Miami Beach mayoral dash opens two seats for newcomers
He says that the facebook post by his wife about his near future as U.S. Congressman was a joke.
David Cardenas with his jokester wife and presidential flop Mitt Romney has always shown his partisan colors.
But David Cardenas, son of national GOP big wig Al Cardenas and local young GOPpie, is running for something: Miami Beach Commission.
Commissioner Jerry Libbin‘s bid to unseat Miami Beach Mayor Matti Bower provided Cardenas — who filed last week — with the opportunity he has been waiting for.
“The time is right. People are looking for new direction,” Cardenas told Ladra. “What we’ve seen in Miami Beach is people playing musical chairs. I bring a fresh perspective.”
But is that also a very partisan perspective? Cardenas has been active of late in the Florida Republican Party, leading the MavPAC in the Sunshine State and representing at the Republican National Convention in Tampa last year. While he gets points for seeking office where he lives — a concept that many electeds do not grasp — one might think Cardenas would use the GOP capital he’s built so far and run for something with an R behind it instead of a non-partisan race.
“I’m building my support with people from both political parties,” he said. “For me, it’s important to get bipartisan support.”
Um, to get elected in Miami Beach, you will need bipartisan support. But I do suspect he will get financial support from either the official GOP or some of its most prominent and generous contributors and/or electeds through their PACs. Because the party wants to start sewing in the leaders of tomorrow and are talking about getting a bench ready for 2016 and beyond.
Cardenas said he didn’t know if he would continue with his MavPAC activities. “If that becomes a conflict of interest, I’ll have to leave it. I haven’t had that conversation yet.”
But he did say he was not going to back any of the three mayoral candidates. The other commissioner who is widely rumored to be running for Bower’s job is Vice Mayor Michael Gongora.
“I’m focused on my own race. I’m staying out of that race,” he said. “It’s going to be an interesting nine months.”
I’ll say. Another potential candidate on the increasingly crowded ballot could be former Beach City Manager Jorge Gonzalez, quoted in Miami New Times last week as mulling over a run for either mayor or commissioner.
Is it a long fall from Congressman to Commissioner? One might think so. But Cardenas told Ladra that the pre-election facebook post last year that got him a lot of flack from his friends — written by his wife and calling him the next U.S. Congressman when he was commenting on national television about the presidential race and David Rivera’s woes – was just a practical joke.
“She loves to do that.”
Marcus
January 31, 2013 at 7:56 am
He will not win.
Charlie
January 31, 2013 at 12:58 pm
Matti Bower is not seeking reelection. Her term is limited and she cannot run again.
Olivia Diaz
January 31, 2013 at 3:12 pm
The article is not flattering. Really turned me off. Riding on Daddies coat tails and is a hard line Republican who is very involved in national politics. Not good qualities. I think he should move to Washington DC.
admin
January 31, 2013 at 6:32 pm
Ooops. My bad. Thank you, Charlie.
You can tell I’m relatively new to the Beach political scene, eh? Give me a bit… I will catch up.
Love, Ladra
Sean
January 31, 2013 at 9:52 pm
The article doesn’t do David justice. He is a bright young man and hard worker. I imagine he will have good ideas. But the reality is that Beach voters are more liberal.
Yes, Mayor Matti is term limited. Libbin v. Gongora and maybe the comedian Steve Burke will make another run.
Norma Cohen
February 2, 2013 at 6:41 pm
This is how David Cardena’s family feel about the gay community, as published in the Miami Herald.
I would be very disappointed if Perry did not favor amending the Const to ban gay marriage. These gay marriage laws are destructive …. Marriage is a vital social institution between two members of the OPPOSITE sex. It goes way beyond just an emotional relationship—it serves a vital role in the stability and continuity of our society, something which homosexual marriages cannot provide. Unfortunately, the biggest victory of the gay movement has been to shift the debate from a ‘behavior’ to identity, whereby those that oppose homosexuality are considered bigoted or hateful. They have equated it to the Civil Rights Movement, seeking to obtain the rights granted under the constitution to all races or religions. Sexual behavior does not fall into either category!!!!It is not about homosexuals wanting to enter into a ‘marriage’ so much as it is about them wanting to gain acceptance into mainstream society by redefining the traditional definition of the institution. Because a few liberal judges decide to sign it into law, does not mean the public is in favor of it. Whenever it has been put on the ballot (as in California), it has failed.
Read and download the complete exchange at Steve Rothaus’ Gay South Florida blog.
Read more here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2011/08/al-cardenas-wife-diana-gays-are-in-our-faces-with-public-display-of-affection-gay-parades-gay-rallie.html#storylink=cpy
Mamacita
February 2, 2013 at 8:08 pm
Daddy must see the writing on the wall – the Republicans are desperate for diversity so he is sending his son to learn the ropes. What better place than Miami Beach? Ha Ha. Miami is like no other place in the country. I can just see Mexicans in other states seeing a Cuban on the scene and running the other way.
Matti can run – she can run as a Commissioner. She is termed out as Mayor.
SOFLA NATIVE
February 2, 2013 at 10:52 pm
He will win because he has the support of the RAELIANS as the space ship over his head in the picture shows.