by Annette Taddeo

“I believe that every student in Miami-Dade County deserves a quality education, regardless of their zip code.”

A note from Flippable: We’re delighted to showcase a post by Annette Taddeo, Democratic candidate for Florida’s 40th State Senate District, who won her special election on Nov. 26, 2017. Annette is an inspiring American success story, progressive champion, and community leader in Miami-Dade County. With our support, Annette took the first step toward flipping Florida blue.

I am thrilled to be one of Flippable’s focus races, and excited to introduce myself to the Flippable community.

I have lived the American Dream. I moved from Colombia to the United States when I was 17, a few months short of my senior year of high school, after my father was kidnapped by the terrorist group FARC and my family was concerned for my safety. I had limited English, but in a few years studied and worked to put myself through college.

“I have put our environment, education, and healthcare at the forefront of my campaign.”

My ambition was to work in the burgeoning Spanish media market, but when Hurricane Andrew hit, I moved to Miami to help the recovery efforts. I made my home here and started a translation company, which I grew into one of the largest Hispanic-owned companies in Florida. I’m the mother of a young daughter in public schools, I’ve been the leader of the Miami-Dade Women’s Chamber of Commerce, and I’m the leader of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party. I’ve been involved in every important issue fight in Miami-Dade.

I have listened to the needs and frustrations of residents, and I have put our environment, education, healthcare, and transportation at the forefront of my campaign. I will be an advocate for bringing water south to replenish the Everglades. I will ensure clean drinking water for citizens and fight to make our community more resilient as we face the threat of rising seas.

I want to protect public education from lobbyists, special interest groups in Tallahassee, and their GOP allies that gut our public education funding. I will champion expansion of healthcare to cover those who are most in need, and work to make sure those with health insurance have more affordable coverage. Finally, I want to help create a transportation infrastructure that works for the residents of Senate District 40, where traffic can be so overwhelming that people sit in gridlock for hours each day.

“Voters know that I come from their community and experience their problems.”

Senate District 40 is a microcosm of United States, both racially and economically. The district is racially diverse, with a large population of Hispanics as well as a sizable African-American population. Many of the folks in Senate District 40 face the same daily financial squeeze that most Americans do, and much of the district is middle class suburban neighborhoods.

Voters in Senate District 40 make their choice based on issues, not parties, and often split tickets and cross party lines to vote for the person they think will fight for their needs. In 2016 they voted for Republicans down the ballot, but overwhelmingly rejected Trump. My opponent in this race has voted to increase taxes on homeowners and give tax breaks to big corporations, and has time and time again supported lobbyists and Donald Trump. Voters know that I come from their community, experience their problems, and will fight tooth and nail for them.

The numbers are in our favor and with your help, we can flip this seat. Together, we can get out the Democratic vote and start flipping Florida blue.

Why flip Florida? Learn more by reading our blog post How to Flip the Sunshine State Blue.