There are two women running on the Democratic ticket for Patrick Murphy's open District 18 seat. Both are Palm Beach County commissioners. The only real difference between them? Their experience and their color.
The Florida Democratic Party leadership's decision to back white candidate Melissa McKinlay -- who has only held elected office for six months -- over black candidate Priscilla Taylor, a former Florida legislator who has lived in the district all her life, has rekindled a firestorm of charges of racism against the FDP.
"We're still a year away from the primary," says Leslie Wimes, president of the near-5,000-strong Democratic African-American Women's Caucus. "A whole year."
"How and why do you turn against a candidate this soon? Priscilla Taylor was first in the race, she's paid her dues, done everything right, rung up solid creds and has been well-respected at every point in her career. But the party is fawning all over her white opponent.
Two candidates, Wimes said, "one black and qualified, the other blonde and inexperienced. This race says it all.
"I've been pointing out the blatant racism at the top of the Florida Democratic Party for more than a year. Now this race comes along, and I'm hearing from DAAWC members who tell me we can't sit silent, we have to do something this time -- this is so wrong."
McKinlay, 44, a single mother, didn't declare her candidacy until May 14, well after Taylor. But never mind, she is attracting the money and support of the Democratic power base, including Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg and Sen. Bill Nelson, who employed McKinlay in his Palm Beach office at one point.
The Sun Sentinel recommended McKinlay for County Commission as the best of a substandard lot in 2014: "Settle reluctantly on McKinlay, who would be more collegial and has studied up, and hope that she isn't just seeking a pay upgrade with help from her friends."
Wimes says it's no secret McKinlay was hand-picked: "Even The Palm Beach Post picked up on it."
George Bennett of the Post wrote, "McKinlay was an aide in the the county government’s Office of Legislative Affairs who made her first run for office last year. She turned heads by raising $394,938 -- the most of any commission candidate -- and winning some business and Republican support. McKinlay’s 2014 success made many Democrats see her as an attractive candidate for District 18, where Republican voters slightly outnumber Democrats and Republican Mitt Romney got 51.5 percent of the vote in the 2012 presidential election."
In the first seven weeks of her campaign, McKinlay raised more than $180,000.
"Of course she did," says Wimes. "That happens when (FDP Chair) Allison Tant and (Democratic National Committee Chair) Debbie Wasserman Schultz give you their blessing. Priscilla Taylor never had a chance."
Taylor, 65, jumped into the race the same week Murphy announced he was running for the Senate. She was first elected to the Florida House in 2004 and re-elected twice as the District 84 representative. She served as Democratic whip for the 2004-06 term and speaker pro tempore designee for the 2008-10 term.
Before her years in the Legislature, Taylor was twice elected to the Port of Palm Beach District Commission. She has a B.A. degree from Barry University and an M.A. in business administration from Palm Beach Atlantic University.
"So, guess what they tell Priscilla?" Wimes says. "They tell her, 'Don't run now, wait and run in (U.S. Rep.) Alcee Hastings' district.' So, she's good enough to run in a black district, but not District 18, which is only 17 percent African-American.
"How crazy is that? Priscilla is a native of Fort Pierce. She still has friends and relatives there. Do you know how sick and tired Martin and St. Lucie County are of seeing carpetbagger candidates from Palm Beach County come in and think they can represent an area they know nothing about? Priscilla knows the whole district, not just a slice of Palm Beach County."
Wimes said the district has voted for African-Americans before. "Check it out: Elmira Gainey was elected to the Martin County Commission years ago, Stuart has a black mayor, district voters elected Allen West the frst time and Larry Lee from Fort Pierce is a very popular state representative."
Wimes reminded Sunshine State News that party leaders treated Pam Keith, a black candidate for U.S. Senate, with similar disdain.
"Now maybe Democrats of good will can see -- with these two women side by side -- what I've been talking about," she said. "The Democratic Party leadership in this state doesn't want to encourage us. God forbid an African-American woman has ambition and gumption and thinks she has something to give in elected office. How many times does this have to happen before Democrats of good will in this state see the blatant racism poisoning our party?
"I'm convinced this is why the DAAWC is getting bigger every day. The party that pretends to despise bigotry and racism really doesn't, and African-American women are sick and tired of it."
A DAAWC chapter is due to open this month in Maryland. And chapters have begun forming in Georgia, Connecticut, Texas and Pennsylvania, Wimes said.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith.
