Experience gives Kelly Skidmore the nod
Democrats in Florida House District 81 are lucky. They get to choose between two very good candidates in the Aug. 18 primary.
Kelly Skidmore is a former legislator and Tallahassee staffer who works as a publicist for the Marine Industries Association of South Florida. Michael Weinstein is a criminal defense lawyer whose practice is in Coral Springs. He is the son of former state senator and Broward County chief judge Peter Weinstein.
It was a pleasure for the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board to interview them. Though out of elected office for a decade, Skidmore keeps very informed on issues. In one capacity or another, Skidmore said, she hasn’t missed a legislative session since 1996.
Weinstein is a first-time candidate, having waited to establish his practice before making a run. But in his questionnaire and during the interview, Weinstein showed that he is much better prepared than most rookies. He also knows the issues like an incumbent.
Little separates Skidmore and Weinstein on policy, though Skidmore more strongly criticizes Gov. DeSantis’ COVID-19 response, calling it “slow, chaotic, confusing and inconsistent.” Weinstein agrees on the governor, but reserves praise for Florida Emergency Management Director Jared Moskowitz. Weinstein calls the former Broward legislator “a family friend.”
Both candidates want DeSantis to offer more COVID-19 testing and contact tracing, to isolate and control new outbreaks. We interviewed them before the current record-setting spike, so their comments are even more pertinent.
Both also favor criminal justice reform aimed at reducing racial disparities. Weinstein would bring his relevant legal experience to the issue and favors mandatory de-escalation training for police officers and a less military-style approach. He added, correctly, that minimum mandatory sentences “do not work.”
Skidmore said most people enter police work for the “very noble reason” of wanting to protect their communities. But law enforcement agencies, she said, must undergo “an enormous culture shift.”
Two matters of note do separate the candidates. Weinstein lives in House 81, a sprawling district that includes areas west of Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach and also the Glades. As Weinstein notes, Skidmore lives just east of the district boundary.
“I’m only three-quarters of a mile outside,” Skidmore responds. “It’s not like I’m from the Moon.” If elected, Skidmore said, she would move into District 81.
The other, more important difference is Skidmore’s experience. She spent four years in the House, from 2006 to 2010, leaving to run unsuccessfully for a Senate seat. Skidmore also spent 10 years as a legislative assistant before serving in the
House. Skidmore said that while floor debates involve “a lot of theater,” both parties work together each year on “hundreds of issues.” Especially for Democrats, in their distinct minority, “relationships” can determine the fate of a bill. Skidmore made it a point to meet each week with a Republican House member.
In his questionnaire, Weinstein said, “From my understanding,” Skidmore never got a bill passed. In fact, Skidmore cited several examples of successful legislation. One, in 2010, helped drive out of business the “pill mills” that were trafficking in prescription painkillers.
Skidmore further notes that members can affect legislation through amendments without their name actually appearing as a sponsor. Doing so requires close attention, especially in a session’s frantic final days.
Another sign of Skidmore’s experience came out during the interview. Weinstein spoke of how he had been listening to constituents during the campaign. Some, he said, want the state to build another turnpike interchange at Palmetto Park Road near Boca Raton.
Skidmore responded that she had heard about that issue during her time in Tallahassee. Community sentiment, though, was the opposite. “I fought,” she said, “to keep an interchange off of Palmetto Park Road.”
Four years ago, we endorsed Skidmore in that House District 91 race against Emily Slosberg. We said that Skidmore had “an admirable understanding of how politics works in Tallahassee.”
She still does, whereas Weinstein would have to learn. Given his background and temperament, he surely would – and would do so quickly. As noted, Democrats do not lose either way in this race.
Whoever wins the primary almost certainly will win the general election in November. Republicans gerrymandered this district to clump together as many Democrats as possible.
With the pandemic – and its potential effects – rising in Florida and the Legislature having punted its obligations to DeSantis for now, the post-election organizational session could be much more than ceremonial.
Such a scenario would make experience even more important. The Sun Sentinel endorses Kelly Skidmore in the Democratic primary for Florida House District 81.
Florida House District 81 is in Palm Beach County. It includes areas of West Boca, West Delray and West Boynton, as well as Belle Glade, Pahokee and South Bay.