Can Ken Russell Get to Washington?

It's as if Ken Russell can't wait to leave Miami City Hall. For the second time in six years, Russell is aiming for federal office with time left on his tenure as a Miami city commissioner. On this go-round, he wants to be the Florida Democrat who gets a shot at dethroning U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in the 2022 midterm election, which is a full year before Russell’s current and final city commission term expires.

“I am going to miss this,” Russell told the Biscayne Times in a recent phone interview. “I enjoy the chess and poker games in finding the votes to get things done. If you look at my track record, there are very few things I haven’t been able to get across the line. My next goal will be about accomplishing what Florida needs.”

For a chance to face off against Rubio, Russell will have to pull off an upset within his own party. He is among 10 candidates vying in the Democratic primary, but the race has a pre-ordained favorite in Orlando Congresswoman Val Demings, who's built name recognition on Capitol Hill, is amassing a formidable campaign war chest and is using it to fling arrows at Rubio via a steady stream of hit ads on cable news television.

Russell's decision to play spoiler against a popular rising star such as Demings has baffled Democratic Party insiders, who insist he has no shot. Meanwhile, some of his District 2 constituents grouse that he's more concerned about auditioning for higher office than doing the job he was reelected in 2019 to do.

Kathy Parks, a Republican and West Grove activist who voted for Russell in 2015, when he won his nonpartisan city commission seat on his first try for elected office, said she’s soured on him.

“Now he’s an out-of-control Democrat,” Parks said. “He only gets things approved so he can put it on his résumé for this new campaign he is running.”

A liberal Upper Eastside activist who requested anonymity concurred with Parks.

“He doesn’t have the decency to serve out his time as a commissioner,” they said. “He’d rather run for Congress or Senate. He is an ambitious career politician.”

Dave Villano, co-founder of the citizens group Grove 2030, said Russell entered Miami City hall with great ideas and intentions on being a force for good.

“He realized very quickly that there is a dark element of city politics that drives legislation,” Villano said. “I don’t mean crooked or corrupt, but there is a layer of ethnic politics he has never been able to navigate. It’s rough-and-tumble in Miami politics and he may be better off elsewhere.”

Rolling with Miami’s Political Punches

Russell vehemently disagreed, insisting he’s scored significant wins on the city commission despite being primarily a minority voice on the dais. Russell, who is the commission chairman, said he’s also managed to sway his Cuban American counterparts Joe Carollo, Alex Diaz de la Portilla and Manolo Reyes, his African American colleague, Jeffrey Watson, and his predecessor Keon Hardemon, on many of his progressive legislative measures.

“Even though these are nonpartisan seats, the city commission is gerrymandered to always have a conservative majority,” Russell said. “If you listen to the trolls on social media, they will want me to be louder, angrier and fight back. But you need to be able to find two people to agree with you at any given time [to pass legislation]. You have to roll with the punches.”

Roughly two months after his reelection in November 2019, Carollo, Diaz de la Portilla and Reyes gave Russell probably his most severe beatdown as a Miami elected official. During a Jan. 20, 2021, meeting, the trio teamed up to remove Russell as chairman of the Miami Downtown Development Authority and chairman of the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency. In a 3-2 vote, the DDA chairmanship was transferred to Reyes and the CRA chairmanship was given to Diaz de la Portilla.

At the time, Russell told the Miami Herald he believed his ouster from overseeing two semi-autonomous city agencies in his district was retaliation for previously voting against terminating then City Manager Emilio Gonzalez.

In March, City Hall politics turned in Russell’s favor. City commissioners voted to reappoint him as Omni CRA chairman following news reports that Diaz de la Portilla allegedly hired a ghost employee who would spy on co-workers on his behalf. Russell benefitted from a rift between Carollo and Diaz de la Portilla, who hurled insults at each other during a contentious public hearing. At one point, Diaz de la Portilla barked, “You attack people publicly. You’re famous for it.” Carollo retorted: “You make me want to vomit.”

