The Democratic Party in Florida is experiencing a perilous decline in voter participation, membership and political victories. Having participated in Democratic organizations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, I am well acquainted with successful political strategies.
In the four years I have lived in Broward, I have seen a visible lack of leadership at the local level, with one or two exceptions.
One is Alfredo Olvera, who has demonstrated fundraising and get-out-the-vote acumen as president of the Dolphin Democrats, of which I am a member. In recent election cycles, he implemented strategies that had measurable goals, succeeded in large-scale fund-raising and engaged voters.
The time is now for bold new thinking and strategies. Broward Democrats have a decision to make if they wish to increase their victories at the ballot box, and the person to accomplish this is Alfredo Olvera.
John Lazar, Wilton Manors
It’s Nikki Fried’s fault
The article about a Democratic leader moving to oust Broward Democratic Party chair Rick Hoye should have focused on the failures of state Chair Nikki Fried, who promised messaging, merchandising and fundraising and did absolutely nothing — except send Democratic voters five emails a day asking for money.
To add insult to injury, her post-election speech featured the same tired promises. Broward received zero dollars from the state, while local party chairman Rick Hoye raised over $300,000 to fund Everybody Votes events, which started in 2022. Hoye recruited 1,987 volunteers, hosted 567 events that focused on vote-by-mail, voter registration and connecting with over 2,000 new supporters, 80% of them first-timers.
Nikki Fried has not shown leadership. She should resign.
Victoria Olson, Oakland Park
(Editor’s Note: The author has been a Broward County Democratic party precinct committeewoman).
Netanyahu’s leadership
The Sun Sentinel editorial hit piece on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was inaccurate and not reflective of the reality on the ground.
Israel has been fighting wars on many fronts after the brutal atrocities by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. It has been bombarded daily by rockets. Tens of thousands of northern Israelis have fled their homes and many more have gone to bomb shelters with literally seconds of warning. If the U.S. faced the same pressures, I am sure the response would be as strong.
Israel has used 2,000-pound bombs in attempts to destroy Hamas hiding places deep underground. Israel has supplied food, water and electricity to Gaza — in what other war has a victim state done that? Thankfully, during this time of war, Israel has a strong leader in Netanyahu.
Mark Keller, Miami
Sloppy on the sidelines
Somebody needs to tell Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel to clean up his act.
The way he dresses for games, he looks like he should be under a bridge holding a cardboard sign that reads, “Anything helps. God bless you.”
Peter Eckert, Plantation
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