By Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown
Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown’s Op-Ed Let’s Keep Debbie Working and Delivering for Broward County! Thirty-four years ago, Florida made history: In 1992, for the first time since Reconstruction, we elected three African Americans to the U.S. House of Representatives. I know. I was one of them.
We are facing a coordinated, constitutional assault on Black political representation from the Governor’s mansion down. In a moment of crisis, you do not field an untested army. You send your most experienced, tenacious general. Debbie Wasserman Schultz has the seniority, the grit, and the national platform to break through the partisan blockade in Tallahassee and Washington. Her record of delivering resources to Broward’s diverse communities is indisputable. This election isn’t about dividing our community along racial lines; it is about uniting our community to defend our voting rights with the strongest weapon we have.
As a member of the Florida Legislature, I was honored to have fought for those new districts. But it is easy to overlook the significance of that historic moment. For the first time in the post Civil War era, we established Congressional districts in which we invested power in communities whose voices had been marginalized.
We originally hoped for more. We had proposed four such districts, and a compromise yielded three seats, and I was joined by Reps. Carrie Meek and Alcee Hastings in the 1993 freshman class. Shaped as a collective, people in these overlooked and underrepresented communities finally had power to elect representatives who would pursue policies and positions that served their interests.
Moreover, to ensure these long-marginalized communities would always have such representation, in 2010 voters across Florida passed Amendments 5 and 6, establishing strict antigerrymandering stand-ards and prohibiting the Legislature from drawing political districts intended to favor or disfavor any political party or incumbent. These weren’t just laws; they were Amendments enshrined into the Florida Constitution. Now, Gov. Ron DeSantis is hellbent on undoing all that we achieved by bulldozing over our Constitution and installing an illegal partisan gerrymander.
As of today, there is not a single Democrat representing a district from Pensacola and Jacksonville to just north of Orlando. Why? Because DeSantis wants to do everything he can to avoid paying the price for his policies that have driven up the costs of utilities, gas, food, prescriptions, health insurance premiums – practically everything.
A primary target of DeSantis’ illegal gerrymander is one of Florida’s most effective elected representatives, Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. This statewide partisan gerrymander is designed to send more Republicans to Congress, but the newly drawn 20th Congressional District in Broward County remains one where Black voters still have the power to choose who they want to represent them in Congress.
I trust Broward voters to weigh the benefits of having a representative like Debbie in Congress who has delivered repeatedly for the county and its diverse communities. I trust them to weigh the advantages of the seniority Debbie has earned in Washington as a senior Appropriator and what that means for families who want federal dollars coming back to the district to support affordable health care, quality education, equal opportunities, and safer communities.
I say this because I served with Debbie in Congress; I know this woman. She is a tenacious and passionate fighter who has never been afraid to speak up for those without a voice. First in the State House and, later, in Congress, she’s fought for Florida’s critical infrastructure, water, and environmental needs and battled for immigrants, seniors, veterans, and people of color.
Look anywhere in Broward, you’ll see the results of her service, her grit, and ability to get things done. She’s delivered billions in federal dollars to its thriving port, international airport, federal courthouse, and Everglades protection efforts. Those big-ticket projects build up a community – and deliver countless jobs to Broward families.
She passed laws and secured funding to help our children learn to swim and make pools safer from drowning. After beating cancer herself, Debbie took up that cause, too. She funded screening efforts and shined a light on the fact breast cancer strikes down more Black women – because they are burdened with a lack of healthcare access and by a medical system that doesn’t treat them with respect.
She’s also led on many issues that other Democrats took a pass on because of race. In honor of her departed mentor Rep. Hastings, she’s secured millions in cancer screening funds for neglected communities under a program bearing his name.
While Debbie’s record of delivering for Broward and its people is indisputable, so is the fact that Black representation is under assault – both in Florida and around the nation. Those two realities collide in this year’s District 20 race. The same Republican leaders who are defending billionaires and corruption are now trying to destroy voting rights and Black communities’ political power. We cannot let them do it. Debbie is exactly the type of fighter I trust to take on DeSantis and his despicable gerrymandering.
