14934: Hermantin: Miami Herald-Derose to run for NMB Council Seat (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Miami Herald

Posted on Thu, Feb. 20, 2003

NORTH MIAMI BEACH
Derose to run for NMB council seat
BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@herald.com

Philippe Derose, the nation's first elected Haitian American, has announced
he will run for a City Council seat in North Miami Beach. The former El
Portal village councilman moved to the city in September in order to qualify
for the election.

Derose, 50, is one of three Haitian-American candidates running for what is
now a mostly white council. Derose will run against incumbent Councilman
Kenneth DeFillipo.

The other Haitian American candidates are John Patrick Julien and Patrick
Joseph, who ran unsuccessfully for a council seat two years ago.

So far, 12 people have appointed campaign treasurers and opened bank
accounts to try and qualify as candidates for the May 6 election.

North Miami Beach, a city whose demographics have changed drastically in
recent years, has only one black council member. Of the council's seven
seats, only Jacqueline H. Smith is a minority. About 40 percent of the
city's population is black, according to 2000 census data. That is almost
double the black population from 1990, which hovered around 22 percent.

''In a democratic society, the government must reflect the people,'' Derose
said. ``The demographics of North Miami Beach have changed tremendously,
especially in the last two years. I feel like these people should have
representation.''

Derose, who runs the nonprofit Haitian-American Alliance Youth Foundation,
made history in 1993 when he was the first Haitian American elected to
office in the nation. He served for nine years in El Portal, including a
stint as the vice mayor and mayor.

He stepped down in September in anticipation of a run for a North Miami
Beach City Council seat. Derose said he decided to try his luck in North
Miami Beach because many Haitian American voters in the city asked him to
run.

The soft-spoken Derose has since moved to the Skylake neighborhood of North
Miami Beach, just a few miles north of El Portal.

Derose and Julien stress that they want to appeal to a broad range of
people.

''I would say, if you want true representation of the city, there is a need
for a Haitian American,'' said Julian, who will run against City Councilman
John Kurzman. ``But I'm not running based on the fact that I'm Haitian. I'm
an American and I plan on representing all the citizens of North Miami
Beach.''






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