Key Biscayne residents are among more than 1 million Floridians who are not being represented during the current legislative session in Tallahassee and, thus, do not have a voice when it comes to the establishment of new laws.
Three state House seats and one state Senate seat – all formerly held by Republicans – remain vacant, including the seat formerly held by Brickell’s Vicki Lopez, who relinquished her State Representative post to replace now-Miami Mayor Eileen Higgins on the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners.
The vacant districts also include portions of Hernando, Hillsborough, Palm Beach and Sumter counties, with three special elections scheduled for March 24, more than a week after the session is scheduled to end on March 13.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to set a date for the District 113 election, which includes Key Biscayne and several other communities in the Miami area.
Tony J. Diaz, the first of five candidates to toss his hat in the ring, has established a “provisional government” to represent District 113, as the seat gets “colder by the minute.”
The District 113 Provisional Representation Office would be set up at 2264 SW 22nd Ave. in Miami, where those five constituents – Diaz, Bruno Barreiro, Frank Lago, Justin Routt and Gloria Romero Roses – would greet residents with their concerns.
“I am calling on all candidates for District 113 to unite in this unusual situation to do the job we are so eager to be elected to,” Diaz wrote in his news release. “I propose we meet twice a month to discuss the laws we would propose, the matters we believe need fixing, and our concerns, and have this committee work on them and submit them to counterparts who lend an ear.”
The immediate challenge is that it takes three members to form a quorum and undertake Diaz’s mission, which he calls a “modest bandage for this amputated limb.”
Two of those candidates, contacted by Islander News from earlier interviews, didn’t appear interested since they have already canvassed dozens and dozens of registered voters from Little Havana to Shenandoah to Key Biscayne.
“Our campaign is centered on meeting the residents of District 113 where they live, at their doorstep, and we will continue knocking on doors and listening to voters all the way through Election Day,” Lago said, responding to an Islander News question.
Romero Roses certainly understands there has been a void, saying “House District 113 deserves actual representation now. Miami-Dade is being left without a voice at a time when working families and small businesses are being priced out of their own neighborhoods.”
Before committing to a yes or no to Diaz’s invitation, Romero Roses’ response mirrored that of Lago’s.
“I believe as aspiring legislators, we need to meet voters where they are,” she said. “That’s why I’ve already walked neighborhoods throughout the district collecting over 1,000 surveys seeking to understand what voters prioritize and wish to see in the form of solutions.
“This insight, as well as what I’ve been hearing throughout the district through meet and greets, candidate forums and community events, best prepares me to speak directly to the issues and possible solutions.”
Diaz simply wants to get the district’s voice back in Tallahassee as soon as possible.
“This is an unprecedented time in Miami,” he wrote in his news release. “I am busy enough, but I think this is a duty we must undertake to make sure that District 113 has at least some semblance of representation until one of us takes the reins.”
His provisional office, if it comes to fruition, would be open from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday-Friday. He asks that appointments could be set up by calling him at 786-774-2125.
Meanwhile, Romero Roses planned to be in Tallahassee this week to meet with legislators from across Florida, “not just the Miami-Dade delegation, because getting things done in Tallahassee requires bridging across differences to build a coalition. Voters want results, not more political theatre.”