Libertarians meet at Coconut Grove event

Politics is heating up in Coconut Grove. There have been many meetings for all political parties lately.

Last Thursday, a group of Libertarians from South Florida paid $100 a piece to gather at the Coconut Grove home of Sacha and Abigail DuBearn for the inauguration of Robert Fernandez, who owns a construction company, and Marcos Miralles, a college student and failed Hialeah Libertarians Council candidate in 2013, as chairman and vice chair of the Miami-Dade party. Local Libertarians haven’t given up their efforts to get more people into office in Miami. Robert Fernandez has a seat on the community council in Fisher Island.

Breanna Kirkland and
Abigail DuBearn

In the last couple of months, since the election in April of new leadership, the Libertarian Party of Miami-Dade Libertarian Party has adopted a new constitution and a new set of bylaws. They also announced the candidaccy of Breanna Kirkland for Homestead City Council against current Councilwoman Patricia Fairclough.

Robert said the county party needs to take a different course than the rest of the Libertarian Party because of Miami’s unique position as a gateway to the Americas and international trade. “Miami issues are our issues," he said. “National and state party will never understand us. It’s up to us and us alone to fight for Miami.”

Vice-Chairman Marcos, who ran for Hialeah council at age 19, underlined the importance of alliances with other political groups to push the libertarian agenda forward.

Pierre Crevaux, the party’s local campaigns manager, took aim at the corruption that permeates local politics as a weakness that could, possibly, create a window for the party to get in. “It’s time for us to send a strong message to our corrupt politicians. Whether they’re in Hialeah, Miami Beach, Miami or Homestead, it’s time for us to send them a strong message, a message that says ‘we won’t tolerate you anymore,” he said. “We won’t tolerate you and we’re going to be the ones fighting against you from now on.”

Also at the meeting were Rosa Palomino, who is running for District 2 Commission seat, and Paul Preste, a doctor from Boca Raton who has been approaching Libertarian and independent circles about a potential presidential run. Both former Republican New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and former Democratic Virginia Senator Jim Webb have been rumored to consider the Libertarian’s presidential nomination.