Demo Candidate Has Support Of GOP Groups
BY BUDDY NEVINS
If you can judge a person by who he hangs around with, Florida House candidate Ben Sorensen has problems with fellow Democrats.
Running in the Florida House District 100’s Democratic primary to replace term limited state Rep. Joe Gibbons, Sorensen has been endorsed by three groups more familiar to Republican candidates.
All three of these organizations will claim they are non-partisan. You can judge by their positions whether they really want more Democrats in Tallahassee.
Endorsing Sorensen are the Republican-leaning:
- The Florida Chamber of Commerce. This big business group is one of the pillars of the GOP in Tallahassee. They have endorsed Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election and back such positions as ending state pensions and slashing government regulations.
- Associated Builders & Contractors, Florida’s east coast chapter. This group is anti-organized labor, anti-environmental regulations and for stricter limits on law suits. Those are GOP and not Democratic positions.
- The Jewish Leadership Council, a pro-voucher group. This group’s major goal is to “address the challenge of affordability of Jewish day school education through securing public sector support and funding.” Another words, take more state money and give it to parochial schools.
These names struck me as strange when I was perusing Sorensen’s website. Their organization’s emblems were emblazoned across the main page, but were removed after I called him to ask questions about the endorsements.
Ben Sorensen
A former Presbyterian minister, Sorensen, 36, says he got the endorsements because he offers a “fresh approach.”
The comment is a thinly veiled attack on long-time Democratic activist Joe Geller, his leading opponent in the primary. A third Democratic in the primary is John Paul Alvarez.
A lawyer for 34 years, Geller is the former Miami-Dade Democratic chair and a lawyer on the Al Gore presidential recount team in 2000 and a kay member of Barack Obama campaign.
Joe Geller
Without mentioning Geller or Alvarez by name, Sorensen says his opponents’ strict Democratic pedigree is why he got the endorsements.
“We need someone who is able to have their door open to other ideas,” Sorensen says. “We need someone who is not a line-in-the-sand Democrat. Someone who will talk to the other side.”
Sorensen denies he made promises to the three groups for their endorsements, especially the pro-voucher Jewish Leadership Council.
Sorensen might just be the best choice for the three groups in a heavily-Democratic House seat that a Republican could never win. The chamber, the builders and the pro-voucher crowd may believe they have found that rare Democrat who espouses Republican positions.
Geller isn’t getting into the debate. When asked about Sorensen’s endorsement’s, he said, “I wouldn’t necessarily judge someone solely by their endorsements.”
But if Sorensen was so proud of the endorsements, why did he minimize them on his website after I questioned him about them?
District 100 stretches east of U. S. One from Dania Beach to Surfside in Miami-Dade County.
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August 6th, 2014 at 4:27 pm
I’m supporting John Alvarez because he can win a primary. Unlike Kod a Feller who has lost a State House Race twice. Alvarez win in 53 . He can win in 100 because of his grassroots approach. This über democratic district wants a leader who represents then… When I tell you John Paul Alvarez is that sole individual. JPA All the Way!
August 6th, 2014 at 5:12 pm
Sorensen doesn’t have the seasoning. Geller is a fat old man who can fight for our district.
August 6th, 2014 at 5:14 pm
All we need is a South Florida Democrat supporting vouchers. There are enough Tea Parties from North Florida doing that.
August 7th, 2014 at 2:25 pm
It is refreshing to see a candidate like Ben Sorensen. Nationwide, our elected officials need to take a page from Sorensen’s book and bridge this gap that is hindering the progress of our nation with partisan politics.
August 8th, 2014 at 9:57 pm
District 100 – Vouchers are not just Tea Party. Look at House District 93, the AFL-CIO, which even the Broward Teachers Union follows if one uses the past. Just endorsed a known Republican that is known to support Vouchers and Charter Schools.
So now it even has the perception that the Union and Broward Teachers Union supports Vouchers and Charter Schools.
For what – Two (2) safe votes this year in 2014 and being told by the Republican as he’s mid way to his term limit that he will show support for more union bills. When he ignored them for the prior three (3) years till he got real competition, that has money and happens to married, gay and a disabled combat veteran with a lot of net worth and money.