POLITICS
By : Chris Norwood
Christopher Norwood Spokesman for the Democra�c Black Caucus of Florida Principal of Norwood Consul�ng
A�er crushing defeats in Florida last November , the Florida Democra�c Party at its organiza�onal mee�ng elected new officers including a Chair , First Vice-Chair , Secretary , Treasurer and 10 Democra�c Na�onal Commi�ee ( DNC ) members . The Democra�c Black Caucus of Florida ( DBCF ) silently made moves to ensure that African Americans now hold three of the four elected officer posi�ons within the Florida Democra�c Party ' s State Commi�ee and that three of the 10 Democra�c Na�onal
FRIDAY , FEBRUARY 10 , 2017 AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT BY MIA MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS GROUP TO THE SUN SENTINEL BB13
Florida Democra�c Party Leadership is now Black Fisted
Commi�ee ( DNC ) members elected are African American .
Since November , Democra�c ac�vists and the media have focused on the ba�le for Chairman of the Florida Democra�c Party . It was the usual tale , a prominent Democra�c Fundraiser wanted to be Chairman and the establishment broke all sorts of rules and bent over backwards to see that he was victorious . But while so much a�en�on was placed on the Chairman ’ s race , the Democra�c Black Caucus was also focused on the other elected officers of our State Commi�ee and DNC elec�ons . The DBCF u�lized its collec�ve will to ensure that the Florida Democra�c Party leadership begins to look like the Florida Democra�c Party ( 32 % of Florida Democrats are Black ).
African-American Democrats swept the elected officer posi�ons . Judy Mount , the DEC chairwoman of Leon County is now 1st Vice Chair , the first �me ever an African American has held that posi�on . Francesca Menes , State Commi�eewoman from Miami-Dade County is now Treasurer and in charge of the purse strings . She is the
daughter of Hai�an-Dominican immigrants . Sycamore Shaw , the State Commi�eeman from Osceola County who is Jamaica-American , was elected Secretary .
We know and understand that people win elec�ons and the people must be reflected in the leadership in order to mo�vate voters . Florida Democrats have lost 17 of the last 20 statewide races and 17 of the last 18 statewide cabinet races – a record which is comparable to that of deep red states in the interior of the country . There is much work to do , and it begins with ge�ng our own house in order . I think we made equitable steps in that direc�on at the FDP elec�ons and we all can lay claim to a shared victory !
Although the DBCF ’ s endorsed candidate for chairman , Senator Dwight Bullard , was not victorious , Bullard was elected one of 10 to the Democra�c Na�onal Commi�ee . His voice will be heard on a na�onal stage , star�ng with the elec�on of the DNC chair in February . Other African-American Democrats elected to the DNC were Nikki Barnes of Wakeful County and Grace
Harrington of Broward County , who is also a DBCF Execu�ve Commi�ee member . In addi�on , Henry Crespo , president of DBCF , nominated Ken Evans of Broward County for the DNC . Evans is also a member of the Democra�c Black Caucus of Florida .
We congratulate our new Florida Democra�c Party Leadership . We are now in control and so there are no excuses moving forward . Now is the �me to rally behind this new FDP leadership team as we move our collec�ve energies towards figh�ng for the hearts and minds of Democrats and Democra�c policies in our state and na�on .
The Democratic Black Caucus of Florida was established in 1983 , to unite and increase the political power for Black Democrats who went unnoticed . The Caucus is an integral part of the Florida Democratic Party ’ s infrastructure , which unites talent with opportunity to facilitate voter building through educational forums affecting voter registration drives ( EVRD ), get out the vote . DBCF represents 32 percent of the 4.8 million Democrats of Florida .
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