Several Haitian-American candidates were on the ballot in the Nov. 8 General election. Many of them were racing to keep their seats as others were looking to make political history. While a couple of them fell short in their respective races, Tuesday night’s election results brought overwhelming joy to the winners, especially those who made political history by adding their name on the list of ‘firsts.’
Marleine Bastien wins District 2 seat on Miami-Dade Commission
The race for the District 2 seat on Miami-Dade County Commission was the most passionate one in the South Florida Haitian Community ever. Six candidates, including five Haitian-Americans, took part in the August 23rd primary. Sitting North Miami Mayor Philippe Bien-Aimé came out on top.
followed by licensed social worker and longtime activist Marleine Bastien in second position. The primary result was already considered a victory for the whole Haitian community, since the presence of Bien-Aimé and Bastien in the run-off was a guarantee that a Haitian-American would succeed the outgoing District 2 Commissioner Jean Monestime, the first Haitian-American to hold the District 2 seat and chair the County Commission. Monestime’s current term ends on November 22, 2022.
Against some odds, Bastien, who has been fighting on behalf Haitian migrants for more than four decades, pulled off a big upset against her opponent, North Miami Mayor Philippe Bien-Aimé who has almost a decade of political experience under his belt. Bien-Aimé had a heavy advantage over Bastien financially, spending more than $2 million compared to Bastien’s $350,000. Yet, the longtime activist collected 21,930 votes (58.9%) while the ‘soon-to-be former mayor’ received 15,284 votes (41.1%) in this Nonpartisan race.
Addressing a crowd of supporters at a victory party held at Holiday Inn Miami North hotel Tuesday night, the commissioner-elect said, “Tonight’s victory is for all the residents of District 2! We believed in the power of the people. It’s the voters who gave us this big victory. Despite not having enough money, despite not having big consultants and the fact that a lot of people told us we could not win, we made it with the people.”
“I hope that you will come to the county commission often,” she continued. “You will not leave me alone, right? We will continue to work for the best interests of all the district 2 residents, right? You will come to support me, support our projects, right? We will make it together.”
At café Crème, next door to North Miami City Hall, the ‘soon-to-be former mayor’ Philippe Bien-Aimé conceded and congratulated his opponent on her victory.
“That’s the game of democracy. The people voted and they chose,” he told local newspaper The Miami Times. “There’s nothing that I can do about that. I still believe that I was the best candidate but the people voted otherwise and I have to respect their vote. I congratulate my opponent Marleine Bastien, who will be the next county commissioner for District 2.”
Based on the “resign-to-run law”, Philippe Bien-Aimé will not be the mayor of the City of North Miami, once Commissioner-elect Marleine Bastion takes office on November 22nd, 2022.
The “resign-to-run law” essentially prohibits an elected or appointed “officer” from qualifying as a candidate for another state, district, county or municipal public office if the terms or any part of the terms overlap with each other if the person did not resign from the office the person presently holds, (Section 99.012(3), Florida Statutes.) Once submitted, the resignation is irrevocable. (Section 99.012(3)(b), Florida Statutes.)
Miami-Dade County District 2 covers sizable portions of North Miami and Opa-locka, as well as smaller pieces of Hialeah, Miami, North Miami Beach and the unincorporated neighborhoods of Biscayne Gardens, Liberty City and North Central Dade. The district leans heavily Democratic and is home to many of Miami-Dade’s approximately 470,000 black residents, many of them Haitian.
By knocking out sitting mayor Philippe Bien-Aime, longtime social worker Marleine Bastien became the first female elected as Miami-Dade County District 2 Commissioner.
Samson Borgelin makes political history as Mayor
Six years ago, Samson Borgelin made political history when he was elected to the dais as North Lauderdale’s first Haitian-American city commissioner. He defeated opponents Ana Ziade and incumbent Vice Mayor David Hilton in a three-way race for District D. He took 39% of the mere 3,147 ballots cast to Hilton’s 36% and Ziade’s 25%. In 2020, Borgelin retained his seat after running unopposed. District D represents two of the city’s eleven precincts.
As North Lauderdale’s current Vice Mayor, he decided to resign his current seat last June to run for Mayor in the November general election. Borgelin who was born and raised in Haiti, crossed his former opponent in 2016 and incumbent mayor Ana Ziade. She was elected Mayor for a four year term in 2018, two years after her defeat as a commissioner candidate.
Borgelin made a risky move when he chose not to finish out the remaining two years of his District D commissioner term that ends in 2024 in order to challenge the sitting mayor. To win the Mayor’s seat, which is an “at-large” position, the two must appeal to the city’s roughly 23,000 registered voters—13,486 of whom are black, 3,926 are Hispanic and 3,149 are white, according to the Broward Supervisor of Elections.
The elections results have shown that it was a well calculated move. Last Tuesday (November 8), Borgelin defeated, for a second time, opponent Ana Ziade to take her mayoral seat. By winning, Samson Borgelin made a political history a second time, now as the first Haitian-American North Lauderdale Mayor and also first Haitian-American’s mayor in Broward County, Florida’s second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County.
