I'm Jim DeFede, and this week,
I spoke to the two candidates in the Democratic Primary
for Congressional District 27,
Annette Taddeo and Ken Russell.
The winner will take on Republican Congresswoman
Maria Elvira Salazar.
We begin with Ken Russell, the Miami City Commissioner.
>>Well, we are on full cylinders right now.
The campaign, as any scrappy underdog campaign would be,
is out there hitting the bricks, knocking doors,
and doing everything we can to connect with voters.
>>So why do you consider yourself the underdog in this race?
>>Well, it seems that the party has already made a decision
from Washington on down
to put their finger on the scale in this race.
Annette has been anointed by Nancy Pelosi and the DCCC,
the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
You know, I reached out to them
before I jumped into this campaign,
and I knew that there was a clear path to the general.
And it was unfortunate when Annette jumped into the race,
but that's democracy.
The part that's unfortunate is that the Democratic Party
has felt the need to put their thumb on the scale
even before our primary started,
not to let things shake out a little
and see what the voters are looking for.
And it's not often that Washington gets it right
when they try to interfere with Florida.
I think we should leave it up to the voters.
>>Well, you just said something
and I know this is an area
that you want to talk a little bit about.
We'll get to some issues in a second,
but what does it take for a Democrat to win in Florida?
Because Democrats haven't been doing a lot of winning
in Florida as of late.
>>Well, we need fresh ideas
and good candidates that connect with voters.
The hyper partisanship will not be won
by Democrats in South Florida.
And the mistake I believe they're making
in recruiting Annette Taddeo for this seat
is that they're trying to simulate
or emulate Maria Elvira Salazar as close as they can,
both in profile and position.
And so you'll see the rhetoric of the position
when it comes to international policy being very similar,
the classic, classic paradigm of a South Florida politician
yelling at dictators who have passed away long ago
and other regimes that need to be either influenced
or toppled,
rather than coming up with solutions,
building a coalition of countries in this hemisphere
that are democratic thinking for free press,
and free elections, and free economies.
It's simply sitting back
and doing the same old line that the Republicans do.
We don't need Maria Elvira light.
We need a fresh perspective
and a relatable candidate with good solutions.
>>I think the reason why Democrats
have been looking for someone
who would be tough on dictators
is that Democrats in the last couple election cycles
have been accused of being socialists,
essentially being someone who caters to far off dictators.
And so therefore,
the Democrats have decided they need a candidate
who stands up to Maduro,
who stands up to the regime in Cuba,
who stands up to fascists
or dictatorial governments anywhere in Latin America
or around the world.
Do you not find, for instance,
Maduro to be a bad actor,
what goes on in Cuba to be bad?
Wouldn't you want to denounce that as well?
>>I've been unequivocal on the record both in English
and Spanish that I detest socialism, detest communism.
And I'm absolutely against the regimes
that are really hurting these countries and their people.
I've worked in Venezuela back in the early '90s
and I remember what a beautiful country and people it is.
My father was kicked out of Cuba
as an American working there for 10 years
before the Castro regime came in.
It's not enough just to say you are against socialism.
You have to emulate what it means
to be from a democratic society
with a capitalistic economy.
And I'm a part of that.
I'm a small business owner.
I was not of the political sphere that just talks rhetoric.
I was out working in the community,
taking care of my family, building my business,
but really, it's less about how much you hate the regimes.
It's about, what is your solution?
And I've shown through my track record
over the last seven years at the City of Miami Commission,
I'm a very solution oriented, problem-solving person.
I've passed more legislation
than everyone in my race combined
in the primary and general,
but the word socialist has lost its meaning.
Maria Elvira Salazar is getting primaried from the right
and they're calling her a socialist.
So you can only run from this so much
or push against it so much.
You have to run a great campaign that connects with people.
And it's about diversity, not about being Hispanic.
>>You talk about being solutions-oriented.
Give me an idea of some of the ideas that you have
that you think separate you from from Annette Taddeo,
some of the solutions that you would want to bring forward
if you were the next congressional representative
from South Florida.
>>Well, the big difference
between Senator Taddeo and myself,
when campaigning, you'll never hear me say,
I believe in this or I'll fight for this.
You'll hear me say, I've accomplished this.
And those are three words she cannot say.
So even though she'll say I've been in the minority,
at the City of Miami Commission,
which is very rough and tumble,
it's gerrymandered to always have Democrats
in the minority on that position,
and yet I've passed dozens and dozens of legislation items,
ordinances, resolutions,
the strongest water quality ordinances in the state,
the strongest and most innovative
affordable housing solutions in the state,
the strongest climate change legislation
to actually improve our city
and hold polluters accountable in the entire state.
And not only did I write this legislation, sponsor it,
but find the politics on a very difficult days
to get it passed.
These are things that the Senator cannot say.
I was working even before in elected office
to try and solve problems in my community.
I was just a small business owner
upset about a contaminated park.
