FIRST HAITIAN IN CONGRESS: RUDOLPH MOISE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE HAITIAN DIASPORA

Dear Dr. Friend,

My name is Dr. Rudolph Moise and I am an osteopathic physician and surgeon. I have been practicing primary care in South Florida for the past thirty years. I am writing to you today, to seek your support for my candidacy for US Congress in Florida’s 17^th District.

The 17^th Congressional District includes parts of North Miami-Dade County and parts of South Broward County.  A recent Gallup Poll reported that the district was among one of the most miserable in the country because of high unemployment, accessibility of quality health care and median income disparities. This district needs strong leadership with new solutions in Washington to help face these and other challenges. 

I have served my community throughout my life.  I have served as an US Air Force Flight Surgeon for the past twenty years. Service in the military profession requires leadership accountability and responsibility. It also requires putting the needs and goals of the Constitution and the nation ahead of your own service and any personal needs and interests.

Now, I am ready to take my adherence to our shared medical oath one step further, by running for public office. The timing of my candidacy couldn’t be more critical.  It is imperative that physicians are engaged politically both at the state and national level. There are multiple issues affecting our health care system.

We, as a profession, must continue to be active in the legislative process and help elect the officials who will be making the decisions that affect the delivery of quality health care as well as our ability to receive adequate reimbursement for our hard work.

I cannot get to Congress without your help. I need your financial support to build a strong campaign so I can win this election and serve us well in Washington.

Please click here to contribute $2,500, $1,000, $500, 250 or anything you can offer to my campaign.

As a community leader, I want to continue as a catalyst to assist others in the district to improve their quality of life. I believe that our country is in crisis, that America needs jobs and that our leaders must now cease their partisan war and speak loudly with the voice of reason for the good of all citizens.

This opportunity to serve in the US Congress is now my opportunity to put all that I have learned, all that I have seen and all that I have experienced to work for the people of the 17th District of Florida and all of America.

A financial contribution is helpful because it will help us cover our paid communication and direct voter outreach programs.  You can make your contribution by mailing us your check or by going online at www.VoteMoise.com and contributing bycredit card online. 

You can also help by sharing information within your personal and professional circles, or consider hosting a fundraiser or attending a campaign event.I appreciate you taking the time to read this letter and thank you for your consideration of support. 

Sincerely,

 

Dr. Rudolph Moise, D.O.

Candidate for US Congress, Florida’s 17^th District

P.S. Call us at 786-228-5949 if you have questions or would like to speak directly to me.

The Florida Elections: A Missed Opportunity for Haitians? By Stanley Lucas

The August 24 Florida primary was an historic opportunity for Haitian-Americans to enter national level politics in the United States.  Representative Kendrick Meeks (D) vacated his Congressional seat in District 17, home to the biggest concentration of Haitian-Americans in the country, to run for the Senate.  Four Haitian-American candidates emerged as candidates for the District 17 Democratic primary.  While their enthusiasm was admirable, several analysts (myself included) warned that if four candidates stood for elections, they would split the Haitian vote, and undermine the chances of a Haitian-American victory.  There were calls for them to come together for the greater good, and coalesce around one candidate with the most support in the Haitian-American community and the best chance to win.  We noted that our countrymen in Haiti needed the Diaspora support more than ever.  Unfortunately, the candidates were unmoved by these calls, and insisted on proceeding with their campaign.  As predicted, Haitian-American candidates cumulatively won the race, but split the vote and squandered this rare opportunity.

 

The division of the Haitian-American vote resulted in the election of a popular African-American candidate, Fredrica Wilson (68).  Frederica won 34.5% of the vote and is expected to win the November election in this strongly Democratic district.  Haitian-American Rudy Moise came in second place with 16.12%, and the three other Haitian-American candidates received 10.21%, 8.45% and 5.99% respectively.  In other words, Haitian-American candidates earned 40.77% of the vote -- enough for a comfortable win.  If there were only one Haitian-American candidate, it is likely s/he would have won by an even larger percentage as we could have consolidated resources and mounted an even strong campaign.

 

Prior to the election, on my blog www.solutionshaiti.blogspot.com  , I conducted four informal polls asking which of the four candidates had the best chance to win.  To be sure, my polls were unscientific; however, they very accurately that Rudy Moise would get the most amount of support in the primary among the four candidates.

 

Unfortunately the dream of having national level representation is now over.  Haitian-Americans only make up a majority of the vote in very few communities and nowhere more prominently than in District 17.  It is incredibly difficult to challenge an incumbent as we also saw last night as the establishment candidates throughout the country beat their challengers even in this atmosphere of “anti-incumbency”. 

 

On the state level, the results were mixed.  Unfortunately Alix Desulme lost in District 108 by a mere 356 votes.  Better turnout would have certainly edged him to victory.  In District 104, John Patrick Julien won with 39.96% -- congratulations to him!

 

So what are the lessons learned from this experience?  If we can get behind one Haitian-American candidate, we have a good chance of winning – and winning handily in areas that are Haitian-American.  We also need to turnout to support Haitian-American candidates.  They often lose by very small margins, as we saw in District 108, while thousands of Haitian-Americans fail to turnout to vote.  Additionally, if we had a truly unified coalition of Haitian Diaspora in the US, this group could be a powerhouse for endorsements and fundraising for Haitian-American candidates.  And finally, we have relearned the lesson of our founding fathers:  “In Unity There is Strength”!

 

On a separate note, the Florida elections remind us about what elections should be:  free and fair.  Unfortunately, our country is now heading into the election season without any hope of free and fair elections.  The huge toll on the electoral infrastructure from the earthquake and the totally partisan composition of the CEP (Provisional Electoral Council) have opened an avenue for President Preval to put in place an electoral coup (for additional information see: http://solutionshaiti.blogspot.com/2010/08/will-us-act-to-promote-free-and-fair.html ).  The Haitian Diaspora can play a huge role in promoting democratic elections by joining with their countrymen in demanding a non-partisan and upstanding CEP to oversee these critical elections.  We can also work together to encourage the United States to hold funding for the elections unless certain changes are made in country, including a reshuffling of the CEP.  These measures would go a long way to promoting democracy and transparency in our country.