As Borgelin won the mayoral seat against incumbent Ana Ziade, the city commission can choose to appoint a person from District D to finish out the remaining two years of Borgelin’s term. If the city commission cannot agree on a candidate, then the city must schedule a special election to be held no sooner than thirty (30) days and no more than ninety (90) days following the occurrence of the vacancy, per City Charter.
North Lauderdale is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city’s population was 44,794.
Since November 1997, Samson Borgelin along with his family, adopted North Lauderdale as their home. With the support of his wife, Mr. Borgelin studied Business Management, Advanced Theology, and Psychology. He earned his master’s degrees in Guidance and School Counseling, and Mental Health from Trinity International University. Mr. Borgelin initiated Churches Community Youth Booster, a local mentoring and educational ministry targeting children, youth and families at-risk. He taught soccer for over 10 years as well in North Lauderdale.
In his first address as Mayor-Elect, he said, “Having won the seat for Mayor, it is not taken for granted. I am grateful for this unique opportunity to serve. I consider this new position not a job, but a cause that can bring meaningful differences in the lives of the people of North Lauderdale. I am dedicated to hear and listen to the concerns and ideas about his community in order to create and develop an intimate and supportive relationship, and to keep an ongoing open dialogue between the constituency and the city.”
Marie Woodson wins reelection
Several South Florida House lawmaker’s incumbents secured another term in Florida’s lower chamber Tuesday night. Among them, Haitian-American Democratic Rep. Marie Paule Woodson, who represents Florida House District 101, who saw her district reconfigured to 105, beating Republican challenger Vincent Parlatore.
Woodson topped Parlatore 69%-31%, according to Tuesday’s official results. She took the House District 101 seat in 2020 (now District 105), succeeding Shevrin Jones as he mounted a Senate bid. The newly drawn HD 105, a southeastern Broward county Democrat-dominated district encompasses parts of Miramar, Pembroke Pines, West Park and Hollywood.
As a former Public Administrator who has helped impact so many lives, Democrat Marie Woodson has lived in District 105 for 28 years and knows her community. She ran on a platform of education, economic recovery, and healthcare. She would like to see unemployment reform that works for everyone, increased funding for public schools and affordable healthcare. According to FLAPOL, she said, “For too long, the actions of some [of] our statewide elected officials have served the interests of the wealthy. I will create solutions for all Floridians that benefit working people, not big corporations, provide healthcare for all, not just those who can afford it, and support an education system that leads to success for all students.”
U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick keeps seat
Another Haitian-American candidate winner in the November 8 General election is U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick. She managed to retain her seat in the US Congress for the second time in 10 months.
As the first Democrat of Haitian descent ever elected to Congress in January of this year after winning a special election to fill the vacancy created when Congressman Alcee Hastings died from pancreatic cancer in April 2021, she collected 73% of the vote over Republican challenger Drew-Montez Clark, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
In the Democratic Primary race for the nomination to represent Florida’s 20th Congressional District that spans Broward and Palm Beach counties, the incumbent secured nearly 66% of the total votes to defeat her opponents, including former Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness 28%, and State Rep. Anika Omphroy, who trailed with 6%.
Some candidates missed their shot
Not all candidates with Haitian roots succeeded in their respective races in the general elections. Democratic nominee for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, Dr. Naomi Esther Blemur, did not make it to the final step of her own political history.
While she made the list of ‘firsts’ when she came out on top of the three candidates racing for the Democratic primary nomination this past August, she failed to win the final race against Republican opponent, former Florida senate president, Wilton Simpson. Blemur’s fundraising was outmatched by Simpson’s hauls by around 1,000-to-1.
The Republican candidate gained 4,473,915 votes (58.8%) of the total 7.6 million votes cast while Blemur received 3.1 million plus votes (41.2%). The Haitian-American candidate lost support from leading South Florida Democrats in August after screenshots of her past anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ social media comments emerged.
As Senate President, Simpson coordinated much of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ legislative achievements and helped oversee Florida’s record budget surplus. Now, he hopes to translate that into a career alongside the Governor on the Cabinet. There was speculation early in the Republican primary that DeSantis would back a challenger against Simpson, who was endorsed for the seat by former President Donald Trump before even confirming his intention to run. DeSantis ultimately endorsed Simpson.
Commissioner Mike Gelin also failed at his shot to make political history as Tamarac’s First Haitian-American Mayor. As Vice-Mayor, the son of Haitian immigrants was challenging the sitting mayor in the November 8 elections. In this Mayor at large race, incumbent mayor Michelle J. Gomez garnered 12,802 votes (55.8%) defeating Gelin’s 10,159 votes (44.2%).
This past election offered much for the Haitian-American community to be proud of. While there were certainly a few disappointments and some may be frustrated at the bigger results statewide, there is much to celebrate. The more we come together, the stronger our voices. Let this be a reminder that when the next election rolls around, we get out and support those men and women who share our roots, our love of freedom, and our hope for a brighter future.
Congratulations to this year’s history makers and even those who came up just a little short. Through victory or defeat, you all continue to inspire the next generation to get out there and make a difference. Let’s all look ahead with hope, strength, and unity.
Dessalines Ferdinand
Le Floridien