Grieco files to run in SD 37 as boundaries are being redrawn
South Florida Rep. Michael Grieco announced he is running in Hispanicmajority Senate District 37, as lawmakers begin announcing their plans nearly a week since the Florida Senate released proposed maps as part of the redistricting process.
Grieco, a Democrat, currently represents Florida House District 113, which includes all of Miami Beach and Downtown Miami, a seat he’s held since 2018. While he doesn’t currently live in SD 37 as it’s drawn, he may well be within the new boundaries if the first batch of proposed maps foreshadows the outcome.
SD 37 — which is represented by Ileana Garcia, a Republican — is currently drawn to include Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Cutler Bay, Virginia Key and Key Biscayne to the east. But in the new proposed maps, the district would shift west to Southwest 107th Avenue, north to Northwest 36th Street, south to Bird Road and include the southern half of Miami Beach to the east. Grieco lives in South Beach.
“There’s no other Democratic state reps in those boundaries as they’re drawn,” Grieco said. “I’ve spent the last three and a half years .... building a reputation of both being able to work on both sides of the aisle, and back home, working with people in my district.”
The first batch of proposed state Senate and congressional districts shows several variations of boundaries for those districts across the state. There will be more maps and much debate before final versions are enacted during the legislative session that begins Jan. 11. Whichever maps are ultimately adopted are also potentially open to legal challenges.
Grieco said his run is “the logical next step” for his political career.
“I am a proud Democrat, but I embrace the fact that I’m very moderate, and I embrace the fact that i can work with the Hispanic community even though I’m not Hispanic, with the gay community even though I’m not gay,” Grieco said.
He said he’s concerned about the environmental infrastructure problems afflicting Miami-Dade County, like sewer issues that contribute to pollution of waterways and Biscayne Bay.
This district is set to be one of the most competitive state Senate districts. Garcia won by just 34 votes in 2020 and the race has been mired in controversy since GOP operative Frank Artiles was charged with recruiting and paying a sham candidate to divert votes away from the incumbent Democrat. Garcia is not accused of any wrongdoing.
Janelle Perez, a Democrat who has never run for office, announced plans to run for this seat earlier this year, but the proposed maps place her residence outside of the district’s boundary. Her campaign consultant, Christian Ulvert, told the Miami Herald Perez will “run where she lives.”
She has not announced any plans to change her candidacy to a different district, but it’s possible she could run in SD 40.
Garcia said in a text message to the Herald that she filed for reelection in November
2020 and is “very enthused, focused and honored to continue to serve in the seat that I currently represent.”
Another South Florida Democrat, Sen. Shevrin Jones, announced plans to run for reelection last week in Senate District 35, where the proposed maps shift the current district to the east to include the northern half of Miami Beach.