Palm Beach County Dem chair doesn’t want Rep. Rader to run for state Senate
by George Bennett | July 22nd, 2009
Senate District 27
Forget regional loyalty.
Rader
Although it would keep a Palm Beach County voice in the state Senate, Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel isn’t happy about the prospect of state Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, giving up his House seat to try to replace Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, next year.
Find out why after the jump……
With Aronberg running for attorney general, Rader is expected to enter the race soon for Aronberg’s District 27 seat, which stretches gerrymanderingly from West Palm Beach to Fort Myers. The only other Democrat running is attorney Peter Burkert, a Lee Countian.
Burkert
About 54 percent of District 27 voters live in Palm Beach County and about 45 percent in Lee County. About two-thirds of the district’s Democrats live in Palm Beach County, presumably giving Rader a big advantage in a head-to-head primary with Burkert.
While some Dems see it as a matter of keeping a Palm Beach County Senator in Tallahassee, county party chairman Siegel sees a Rader candidacy as setting up two costly primaries — the Senate contest and the resulting scramble for Rader’s House seat.
“It’s hard for me to see how any of this is good for the party,” Siegel says. “We now have a primary for the Senate seat and we still have to spend money to keep that seat” in the general election, when Republicans are expected to make a strong challenge. Wellington Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto and former state Rep. Sharon Merchant are running on the GOP side.
“I would rather have all our resources focused on fighting Republicans rather than spending money fighting ourselves,” Siegel says.
Siegel
Besides, Siegel notes, legislators will do their decennial redrawing of House and Senate districts in 2012. If District 27 is held by Democrat, there’s a good chance the Republican majority will draw that Senator out of the new district.
“I don’t see that seat surviving reapportionment,” says Siegel.
Tags: Kevin Rader, Mark Alan Siegel
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July 22nd, 2009 at 12:46 pm
Mark Alan Siegel doesn’t know a thing about politics. Sure give up the Senate seat to the republicans. They are having trouble nationally and this guy wants to give away seats. President Obama wins big and the Dems pick up next to nothing in the state house. I think it’s because of people like Mr. Siegel.
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:56 pm
The DEC chair is clueless as usual. Let the voters decide who is the best Democrat not some party insiders who can’t stand each other anyway. When you consider the Palm Beach County is broke and recently has their phones turned off who is he worried about spending money on?????
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:55 am
Once again Mr. Siegel shows us how clueless he is. I believe the reason he is upset with Rader is because he didn’t come up with the idea.
Mr. Siegel has stated publicly that the party, not the voters in a given district, should choose a candidate. I don’t know about you but I would rather not have some backroom deal be made where my representatives are chosen for me.
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:49 am
[...] notwithstanding the concerns of Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel, is expected to give up his House District 78 seat to run in 2010 for the seat of Sen. Dave [...]
July 24th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
[...] Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman Mark Alan Siegel, who earlier this week frowned at the prospect of Delray Beach Democratic state Rep. Kevin Rader running for state Senate, says he’ll back Rader now that the freshman Representative has launched a Senate [...]