My Dinner with Joe
While not directly related to the Tampa Bay area, I had the opportunity to have dinner with Joe Garcia, who is running against Mario Diaz-Balart in the 25th Congressional District. We were both in Washington, DC and I, as usual, immediately went looking for a Floridian to talk to and was lucky enough to meet up with Joe.
Joe is the former Executive Director of the Cuban American National Foundation and is a well known figure in South Florida and a leader within Florida's Cubano community.
Mario is the younger brother of Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart. While serving in the Florida State House, he openly drew the 25th District for himself.
This will be a tough race, due to the social conservative vote in Collier County, but I was impressed with Joe Garcia. He is a very strong fundraiser and the shifting values of the Florida's Cubano voters benefits Joe more than Mario.
Wait and see.