Democrats fire at each other in Broward Senate primary

By DARA KAM
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

POMPANO BEACH, August 18, 2016.......... In a heated primary for an open Broward County Senate seat, one candidate has "swagger," another has props as a former House Democratic leader and a third has held public office in the district for two decades.
 
Former state Rep. Jim Waldman and trial lawyer Gary Farmer have dominated the race for the newly drawn Senate District 34 seat in a Democratic stronghold that includes Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, Hallandale Beach and parts of Fort Lauderdale. State Rep. Gwyn Clarke-Reed, who is forced to leave the House this year due to term limits, is also vying for the seat.
 
Farmer, a former head of the Florida Justice Association, has raised the ire of his opponents by questioning their Democratic credentials, blasting Waldman and Clarke-Reed for their voting records on issues such as guns and a school-voucher program.
 
Waldman and Clarke-Reed are firing back by accusing Farmer of being a lobbyist who's out of touch with what it means to actually get things done in Tallahassee.
 
At a crowded candidate forum Tuesday at the E. Pat Larkins Center in Pompano Beach, Farmer boasted about the endorsement he received from the Sun Sentinel newspaper earlier in the day that predicted Farmer would bring a much-needed "shot-in-the-arm swagger" to the Senate, where Democrats are hoping to make gains in the aftermath of court-ordered redistricting.
 
"What do you want? Do you want the same old, same old?" Farmer asked. "I don't think you do."
 
Farmer paints both of his opponents as legislators who failed to achieve much during their eight years on the job in a GOP-dominated Legislature.
 
"We've had mediocre representation in Tallahassee by our Broward County elected officials, including my two opponents. They're not bad people. But they haven't been stand-out. They've never been on appropriations, for example. They've never delivered money to the county. And they haven't stood up for people on real, everyday issues," he said during an interview after Tuesday's forum.
 
Waldman countered that he was the Democratic floor leader --- in charge of debate --- for six of his eight years in the House.
 
"I don't think you want somebody with swagger," said Waldman, who was forced out of office two years ago because of term limits. "I think you want somebody who gets things done."
 
Waldman accused Farmer of donating tens of thousands of dollars to Republican candidates in Farmer's former role as head of the Florida Justice Association, which represents trial lawyers, and via contributions through Farmer's law firm.
 
"He's not this great progressive advocate. What he is is a lobbyist for a special-interest group," Waldman said in an interview.

The winner of the Aug. 30 Democratic primary will face Republican Antoanet Iotova in the November general election, but Democrats have a major advantage in the redrawn district. Farmer, a Parkland resident, lives outside the district's boundaries but said he will move into the district if elected, as required by law.

Farmer has attacked his opponents for supporting the state's corporate tax-credit scholarship program, which is a voucher program that helps pay for children to go to private schools.
 
And he's blasted Waldman for supporting two gun bills backed by the National Rifle Association, including what became known as the "pop tart" bill, named for its connection to reports of a Maryland 7-year-old who was suspended from school for chewing his breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun. The bill was aimed at preventing schoolchildren from being disciplined for simulating guns while playing or for wearing clothes that depict firearms.
 
Also, Farmer has taken aim at a vote on a measure that allows people to show guns and fire warning shots if they feel threatened. The bill was inspired by the case of Marissa Alexander, a Jacksonville woman who faced a potential 60 years in prison under the 10-20-Life sentencing law for firing a warning shot during a domestic dispute.
 
Waldman depicted both measures as "common sense" proposals.
 
Farmer also has touted himself as "the only real Democrat" in the race.
 
"The Republican interest groups that are engaging in this race want anybody but Gary Farmer to win," he said.
 
But Waldman and Clarke-Reed, who spent 12 years as a Deerfield Beach city commissioner before joining the House, laughed off accusations that they are anything but true-blue Democrats.
 
"I established a track record of standing up for the issues that represent my constituents and getting things done, and Farmer's well aware of that," Waldman said. "He's played a dirty game here of painting me with a brush that is so contrary to who I am. And he knows it. That's the thing that's so irritating about this."
 
Clarke-Reed also noted the difference between candidates who have histories as public servants and outsiders like Farmer who have never held office. That can make it easier for outsiders to poke holes in their opponents' records.
 
"Being a lobbyist is a whole different world than being an elected member of the Legislature," she said. "What happens when you are an elected person is totally different than when you are on the outside."