Seriously, Luther, Don't Run

On February 17th, Joy-Ann Reid, a progressive who I respect a lot, articulated her support for Luther Campbell for Miami-Dade County Mayor. Most of her backing centered on his celebrity status and ability to get out the vote and this...

Well, believe it or not, Campbell has serious issue positions that are well thought out. He’s also got the magical name ID that could increase turnout among younger Black and Hispanic voters, which is a very good thing. And with probably four or more Hispanic candidates likely to be in the race, I think his presence in the Miami-Dade mayor’s race is a net positive, for the black community, and for politics. Seriously.

If Campbell has "serious issue positions" I'd like to hear them because all I've honestly heard and read so far are things like this in his Miami New Times column and elsewhere...

On the campaign trail, people are going to learn about the more mature Luther Campbell, the grown man who is working for the kids in the inner city and who is dropping knowledge every week with his own column in the New Times. With Rick Scott winning the governor's seat, I don't see how I could lose. I've been a successful businessman in this community for years. I was born and raised in Miami-Dade. No one can question the love I have for my home county.

I feel it's time to clean this shit up. Our community has been divided for too long. If there is one person who can unite voters from every nationality in Miami-Dade, it is Uncle Luke. I can relate to young and old people from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and even Israel. We need to start thinking about the future of Miami-Dade. We've need to change the status quo. Nothing is getting done.

We still lead the nation in foreclosures and property taxes continue to go up. Communities are being torn down and not getting rebuilt. All we are doing is building stadiums.

Cleaning shit up in one form or another has been on virtually every South Florida politician's to-do list since I moved here in 1983, so it's not as if it or the things Campbell says here or in this CBS4 video breaks any new ground in Miami-Dade politics...



I'm wondering if the "stripper tax" was one of Campbell's "serious issue positions."

But seriously, if Campbell runs he will have a lot of baggage to address, as he and Reid readily admit. Most of it's old baggage...

 ...and some of it is fairly recent. And then there's the whole objectifying women thing and the crude language and the lack of a college education and everything else that political opponents will make hay of during the campaign. Luther Campbell says he is ready for all that and, ironically enough, all of it might actually endear Campbell to some Miami-Dade County residents. One only needs to look as far as the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee to realize that Florida voters aren't exactly fickle about their candidate's past or whether or not they have any tangible plans for the future.

Ms. Reid knows the South Florida political scene and if she thinks that Luther Campbell is the best mayoral candidate in a county not exactly "brimming with George Washingtons," Miami-Dade is in far worse shape than any of us ever imagined.

Seriously.

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