The reconfigured Senate District 34 seat, formerly District 35, has three opponents on the Aug. 23 primary ballot, fighting for a fair shot at representing its constituents.
(Shevrin Jones Via Twitter)
District 35 Sen. Shevrin Jones pictured during a legislative session earlier this year.
Incumbent Sen. Shevrin “Shev” Jones, Florida’s first openly gay senator, has served in the seat for two years since the 2020 election and is now seeking another term. Before that, he served in the Florida House of Representatives for eight years.
Jones is being challenged by former Miami Gardens Vice Mayor Erhabor Ighodaro, who ran against him for the same senate seat two years ago, and nonprofit leader and minister Pitchie “Peachy” Escarment.
The district, which primarily encompassed Broward County neighborhoods before redistricting, now includes Miami Beach, Surfside, Miami Shores and Biscayne Gardens in addition to Bal Harbor, North Bay Village, parts of Miami Gardens, Opa-locka and North Miami Beach.
It still remains 62% Black.
“When people hear ‘Shevrin Jones,’ my hope is that my name resonates with them as a fighter for people, as a fighter
(Courtesy of Shevrin Jones)
Sen. Shevrin Jones
for equality and a fighter for fairness,” Jones told The Biscayne Times. “I think that my goals in going into this next term in the Legislature is going to be defending our democracy, which includes making sure that I’m more than just a voice for people, but a representative for their interests and for who we are as a community.”
Jones, a former AP chemistry teacher in Broward County Public Schools and executive director of South Florida Reading Corps, has supported bills that call for financial literacy instruction in public school settings, the use of peer specialists in substance abuse recovery care and revising provisions for appointing members to the assistive technology advisory council.
His greatest accomplishment, he said, is securing $27 million for his alma mater, Florida A&M University, during this year’s legislative session.
(Erhabor Ighodaro Via Facebook)
Erhabor Ighodaro, former councilmember and vice mayor for Miami Gardens.
There, he also proposed an amendment to keep Miami Gardens intact, when the dismantling of Black voting districts was in question because of congressional maps proposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“I don’t walk into this telling [District 34 constituents] what I’m going to do,” said Jones. “I walk into this saying what I’ve done, and that’s not just in the last two years. It’s also in the last eight years that I shared in the house.”
Jones is the son of Eric Jones, a former mayor of West Park and a senior pastor of Koinonia Worship Center. Born and raised in Miami Gardens, he is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha and a TOLL fellow who sits on President Joe Biden’s HBCU advisory board.
The incumbent senator has raised more than $98,000 in funds for his reelection campaign. Ighodaro has more than $47,000 in donations and loans combined for his campaign, while Escarment has just a little more than $23,000 in campaign funds, according to the Florida Department of Elections.
(Erhabor Ighodaro Via Facebook)
Erhabor Ighodaro speaks at a Miami Gardens event as one of its elected officials.
Like Jones, Ighodaro is an educator who has taught in the criminal justice department of Miami Dade College and at Miami-Dade County Public Schools. He was also chief of staff for former M-DCPS school board member Robert Ingram.
A husband and father of two, he prides himself on running a “family first” campaign, often attending various events with his family. His wife, Shannan “Lady” Ighodaro, is a councilwoman for the city of Miami Gardens.
Ighodaro did not respond to multiple attempts by The Biscayne Times to reach him for an interview.
At a Biscayne Gardens candidates’ forum earlier this month, he mentioned that his campaign was focused on supporting unions, and addressing education, gun violence and mental health.
“I’m going to fight for our workers,” he told the event audience, disclosing how he sponsored a resolution to allow paid maternity and family leave for the city’s workers. “That’s an example of leadership in terms of how you support real solutions for workers.”
Ighodaro also recalled successes in securing funding for the city through the Legislature during his eight years on the Miami Gardens City Council.
(Erhabor Ighodaro Via Facebook)
Erhabor Ighodaro, a candidate for District 34’s senate seat, marches with other local leaders to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.
“Every year, we send a legislative agenda to Tallahassee,” he said. “I’ve done it before through Sen. Daphne Campbell. I got $610,000 four years ago for [a] project in Miami Gardens.”
Although Escarment does not have a political background like her opponents, she believes she's the right choice for the community. The former state correctional officer said the opportunity to run presented itself with the redrawn district.
(Courtesy of Pitchie Escarment)
Pitchie Escarment
“Because I believe in change and fighting for what is right, politics has always been a desire of mine,” she explained. “Now that the district is in my area, I figured now is the time. The people are tired and I wanted to take that leap of faith.”
Escarment, the daughter of Haitian immigrants, has a background in public administration, education and law. She also attended seminary school for a short period of time. She now works at Miami Dade College as a curriculum specialist.
Her desire to be a voice and advocate for people stems from seeing people struggle to navigate the immigration process through their language barriers. At age 16, she volunteered at the Haitian Refugee Center in Little Haiti to help immigrants like her parents fill out applications by translating for them.
That work continued through her S.P.E.A.K organization decades later and expanded to include food and essentials distribution for the community.
“The same way that I am campaigning in the local community is the same way that I will get people involved and rally them to be a voice for the community when making laws,”
(Courtesy of Pitchie Escarment)
Pitchie Escarment speaks to a congregant at House of the Living God in North Miami.
Escarment said, vowing to remain a senator who puts the people first if elected. “Sometimes people are not involved or even educated on who their representatives are in the community.”
Both she and Jones point to housing affordability as a top priority.
Jones said his approach would be to advocate for the Legislature to give power back to municipalities to regulate rent in respective cities.
“The developers are taking advantage of many of these residents to where people are being priced out of their houses. So in Florida, we’re going to have to allow cities to regularly ensure that people can remain in their homes and not be put out in the street,” he said. “The Legislature can’t be the one to regulate rent b
ecause we only meet once a year for legislative sessions, but
municipalities are meeting weekly.”
“What I would do is look at the root issue,” said Escarment. “When you think about insurance and property taxes, one of the things with insurance that I’ve found is that Florida has the highest rate of frauds and claims.”
(Courtesy of Pitchie Escarment)
Pitchie Escarment, a candidate for state senate District 34, attends a campaign event.
She said a solution would require going back to the root of the issue and working with other lawmakers to pass legislation to combat it.
“Listen, I don’t let up until change happens,” said Escarment. “But at the same time, I have the compassion as well to understand what the people need and to be able to be the middle ground to stand between the people and the government to bring results.”
The second issue with the highest priority on her campaign is education. Jones said his is sea-level rise.
He also said that one thing he plans to do differently if reelected is to focus more on the individual needs of the neighborhoods in District 34 by meeting with each city commissioner, as opposed to only speaking with them collectively.
“I will fight against anyone or anything that's trying to interrupt the human experience,” said Jones. “Everyone deserves to be represented by someone who represents all people.”