A panel of lawmakers offering a legislative recap at Tampa Tiger Bay would have been made up exclusively of Democrats had it not been for one of them — Rep. Susan Valdés — dumping the party late last year.
Valdés, now a Republican, shared a stage with Democratic Sen. Darryl Rouson, House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell and Democratic Reps. Dianne Hart and Michele Rayner.
Valdés’ presence seemed merely the elephant in the room — pun intended — until a question from local lawyer and former judicial candidate Gary Dolgin. Dolgin asked Valdés if she would have stayed a Democrat had the party been in the majority and whether she voted more often with Republicans this Legislative Session than with her previous party.
The question drew a mix of gasps and applause. Valdés herself even quipped that Dolgin’s question was sure to win him the coveted Garfield award for posing the best/toughest question to panelists.
Valdés didn’t really answer the second part of his question — whether she had voted more with Republicans since changing her party affiliation — and she didn’t get as defensive as one might expect from someone facing questions about loaded political decisions.
But Valdés did try to defend herself, offering a new explanation for her decision.
“The Hispanic conversation was not evident in many conversations, it was always an afterthought and that’s not the way it should be,” Valdés said.
Her answer expanded on the rationale she provided in December, when she said the Democratic Party had ignored her and that leadership expected her “to ignore the needs of my community.”
Talk about an awkward moment. That leadership — Driskell, who is now serving her second term as House Democratic Leader — was sitting right next to her.
“I just disagree with her fundamentally,” Driskell said, noting that her decision to change parties only weeks after securing re-election as a Democrat was essentially a trick played on her constituents.
“Also, the Democratic Party is a broad coalition and I just want to reject the sentiment that the Hispanic community was an afterthought.”
Driskell pointed to efforts — worked on with Valdés — to establish a Spanish-language strategy for the party.
“Yes, it was under your leadership, because this is your fourth year,” Valdés fired back, which felt at least moderately loaded at Driskell’s unusual tenure as House Democratic Leader for a second term.
Valdés also blasted Driskell, and the party overall, for now having just two Hispanic members of its caucus. Then, raising her voice, Valdés said there’s no longer any Spanish media coming from the House Democratic caucus.
Valdés also said that changing her party affiliation didn’t change her priorities.
“My friends, you all know me. I have not changed. My principles have not changed,” she said. “A ‘D’ or an ‘R’ does not change who Susan is, at all.”
Instead, she argued the party swap allowed her to bring home wins for her district. Valdés represents House District 64, which covers West Tampa, Town ’n’ Country and surrounding areas.
“I accomplished in four months what I was not able to accomplish in seven years,” she said.
So yes, Valdés declared, she would still have changed her party affiliation, adding that she “was able to bring home millions of dollars back to the district.”
That got at least one of her legislative colleagues a little riled up.
“I believe that when the voters elected me, they elected me to be effective … and not just go up and run my mouth,” Rouson said. But it was his next comment that earned a round of applause from the sold-out Tiger Bay crowd.
“I have found a way to remain a Democrat, but work both sides of the aisle.”
Hart and Rayner were more conciliatory, but firm nonetheless.
“I knew that she was unhappy many times, but never to the point that I knew she would switch parties,” Hart said, noting that the two have been friends for years.
But Hart lamented one of Valdés’ rationale for leaving the party, that joining the majority caucus allowed her to better represent her constituents.
“It’s not fair, even if you are in the superminority. You should be looking out for everybody,” Hart said.
Hart added that even though she considered Valdés a friend and understood her decision — she even said she was happy Valdés was happy in her new political home — she was upset that Valdés didn’t offer to help clear legislation as a new Republican.
And Rayner reminded that it’s not what fellow lawmakers think that matters.
“Rep. Valdés is going to have to answer to her constituents,” she said.
But there’s a problem with that. Valdés is serving her final term in the House before term limits kick in, meaning she can’t run for re-election to the House. Rumors have swirled about whether she’ll find a Senate seat to run for, or perhaps a County Commission seat where Republicans have fared better in past cycles.
That she was facing term limits made Valdés’ decision to leave the Democratic Party curious, given that her district has a large voter registration advantage for Democrats, with more than 32,000 voters registered to the Democratic Party compared to just under 25,000 for Republicans. More than 25,000 are registered without party affiliation, but Valdés won the district this year with more than 52% of the vote against a GOP challenger.
Pair that with the timing coinciding with her losing a bid to Chair the Hillsborough Democratic Party, and the party faithful were left scratching their heads.
And while Valdés never answered whether she voted more often with Republicans since the party swap, she offered some evidence of dissent within her new party, noting that she called Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office to lament problems with Alligator Alcatraz, the immigration detention center set up in the Everglades with a series of tents and fences.
“We all know that there is a problem at the border,” Valdés said, but she added that the idea had been to target dangerous criminals, which is not happening.
Valdés also seemed to depart from her GOP colleagues on the issue of affordability. She lamented that this year’s focus on property taxes — DeSantis wants to eventually eliminate them as a way to make home ownership more affordable — wasn’t the best way to tackle the problem.
Instead, she said lawmakers should continue working to lower property insurance rates, arguing that even people who already have homes are finding it hard to stay in them as insurance prices continue to outpace the nation.
On that, Hart agreed.
“People can no longer afford their homes because they can’t afford the insurance,” she said.
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