Miami-Dade Mayoral Candidate Julio Robaina Embraces 'Marriage Protection Pledge' ... or Does He?

Staking a claim to socially conservative voters, Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Julio Robaina signed a "Marriage Protection Pledge" that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

Robaina is in a hotly contested 11-person race to succeed Carlos Alvarez, who was recalled by voters earlier this year. On Sunday, one of Robaina's prime opponents, county commissioner Carlos Gimenez, won the endorsement of the Miami Herald.

The Christian Family Coalition applauded Robaina, mayor of Hialeah, for taking a stand for traditional marriage.

"He is committing to defend marriage as one man, one woman, and to not surrender to so-called 'civil unions' and/or 'sexual partnerships,'" Anthony Verdugo, head of the CFC, said in a statement.

Verdugo said Jose "Pepe" Cancio and Wilbur Bell also signed the pledge.

"But [Robaina's] defense of family values does not stop there," Verdugo added. "Mr. Robaina also willingly reaffirmed his opposition to deceptively redefining and discriminatorily treating both homosexualism and transsexualism (so-called gender identity or sexual expression) as if they were somehow 'civil rights' issues.

"Mr. Robaina also understands the unfairness of extending to those who engage in homosexual or transsexual behavior special legal status equivalent to that of genuine ethnic, political, racial or religious minorities."

But on May 9, gay activist Steve Rothaus blogged that Robaina told the homosexual group, SAVE Dade, in writing, that he supports "some domestic-partner rights."

Verdugo said CFC is not endorsing in the mayoral election, which will be held May 24.

Robaina was not immediately available for comment.