You don't have to hold the office to get things done.
You don't have to be in the majority to get things done.
You just have to have a willingness
to understand the politic,
to figure out your problems,
and bring everyone together.
>>So what do you think
you would be able to accomplish in Washington?
>>So that's another part of my campaign.
It's not about really falling into
the hyperpartisan differences that we have.
It's really about what South Florida needs.
And as a city commissioner, for example,
passing the Miami Forever Bond,
$400 million for storm surge,
sea level rise, affordable housing,
took me three years to get it on the ballot and pass it.
This created all this money with no increase in taxes
and no help from the federal government.
I want to be the congressional representative
I wish I'd had for the last seven years
to get big things done as a community.
Those layers of governments don't communicate
and I want to do that for all of the cities in our district.
>>So let's talk a little bit about some of the issues
'cause I don't know that you
and and Senator Taddeo differ a lot.
Do you favor an assault weapons ban?
>>Absolutely, I do.
I believe we need gun reform.
It's very important.
There's a lot of confusion over Second Amendment rights
and taking of our guns.
In fact, I just conducted a buyback in the city of Miami
where we're actually sending guns to Ukraine,
our new sister city, to help them.
And this was just another incentive to get people involved.
It's been very successful,
but I do believe we need federal legislation
to ensure the safety of our kids 100%.
>>Reproductive rights,
let's talk about reproductive rights when it comes to women.
Obviously Roe V. Wade has now been overturned.
Congress has the opportunity to solidify that,
codify that now in law,
the women's right to control over her own body.
Tell me what you would do and where you draw any lines,
if any, when it comes to abortion.
>>100%,
reproductive rights should be codified at the federal level.
It should not be up to state to state
to make these decisions.
Some things, the state should have rights.
Some things should be American values
that are enshrined within our laws.
And the only way to get that
when the Supreme Court is failing us
is to bring them in law.
So we're counting on Congress to do that,
and for a President to sign it into law.
For me, yes, I'm 100% in favor of choice,
reproductive rights.
It's an intersectional issue,
just not only women's rights,
but health rights, abortion rights,
and reproductive rights all together and privacy.
>>Well, let me ask it this way then.
Do you think there are any areas,
any big issues where you and Senator Taddeo disagree?
>>100%.
And I believe this is some place
that I'll have a greater advantage than Senator Taddeo in.
The general is the environment.
I was a surfboard salesman before this,
working eight hours a day in the ocean,
and water quality has been my biggest issue.
And I've passed ordinances to regulate fertilizer,
glyphosate, silting and runoff from development,
shutting down construction sites.
This has been the biggest thing for me
and I've actually joined the Board of the Everglades Trust
for the last few years.
First sitting elective they've had on their board
to help work on Lake Okeechobee
and Everglades restoration issues,
fighting with and working with the Army Corps
to get it right.
Now, Senator Taddeo has actually taken
nearly half a million dollars from the big sugar industry
through dark money packs,
and has voted twice against the interests
of the Everglades Trust,
once on Senate Bill 88 and once on 2508,
which affected our ability to regulate water quality
and air quality respectively.
These are huge differences
and what you'll find is that even Maria Elvira Salazar
is stronger than Senator Taddeo on these issues,
and that's a huge vulnerability.
A Republican should not be owning Democrats
on the environment,
but as Senator Taddeo goes in there,
she'll be very vulnerable on that point.
We need to end the sugar subsidy in the next farm bill.
That's something I pledge to do
that my competitors have not.
Big sugar has a stranglehold
on the entire legislative process in Florida.
And the only solution is that at the federal level,
someone has to be willing to enforce the Clean Water Act,
which is conceded to the state.
>>I wanted to just touch on a subject
you and I have discussed before,
which is the stadium deal in the City of Miami
because there's been some new reporting that suggests
that the Beckham Group or the Moss Group
is trying to back away from some of their commitments
when it comes to park land and how much they'll contribute,
and whether they'll contribute to the cleanup.
Did the City of Miami get lied to
by the developers in this deal,
and what guarantees are there
that they're gonna be on the hook
for the cleanup of the land,
and that they are committed to finding those parcels
around the city
to be able to replace the park land that they're taking?
>>That's a great question.
The Beckham Group cannot back out
of their obligations to the city.
If they do so,
they're in violation of the ballot language that was passed.
And this was very important to me
because I wasn't a champion for this issue.
I was a gatekeeper to the city's land and interests,
especially our environmental issues.
So four years ago when this went on the ballot,
I made sure the ballot language was very,
very carefully worded to protect us
in terms of no net loss for parks,
all the economic issues,
all of the environmental cleanup.
And the rubber met the road when the lease was written
and the lease was written in a very specific way
and that was heated vote on the dais
where I was ready to walk away
if I did not get every single one of the concessions
I was requiring.
And there is teeth behind every one.
>>When we come back,
State Senator Annette Taddeo.