
Priorities and Points of View
Raquel Regalado (NPA)
Background
Regalado, a former member of the Miami-Dade County School Board, was also a candidate for Miami Dade County mayor in 2016, a race in which she lost to Carlos Gimenez by 9 points.
Priorities and Points of View
Cindy Lerner (NPA)
Background
Lerner is a former Attorney for Guardian ad Litem, representing children’s interests in a variety of cases such as child support, emancipation, divorce, adoption, etc. She is also a former member of the Former Florida House of Representatives and a former Mayor of Pinecrest.
Priorities and Points of View
Ileana Garcia (REP)
Background
A former television personality and the founder of Latinas for Trump, Garcia served in the Trump administration as the Deputy Press Secretary at the Department of Homeland Security before stepping down in March.
Priorities and Points of View
Jose Javier Rodriguez (DEM)
Background
A former attorney, and the incumbent since 2016, Rodriguez also served two terms in the Florida House of Representatives in District 112.
Priorities and Points of View
Nicholas X. Duran (DEM)
Background
Duran is the incumbent, seeking reelection to a third term.
Priorities and Points of View
Bruno A. Barreiro (REP)
Background
Barreiro served as Miami-Dade County Commissioner for District 5 from 1998 to 2018. He also served in the Florida Legislature from 1992 to 1998.
Priorities and Points of View
Lavern Spicer (REP)
Background
Spicer is the founder of Curley’s House Food Bank, which has been supporting the community since 2001. She also opened her home to foster children over a span of 28 years. This is her first time running for public office.
Priorities and Points of View
Frederica S. Wilson (DEM)
Background
Wilson has served as the Democratic representative from District 24 since 2011, and is running for reelection once again. She is a former elementary school principal who has also served on the Miami Dade School Board.
Priorities and Points of View
Christine Alexandria Olivo (IND)
Background
Olivo is the former Youth Director of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, where she primarily served as a mentor to underprivileged teenagers. This is Olivo’s first time running for public office; she has no prior experience in politics.
Priorities and Points of View
Maria Elvira Salazar (REP)
Background
A reporter for Telemundo, CNN Español, and Univision, Salazar ran in 2018 against Donna Shalala and lost by 4 points. She worked as the Pentagon and White House correspondent for Univision, and at Telemundo was a political correspondent who had the rare chance to interview Fidel Castro in 1993, making herself the only Spanish-speaking journalist to have ever done so one-on-one.
Priorities and Points of View
Donna Shalala (DEM)
Background
Shalala, the incumbent Representative for District 27, is the former President of the University of Miami and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services during the Clinton administration. She also served as President of the Clinton Foundation.
Priorities and Points of View
Daniella Levine Cava (NPA)
Background
An attorney with a Master’s degree in social work, Cava has served on the Miami-Dade County Commission representing District 8 since 2014.
Priorities and Points of View
Steve Bovo (NPA)
Background
Bovo has served as State Representative representing District 110 and, most recently, on the Miami-Dade County Commission representing District 13 since 2011.
Priorities and Points of View
Joe Biden was the 47th vice president of the United States under Barack Obama. He was also a Delaware Senator for 36 years as well as Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 16 years. This is his third time running for president.
Kamala Harris is the first black woman to be elected California Attorney General, district attorney of San Francisco, or to run on a major party ticket for vice president. She has served in the United States Senate for approximately two terms.
IMMIGRATION
ENVIRONMENT
LGBTQ+ RIGHTS
SUPREME COURT
TAXES
ABORTION
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
HEALTHCARE
Donald Trump, a graduate of the Wharton School, is the 45th and current president of the United States. He is the first president to be elected without any military or political experience. Before becoming president, Trump was an infamous businessman, TV personality, and co-author of “Trump: The Art of the Deal.”
Mike Pence is the current vice president and chairman of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. He was the 50th governor of Indiana for four years and served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
(NOTE: On their website, there is no location to find information on their future policies, only a section called “Promises Kept.” Thus, I gathered most information from that section in addition to other government-run websites.)
ABORTION
IMMIGRATION
LGBTQ+ RIGHTS
(NOTE: No mention of the LGBTQ+ Community can be found on the Promises Kept website. As such, I used references from the HHS.gov website.)
ENVIRONMENT
HEALTHCARE
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Liza Dill is the Opinion Editor of The Catalyst. For the 2019-2020 school year she served as Community News Editor. She has been contributing since her...