13170: Edouard News- Haitian Political Clout in S. Florida (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Felix Edouard <loveayiti@hotmail.com>

Posted on Thu, Sep. 12, 2002

Rolle may battle newcomer in runoff for commission seat
BY JOE MOZINGO
jmozingo@herald.com
Miami Herald


Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dorrin Rolle appears headed for a run-off
with a Haitian-American candidate who ran a grass-roots, low-budget
campaign.

With three precincts to be counted, Rolle had fallen just short of the
majority he needed to avoid a challenge by Lucie Tondreau, a political
newcomer.

While Rolle said he still expected to win outright, the strong showing by
Tondreau clearly demonstrates the growing influence of Haitian Americans in
Northeast Miami-Dade.

Political observers were taken aback by Tondreau's showing against the
establishment-backed incumbent.

''It is the surprise in the county commission races,'' said Dario Moreno,
professor of political science at Florida International University.
``Everyone else came out as everyone expected.''

Incumbent Katy Sorenson easily defeated her opponent, while Sweetwater Mayor
Jose ''Pepe'' Diaz and state Rep. Sally Heyman, D-North Miami Beach, claimed
the two open seats.

In District 2, Tondreau, 42, is a political neophyte and community activist
who owns a public relations firm.

Running on a platform of reform, she advocates creating an independent
airport authority and taking the power to award multi-million dollar
contracts away from the county commission.

''When you have control of the contracts, that's when the lobbyists come in
and that's where you have corruption,'' Tondreau said. ``We were clear from
the get-go on this campaign that we would not take money from lobbyists or
big builders.''

The latest campaign reports show Tondreau raised less than $39,000 compared
to Rolle's $340,000.

With limited funds, she took her message door-to-door and to Haitian radio,
attacking Rolle's credibility and calling him beholden to Penelas and
lobbyists at the expense of his constituents.

''When you look at the district, when you look at the housing, when you look
at the sidewalks, you name it, he has not been representing the people,''
she said.

Rolle vehemently denies neglecting his district or shilling for the mayor or
lobbyists. He said he helped bring new roads, new sewer lines and new
buildings to the area.

''I've done more work as far as capital improvement in District 2 than in
the history of single-member districts,'' he said.

He and his campaign manager, Dewey Knight III, accused Tondreau's campaign
of pitting Haitian-Americans against other black constituents on
Creole-language radio.

''We tried very hard to stay in the rules and not tell people to vote by
ethnicity,'' said Knight.

He said Tondreau's backers took to the airwaves to drill into ''Haitians to
vote Haitian,'' and that her access to Haitian radio personalities gave her
the equivalent of $300,000 in free advertising. To make this point, Rolle
placed his own ads accusing Tondreau of dividing the black community.

Tondreau railed against this tactic, saying it was patently unfair. ''I've
campaigned more in the African American community than in the Haitian
community,'' she said. ``This is not an ethnic issue.''

There are far more African Americans than Haitian Americans in the district.
Yet there is no doubt that the growing power of Haitian-American voters
affected the turnout.

''This is a group that votes as a bloc,'' Moreno said. ``And they're finding
their political voice.''

Several local contests reflected the shift. In the race for state House
District 104, which overlaps Rolle's county commission district, a
Haitian-American attorney, Yolly Roberson, had a convincing lead in a
five-way contest.

Roberson would be the second Haitian-American state representative in
Florida, following her ex-husband Phillip Brutus, who handily defeated a
challenger Tuesday in District 108.

North Miami elected its first Haitian-American mayor, Josaphat Celestin,
last year.

Together, they are fighting to preserve their power. In February, Celestin
and other North Miami officials filed a federal lawsuit to block Tuesday's
election, accusing the county commission of ''racial gerrymandering'' to
weaken the influence of Haitian Americans. Last week, a U.S. District Court
judge denied their request.

Rolle said the strong turnout of Haitians showed their vote had not been
diluted. Instead he said African-American candidates face the toughest
challenge.

''Any time an African American is in the race, he has to go about the
business of getting out the black vote,'' he said.

Still, he said he expected to get more than 50 percent of the total vote
after all the precincts were in. Those areas still uncounted covered some of
his strongholds in Liberty City, he said.

Tondreau, a well-known activist, was born in Haiti, grew up in Montreal and
has lived in South Florida for 19 years.





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