Amid the turmoil, Russell said he’s succeeded in passing measures that address the issues most important to him, such as eliminating discriminatory practices, fortifying affordable housing and protecting the environment. His victories include passing a $15-an-hour living wage for all contracted workers in the city, creating a CRA for the West Grove, giving bonuses to developers who build affordable housing, banning Styrofoam at city parks and marinas, prohibiting the use of fertilizer with phosphorus, strengthening the Citizen Investigative Panel that probes police misconduct by increasing its budget whenever the police budget is increased and banning LGBTQ conversion therapy in the city.

“I am trying to push back on the perception that I have not accomplished anything or I have been outsmarted,” Russell said. “It is not about the loudest victory. It’s about pushing the first domino.”

Distancing Himself From the Fray

Recently, Russell faced criticism for skipping out on a Sept. 27 special city commission meeting that devolved into a bash session against then Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo. Russell noted he put his colleagues on notice that holding the public hearing could expose the city to liability if Acevedo were to file a whistleblower lawsuit, or be used against them if there were to be a criminal investigation into allegations Acevedo was making against commissioners.

“By no means was it about me shirking my responsibility. It was about trying to protect the city,” Russell said.

Russell did chair a subsequent Oct. 1 special city commission meeting in which commissioners unanimously voted to defund a deputy chief position held by Heather Morris, who Acevedo brought in from the Houston Police Department he previously led. He also chaired the Oct. 14 city commission meeting in which he joined his colleagues in unanimously firing Acevedo, ending the chief’s short yet tumultuous tenure.

“It was very unfortunate the way it went down,” Russell said.

Barnstorming Across Florida

Since announcing his Senate bid in June, Russell has barnstormed through 18 counties. He plans on visiting all 67 of them until the Democratic primary less than a year away.

“One of the most surprising things as I visit the more rural and redder counties is the warm reception I get from Republicans and Independents, as well as the small groups of Democrats,” Russell said. “People want to focus on South Florida and the I-4 corridor because you think there would only be conservative views in these rural counties. It’s not true.”

Russell said he’s had conversations with local sheriffs who are concerned about drug trafficking coming from Georgia, and local elected officials who are focused on ways to support migrant worker communities.

“They are looking for answers,” he said. “It’s not just about being a cheerleading chorus about what Democrats believe.”

Unlike 2018, when Russell dropped his bid to run for the congressional seat that became available due to the retirement of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Russell said he plans on staying in the Democratic senate primary until the end.

According to his campaign’s finance reports, Russell has raised $756,506, mostly from Miami real estate developers and other business people that have dealings with the city. The campaign has spent roughly half the contributions on consulting fees and funding Russell’s state tour. His haul is a drop in the bucket compared to the staggering $13 million Demings’ campaign has raised. According to her reports, her committee has spent roughly $8 million in an aggressive advertising campaign, especially on Facebook, which has received more than $3 million.

In addition to outraising and outspending Russell, Demings is one of the nation’s most high-profile Democratic members of Congress. The former Orlando police chief was the U.S. House impeachment manager during former President Donald Trump‘s first trial in the Senate, and made President Joe Biden's vice presidential shortlist last year.

A political consultant who previously worked for the Florida Democratic Party told the Biscayne Times that Russell definitely has a future beyond the city commission, but running for the U.S. Senate is “kind of crazy.” The consultant requested anonymity to speak candidly.

“I believe in having primaries to make people battle tested,” they said. “But I don’t think he will have enough money, resources and a team to make this a legitimate primary. It’s baffling to many of us.”

Another Democratic Party operative who also requested anonymity said Russell has raised a respectable amount, but not enough to run a credible campaign for statewide office. And by going up against an African American who is a rising star, he’s going to upset a core Democrat constituency for any future office he runs for, the operative said.

“Ken Russell is talented and was well respected before doing this,” they said. “He is really hurting his credibility. He chose a race that is unwinnable for him. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Russell is unfazed. He told the Biscayne Times that the race today could look a lot different by summer of next year.

“This is not the first time that Washington Democrats and the national party has tried to put a finger on the scale,” Russell said. “They have gotten more wrong than correct. The voters are the ones who need to decide who is best to take out Marco Rubio next year.”