“If we’re going to get people of color to join the Green Party, we’re going to have to worry about issues that relate to their economic needs. They are more worried about how they are going to feed their families. What kind of schools their kids are going to go to. How they’re going to keep their families safe.”
Didier Ortiz for Fort Lauderdale
City Commission, Dist. 3.
Ortiz is running for Fort Lauderdale’s non-partisan 3rd District Commission seat, running on “Ban the Box,” and the $15/hour minimum wage. The primary is next year on February 10, with a March 10 runoff if no one candidate gets 50% + 1. The city of 170,000 used to be famous as a Spring Break destination for rowdy college students, but is now known as a year-round tourist spot, as well as the “yachting and sport fishing capital of the world” with over 100 marinas and boatyards.
But beneath the glittering veneer, according to AreaVibes, “The poverty level in Fort Lauderdale is 35.2% greater than the Florida average and 44.3% greater than the National average.” The violent crime rate is nearly double that of the rest of Florida. Currently, 14,289 properties in this beautiful city of 170,000 are in some stage of foreclosure. (RealtyTrac) Latinos make up 4.49% of registered voters in District 3 but Ortiz notes that the Latino population as a whole (including the undocumented) are about 25% of the population.
Ortiz is running because “we need a progressive voice on the Commission. The Commission is very complacent. Last week. there was a resolution before the Commission to support marriage equality and urge the state government to pass a law. The mayor gives this whole speech about how he has helped gay people in the State of Florida, then he votes ‘no.’ Another commissioner tells us how he joined the Commission to be on the right side of history, then he voted against it. Well, I’m going give the Commission a very different atmosphere.”
Ban the Box!
Ban the Box would be part of that different atmosphere. “Ban the Box would forbid companies from having a checkbox on their job applications asking whether an applicant had ever been convicted of a felony,” explained Ortiz. “It’s actually been around a long time as an international campaign, and it’s been passed in 15 different municipalities in the U.S. In fact, it just passed unanimously in San Francisco. Now we hope to bring it to Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, to Ban the Box from the job applications of companies that are under our jurisdiction.”
According to All of Us or None, Ban the Box is part of a broader movement to “win full restoration of our civil and human rights after release from prison or jail, eliminate all forms of discrimination based on arrest or conviction records, and advocate for the human rights of people in prison.”
“Remember, the Black and Latino communities are being deliberately targeted by the prison-industrial complex,” Ortiz continued. “But nobody here is going to stick their neck out. So Ban the Box is getting no support from Fort Lauderdale politicians. The community have no voice and there’s no pressure on them. But Ban the Box is absolutely essential for Black and Latino communities all over the state. If people can’t find work after getting out of prison, they might end up returning to crime. Then, if that happens, they’re back in the box, which is a prison cell! So when we ban the box, we make it easier for former felons to get jobs, to grow in their careers, and become legitimate members of the marketplace. That improves the quality of life not just for the individuals, but for the entire community.”
$15 Now!
A second issue on Ortiz’s agenda is the $15/hour minimum wage. “So far, there isn’t an active campaign for it here in Fort Lauderdale,” said Ortiz. “That campaign needs to be built. So the immediate priority right now is a voter drive, to get people of color out to vote. I will put the $15 minimum out to my constituency, and use it to build more ties with organized labor. I will fight for it, I’ll introduce it to the Commission, but without there being an active campaign in Fort Lauderdale, it won’t happen, at least in the first few months of my term.”
There are legal issues to be navigated. The Florida State Constitution Article X, Section 24(a) says, “All working Floridians are entitled to be paid a minimum wage that is sufficient to provide a decent and healthy life for them and their families.” But the Florida Legislature has passed Statute 218.077(2), which claims, “a political subdivision may not establish, mandate, or otherwise require an employer to pay a minimum wage, other than a state or federal minimum wage,” which illegally preempts cities and counties from passing a $15/hour minimum. How will Ortiz approach this?
“Whether we seek a local ordinance or a statewide measure,” Ortiz responds, “depends on the constitutionality of the state legislation We might have to fight for a state ballot initiative, rather than a city ordinance. It’s too early to make that decision. Either way, I think we can link the $15/hour minimum with Ban the Box.”
Deeper into the Community.
Even though the race is non-partisan, Ortiz plans to use it to build the Green Party. “My running will do a lot to build the Green Party. I plan to speak to Greens not only in my own district but to Greens all over the city. I think they’ll be really excited to hear that one of us is running. It will bring us together, get Greens involved in a lot of the projects we have going on. By next year, I think we’ll have a much stronger party.
“My race is a particularly great opportunity to build the Green Party’s roots in the Black and Latino community,” he continued. “But it won’t be easy. There are those who say that the Green Party is a white man’s game. Some wrongly see protecting the environment as just a white, middle class issue. They are more worried about how they are going to feed their families. What kind of schools their kids are going to go to. How they’re going to keep their families safe. Poverty does that to you. Social exclusion, and economic deprivation do that to you. You’re constantly rushing to get your bills paid, rushing to cook for your family before you go to your second job. And then you try to tell them that you’re trying to grow trees …
Community Child Care.
“We also have to more actively fight for women’s issues,” Ortiz concluded. “They’ve been abandoned by the Democratic and Republican parties. We have to focus on the issues of reproductive rights, crack down on crimes against women, support community childcare. If we wanted to do a double whammy and get the support of both Latinos and women, we could organize a community childcare system, help out young mothers who need to be finding jobs, at the same time as they have to take care of their kids. They need someone to go that extra mile and help them out. And yes, the $15 minimum would be particularly important to single mothers.”
— submitted by Jeff Roby
July 4, 2014
