Monday Musings – 100th birthday celebrations, US Senate race, Jacksonville city elections and Fort Lauderdale Strikers title run ends,

November 17, 2014 · by · in 2014 Election, Foreign Policy, Non-Political · 2 Comments

I spent this past weekend in Kochi, Kerala, India for my grandfather, VR Krishna Iyer’s 100th Birthday celebration (He only turned 99 on Saturday but the way Indians count birthdays is to count the day you were born as your first birthday). My grandfather is a former member of the Madras State Legislature, the Kerala State Assembly, and was a Justice of the Kerala High Court and ultimately an Indian Supreme Court Justice. He was also the runner-up in the 1987 Presidential Election as an Independent. My Grandfather is a socialist (not a communist as has been claimed by some) but has a reputation for consensus-oriented lawmaking and as an exceptional trial lawyer. I was touched by how many people around the country from Prime Minister Modi (who tweeted birthday wishes and sent a senior representative  to the festivities yesterday) to Members of Parliament from all over the country, state officials, lawyers, anti-death penalty advocates, animal-rights advocates and countless ordinary people, attended the two days of festivities. The media frenzy was enormous as every major national daily paper carried features on my Grandfather as did many of the cable news channels. I will have much more on my Grandfather’s legacy and some selected news clips in the coming days.  – KK @kkfla737

All eyes are on the Senate Race for 2016. While Marco Rubio is mulling over a run for president, pundits everywhere are wondering who the Democrats are going to run for Senate. With 2016 being a presidential year, the odds are in favor of the Democrats, however, there is simply a shallow bench. It seems much more likely that Jeb Bush will venture into the fray instead of Rubio, but it is still early. With Nelson probably retiring in 2018, it seems like it is more important than ever for the Democrats to find a viable candidate and start working now. Everyone from Patrick Murphy to Annette Taddeo have been tossed out, along with the reasons and bickering of reasons why they are completely wrong. Democrats have to get back on the horse and keep going if they are going to be competitive, but there is just very few people who are up to the task of taking on Rubio.  –   KB@BurnettKaty 


On the other end of the political spectrum, Jacksonville elections are in March and it seems like a good time for Democrats to move in and try to make some gains. Even though the majority of Jacksonville is Republican and it looks as if Lenny Curry is the heavy favorite to win the mayor’s seat, there are enough municipal seats available that there could be some tough races. Tracie Davis is running for Supervisor of Elections and as the current deputy SOE, is supremely qualified for the job, but is up against a tough Republican challenger. Local races matter and Democrats have to build from the ground. Duval is a highly populated area that could use some attention and some permanent cultivation for Democratic candidates.   –   KB@BurnettKaty 

My beloved Fort Lauderdale Strikers the team I serve as the TV/video play-by-play announcer for in the league I was formerly the Communications Director of (NASL) lost the title game in the second division to San Antonio 2-1 on Saturday. The Strikers appearance in the finals was our second in four years (lost to Minnesota in 2011) and when paired with Tampa Bay’s dramatic PK triumph over Minnesota in 2012 (one of my most exciting days on the job at NASL) Florida teams have been in three of four NASL finals since we re-launched the league. The Rowdies title in 2012 was their first since 1975. Orlando City which moves to MLS next season has won a trophy in the league a tier below NASL each of the last four seasons. Jacksonville begins plays next year in NASL. The state of soccer is strong in Florida, with the Strikers and Rowdies as enduring brands and newer (and probably stronger) products on the landscape like Orlando City and Jacksonville Armada. – KK @kkfla737

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2 comments

  1. Mike Stovall · ·

    This is just flatly wrong. The majority of Jacksonville, and Duval County is not Republican. In fact Democrats outnumber Republicans here by almost 30,000 voters. I say this as a member of the DCDEC Central Committe, this town doesn’t vote Republican because that is how the people here feel, but because we Democrats do a terrible job getting out our vote. We also have for too long been playing the game the state Democrats have taken to playing, running centrist corporate Democrats. This is exactly why when we SCREAM run a real Democrat with heart and soul, not an Alex Sink/Charlie Crist.

    The second paragraph was spot on, Teacie Davis is going to make a fantastic SOE (and even as a Democrat I am a fan of the current Republican SOE, and I am a far left Democrat).

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  2. Joe Kreps · ·

    Alan Grayson is so right for the Senate. Just Do It………….

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