Earlier this year, the Miami Herald reported the “shocking” news that State Senator Gwen Margolis was moving from her Coconut Grove home in order to stay in power after her district was redrawn.  She then listed her condominium for nearly one million dollars, and sold it last month for $895,000.00.

Oh, and by the way, just last Tuesday we also learned that she’s a bigot and an elitist.

The first revelation should have come as no surprise.

Margolis has been a politician for over 40 years and, literally playing musical chairs, she’s been jumping in and out of one elected office or another since the mid-nineteen seventies.  Little wonder she’d do anything at all to keep her seat in Tallahassee.  After all, her main source of income during her entire career has been from the government trough, which she and her colleagues have continuously replenished by tax dollars gouged from the hard working plebeians of the State of Florida.

From 1975 to 1980, Margolis was a State Representative of the Florida House.  From 1981 to 1992, she was a State Senator for District 37.  In 1993, she ran for Congress and lost to E. Clay Shaw.  In order to fill the void, and to keep her publicly funded income flowing, she settled for a seat on the Miami-Dade County Commission.

The “demotion” must have devastated her.  Compared to a more powerful seat at the state level, the County Commission was small potatoes.  This lowly gig also didn’t pay as well.  Ten years later, this career politician decided to take a second bite at the Senate apple.

Margolis then went on to represent District 35 from 2003 until 2008, at which time she vacated her office to allow a fellow career politician, Dan Gelber, warm her seat for her while she ran for Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser.  That race went to a run-off, which Margolis unsuccessfully sued to prevent.  She ultimately lost the election to Pedro Garcia.

Margolis bided her time for the next three years until 2011, when she reclaimed the seat she gifted to Dan Gelber, who then ran for Attorney General and lost.

Due to court ordered redistricting of the entire state, Gwen Margolis found herself living outside the district she has safely occupied for the last five years.  Instead of simply running in her newly drawn district, and risk losing an election with an entirely new constituency, Margolis decided to sell the home she’s lived in since 2008 so she could run for re-election in her former district.

Despite drawing five opponents in this election, Gwen Margolis’ win was a pretty sure bet.

Because of her protracted career in politics, three local municipalities have named facilities in her honor.  North Miami is home to the Gwen Margolis Community Center, the City of Sunny Isles Beach dedicated the Senator Gwen Margolis Park to her, and North Miami Beach has the Senator Gwen Margolis Amphitheater.  (Ironically, I couldn’t locate even one edifice in her home community of Coconut Grove that bears her name.)

Nevertheless, had it not been for that fateful moment the evening of June 6, 2016, Gwen Margolis would have remained a local living legend.  It was, of all places, at a local Democratic meeting that her true colors were horrifically – and very publicly – on display.

“It’s reprehensible that three Haitians, some teacher and some lawyer think they have the right to run against me.”

I mean, seriously.  The nerve of them, right?  Just who the hell do these three Haitians, a teacher and a lawyer think they are anyway?

“I’ve been in office over 40 years.”

Which is precisely the problem in the first place.

“I have unlimited funds, and I’m going to spend every penny, and I’m not going to lose to those three Haitians or some teacher or lawyer.”

Never mind that those “unlimited funds” have come at the expense of hard working Floridians (not to mention the $235,000.00 profit she made last month on her taxpayer funded Coconut Grove condominium which, rumor has it, she’ll be using toward the purchase of another condo at the Peninsula Aventura, where units go for well over a million dollars!).

But, but … she’s GWEN MARGOLIS, for crying out loud!

How dare anyone, much less “THOSE THREE HAITIANS,” run against her?

DON’T YOU KNOW WHO SHE IS?

A source who attended the meeting that evening said, “Gwen Margolis’ tirade was awful.  She was VERY mean-spirited and angry when she made those remarks.”

The fact that her inherent racism finally rose to the surface is quite shocking enough.

What is even more surprising is Margolis’ stubborn refusal to issue the obligatory (yet totally meaningless) apology expected from politicians whenever they inadvertently blurt some ugly truth they’d prefer to keep hidden.

Not apologizing for how she really feels is probably the only honorable – and honest – thing Gwen Margolis has ever done.

Due to her disparaging comments, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) was in the process of withdrawing its endorsement of her candidacy when Margolis unexpectedly withdrew from the race and announced her retirement.

Thus ensuring that she’ll never eat lunch in this town again.

One of her Haitian opponents, former State Representative Phillip Brutus was quick to respond to her comments, calling them “racist and xenophobic.”

Ya think?

The two other Haitian candidates are business owner Anis Blemur and State Representative Daphne Campbell, neither of whom have publicly commented.

The teacher that she slammed, Don A. Festge, attended the meeting and posted on Facebook, “Mrs. Margolis’ comments are exactly why I am running for Florida Senate District 38. No one should have the right to think they own a political seat.”

Jason Pizzo, is the lawyer (and former prosecutor) whom Margolis disparaged as being not worthy to compete for her seat.  He was not present at the meeting, but told the Herald, “If it’s true, it’s the clearest indication yet that new leadership is necessary.”

No kidding!

Here’s the thing.

The Founding Fathers of our great nation, who crafted our Constitution, never envisioned public service as a full time career.  The holding of a political office was originally intended to be a temporary one, and certainly not as a means of self-enrichment.

Career politicians like Gwen Margolis, who refuse to leave office willingly, are precisely why term limits are necessary.

In 1799, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on [offices] a rottenness begins in his conduct.”

Mr. Jefferson also presciently wrote, “I apprehend that the total abandonment of the principle of rotation in the offices of President and Senator will end in abuse.”

The Founding Fathers were right.

Gwen Margolis’ own declaration that she “owns” her seat in the Florida Senate is exactly the type of abuse they predicted more than two centuries ago.

Infinitely more disturbing, however, is her apparent belief that bigotry and elitism are perfectly acceptable in her political sphere, one in which “mere” Haitians, teachers and lawyers are clearly not welcome.

As Phillip Brutus so aptly put it, “I say happy retirement to her.”

Now that Gwen Margolis rightly bowed out of the race for Senate District 38, the field appears to be wide open.

This election just got a whole lot more interesting.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”