Florida New Majority, which describes itself as a grassroots civic engagement organization, announced its has endorsed Alison Austin in the race for the city of Miami District 5 commission race.
The district includes Overtown, Liberty City, Wynwood, Alapattah, and Little Haiti.
Austin, born and raised in Liberty City, has worked for several years
in neighborhood improvement programs. She is CEO of the Belafonte TACOLCY Center and a leader in youth programming and leadership development in the city.
An FNM statement said the endorsement came after interviews on Oct. 1 of three of six candidates by a committee comprising five black and Latino members who live in District 5.
“Our endorsement committee decided that Alison Austin is the candidate that best represents the needs of our community,” said Clarence Mimms, a Little Haiti resident and FNM member. “She has the wisdom and experience to lead our district.”
“I’m most impressed with her commitment to represent the interests of all the people in this district, including our Latino communities,” Amelia Davila, another member of FNM, said in the statement.
The only woman in the race, Austin plans to give voice to the more than 60 percent of female voters whose perspective, she said, was often ignored.
The FNM statement said Austin has aligned herself with the group’s core issues: pushing for jobs, expanding opportunities for youth, defending residents against what it said were abuses by the police and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and incorporating community input into her decisions.
Other candidates vying for the District 5 seat in the Nov. 2 elections are incumbent Richard P. Dunn II, Michael Jackson Joseph, Ernest Mailhot, Jerry D. Sutherland Sr. and Andre D. Joyce.
FNM spokeswoman Natalia Jaramillo said the group sent questionnaires to all candidates and four responded: Austin, Joseph, Mailhot and Sutherland. They were then invited to a face-to-face screening but Mailhot did not show up.
CANDIDATE: Alison Austin
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