The woman that is soon to be named the new chief of staff for Congressman Joe Garcia is SEIU Florida State Council Director Caitlin Fishman, who is also daughter of one of New York City’s biggest union bosses.
Caitlin Fishman will begin her new job the first week of December.
But her name has been floated around since last week and some Garcia critics think it figures. Fishman will bring him much needed allies in the unions, they say, now that he faces an arguably tough re-election on a non-presidential year and on the heels of headlines about absentee ballot fraud in his last campaign.
Fishman replaces Jeffrey “No Relation” Garcia, the congressman’s campaign consultant who was catapulted to chief of staff after he finally won one for Joe. Jeff Garcia resigned as soon as investigators found evidence of foul play in bogus absentee ballot requests that were made without the knowledge, let alone consent, of the voters. He plead guilty to soliciting absentee ballots illegally without the voter’s permission and is serving a 90-day sentence in what is really a travesty of justice.
Fishman is not necessarily a Washington, D.C., insider. Like the Congressman’s first COS, she looks more like a campaign veteran. She has worked on several Florida campaigns as state director of one of the largest and most politically active unions for the past 10 years and has tackled issues such as immigration and healthcare, which are important to labor groups.
Jeff Garcia was not a Washington, D.C., insider, either. But you can bet that Fishman will find it easier to open doors based on her bloodlines. Her daddy is Mike Fishman, longtime leader of BJ32 SEIU in New York City, the largest building service workers union in the country, until he left last year to run for national office. He was elected secretary/treasurer of the national SEIU in September.
How big is he? “If there’s one labor figure ready to break out, it’s Mike Fishman,” says a 2010 story in New York Magazine that named him one of “The Power Dozen” in NYC politics, along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch — who owns the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post — the Rev. Al Sharpton and Vogue Editor Anna Wintour. (By the way, Miami Dolphins owner and mega developer Stephen Ross also made that list).
Nice company, huh? Yeah, that power dozen.
“A trained carpenter, he’s not a grandstander but a savvy strategist. His leads a well-paid, less-ideological membership aligned with real-estate interests. After years of steady growth, with expansions in neighboring states and a disciplined training operation, 32BJ has emerged as a potent force. Fishman can deliver votes, giving him more clout than larger labor players,” said the story written by Jacob Gershman and Chris Smith.
New York University Professor Mitchell Moss, an ally of Mayor Bloomberg’s and director of the school’s center for transportation and urban planning, calls Mike Fishman “one of the few labor leaders who understands how to play in big-league politics and take care of his worker.”
Mike Fishman — who reportedly has breakfast with Bloomberg every six weeks or so — is credited with tripling the size of the union during his tenure, to 120,000 members in eight states.
Is Caitlin a chip off the old block?
Reached late Monday, Raul Martinez Jr., Garcia’s interim chief of staff — who Ladra heard turned the job down so he could stay as chief of staff in the district office, close to his family — confirmed that Fishman would be starting the first week of December.
“After a comprehensive search for a new chief of staff we determined Caitlin to be the best suited candidate for the position,” Joe Garcia told Ladra late Monday afternooon. “With nearly 10 years of experience in South Florida’s political arena, Caitlin has a firm understanding of our community’s needs. We look forward to her leadership and are honored to have her join our team.”
A formal statement will be issued from the office sometime this week.
Joe Garcia’s new chief will be union leader Caitlin Fishman added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →