District 2 Commission Candidates Target North Miami Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime at Candidate Forum

Candidates looking to fill seats for District 34 State Senate, District 2 Miami-Dade County Commission and Florida House District 107 met at a Biscayne Gardens church last week for a candidates’ forum, organized by the Biscayne Gardens Civic Association.

Though the association confirmed that the candidates for each race would be in attendance at last Thursday’s forum, a conflicting forum hosted by the Biscayne Gardens Chamber of Commerce on the same day split candidates between the two events.

The primary discussion of the night took place between candidates hoping to replace District 2’s termed-out incumbent commissioner, Jean Monestime.

In one of the most crowded races yet, six candidates are vying to represent the district that includes North Miami, Opa-locka, North Miami Beach and parts of the city of Miami, Biscayne Gardens and Liberty City.

The candidates are former Miami-Dade County Public Schools educator and principal Wallace Aristide; Family Action Network Movement (FANM) founder and activist Marleine Bastien; North Miami Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime; former North Miami Mayor and engineer Josaphat “Joe” Celestin; retired firefighter William “DC” Clark; and Monique Nicole Barley-Mayo.

Celestin disclosed that he received cryptic messages advising him not to attend the first forum, but he showed up anyway.

He did not muzzle his disapproval for Bien-Aime as a prospective commissioner, taking several jabs at him throughout the night. He repeatedly opposed Bien-Aime’s suggestion to create a comprehensive plan to address various issues in Biscayne Gardens, stating constituents needed someone familiar with their problems and “not somebody that’s just guessing.”

When candidates were asked how they would respond to annexation, Celestin reminded the audience that Biscayne Gardens residents were excluded from a decision to allow the city of North Miami to extend its boundaries into the neighborhood.

“By the time you open your eyes, they would swallow you by 250 units without your approval,” he explained, referencing a Miami-Dade Board of County Commission resolution that does not require a vote for annexation if there are less than 250 residents in the area in question. “You need that law changed.”

“I’m the right person for District 2,” countered Bien-Aime, encouraging residents to put their confidence in him. “In this race, I think I’m the only one with a real plan and the experience to get the job done.”

Bien-Aime’s opponents also questioned contributions made to his campaign during his time in office.

Florida Politics reported that his campaign had raised more than the other candidates combined in May, with a majority of the funding coming from the real estate industry. Those contributions came from Jarrod Markofsky of Skymark Real Estate Investors, Jay Philip Parker of Douglas Elliman Real Estate, Integra Solutions and Downtown Realty Investments, according to Florida Politics.

Developers also reportedly contributed to Bien-Aime’s mayoral reelection campaign.

“Experience in politics has its place. It’s admirable,” said Clark. “However, sometimes that experience comes with favors from those developers and sometimes those developers are the ones who funded the campaign, so I’m asking for some transparency.”

Aristide, too, frowned on the act of politicians getting what he called “kickback” from developers.

Each District 2 candidate, with the expectation of Barley-Mayo – who attended the chamber of commerce forum instead – were asked to share their plans to address flooding, rising housing costs, improving the grant application process for small businesses and whether they would be in favor of keeping the 20% rule, if residents were to pursue incorporating Biscayne Gardens again.

Bien-Aime, Bastien, Aristide, Celestin and Clark were all in favor of respecting the rule that requires at least 20% of voters in a proposed municipality to sign a petition in support of forming a new government.

Members of the association were against incorporating Biscayne Gardens in last year’s vote while chamber members were in support, which is believed to be the reason why the two agencies held separate candidates’ events with questions tailored to residents’ concerns.

“You got one municipality with two events at the same time. We’ve got some growing to do,” said Clark, calling for unity. “We have to address how we can act like adults in the same room … My job if [you elect me] is to bring this community together. There’s no way that what happened [last Thursday] should’ve happened.”

Also present at the forum were Wancito Francius and Pierre Prime, who are looking to unseat District 107 Rep. Christopher Benjamin, who is seeking reelection. The district takes up parts of North Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Ives Estates and Golden Glades.

“Not to take away anything from the people that we have as candidates in my race, but I do believe that [I am] the only candidate here that actually is the district,” said Prime, the only candidate in the race with no party affiliation. “And I don’t just represent the district, but I am going with my family and friends who were born and raised in the district, like myself, up to Tallahassee.”

Prime, an HBCU graduate and president of the Urban Peace Project, said he is adamant on not accepting funding from developers for his campaign.

“Until we stop taking dollars from these developers, it’s going to be an uphill battle for the people,” he said. “I actually need the people not just for votes but to help me with these battles.”

Though Benjamin is the only one of the bunch with political experience, Francius says he can leverage his background as a business owner and people person to bring funding into the district.

“From the time I was at Florida Memorial University, I wanted to be a lawmaker because I understood how laws improve the lives of people,” said Benjamin. “Before I was ever elected, I served on boards at our state, our county, our school board and city levels of government, because service doesn’t have to start when you get elected … so I ask my opponents, when did they come to Tallahassee and say ‘Rep. Benjamin, how can I help?’”

Sen. Shevrin Jones, whose District 35 will now be the newly created District 34, was the only candidate in his race at the association’s forum. Redistricting has shifted the once majority Broward County seat to include Biscayne Gardens.

“Politics is a contact sport,” said Jones, a former educator who has served as a Florida Legislator for 10 years. “It’s not just about us showing up when it’s election time, that’s why we don’t just show up when it’s election time. We show up throughout the year.”

At the chamber of commerce forum, the candidates’ debate for the District 34 seat was a lengthy one.

Opponent Erhabor Ighodaro accused Jones of not bringing enough appropriations funding into his district during his term, blaming Jones for a lack of funding for nonprofits based in communities like Miami Gardens.

“You will not hear me go after any of my opponents because it’s not about them. It has always been about the people,” said Jones at the second forum.

Pitchie Escarment, the third candidate for the seat currently occupied by Jones, was not present at either forum.

In the coming weeks, The Miami Times will feature individual profiles for candidates in various August races.