Rep. Dotie Joseph is a Miamian at heart — she attended Norland Middle School, and the DASH Academy in the Design District — before heading to Yale and then Georgetown for her Juris Doctorate degree. The forty-five year old North Miami resident, and Haitian American, first won election to Florida’s House of Representatives in 2018, and after eight years in office, she is running for Governor of the state of Florida.

Rep. Joseph took time out of her incredibly busy schedule to hop on board The Jitney.

Here’s what she had to say.

Dotie Joseph on the Issues

What do you see as the biggest issues we face right now?

Affordability is the crisis underneath every other issue in Florida right now. Certain politicians have been focused on propagating culture wars so we don’t see the grift that has led to everything being so unaffordable in Florida.

Failed Republican leadership has led to skyrocketing insurance costs, more expensive gas and groceries, and less access to affordable housing and healthcare. Meanwhile, the same politicians prioritize company profits over people. Justifiably, many Floridians don’t trust that their government is working for them instead of special interests. Fixing that trust, and fixing the cost of living, are the top priorities.

What can government realistically do to make Florida more affordable?

Government can stop making things worse, and start being part of the solution. That means capping unjustified property insurance rate hikes and holding insurers accountable, building more affordable housing instead of only luxury units, raising the minimum wage to an actual living wage, and expanding Medicaid so healthcare costs stop bankrupting families.

I understand the state budget and after eight years in the Legislature, I know where to find the money that already exists to help bring down costs for all Florida residents.

Where is Florida getting education policy right, and where does it need to change course?

Florida gets it right when we invest in early learning, like expanding pre-K access, which is something I’ll keep pushing as governor because the research is clear on how much that early investment pays off. Where we need to change course is over crowded classrooms: banning books, restricting what teachers can teach, and underpaying our educators who do some of the hardest work and most important work in our state.

Florida also needs to get serious about updating outdated standards, including how we teach students about important subjects, like our changing climate.

How should Florida balance growth with environmental protection and climate change?

Growth and environmental protection aren’t opposites, they should be linked together to work to improve Florida. We can’t keep permitting development that ignores flood risk, drains our aquifers, or lets polluters off the hook, because that growth isn’t sustainable. I want to make Florida a leader in renewable energy..

As governor, I’ll enforce our environmental laws, protect our water and coastlines, and require real transparency from developers and data centers about their environmental impact before approval, not after the damage is done.

Gubernatorial Candidate Dotie Joseph

What do Democrats need to do differently to connect with voters?

We need to talk like we’re actually in people’s kitchens, not in a press conference. Too often Democrats lead with process. They lose people before we get to the part where we’re actually fighting for them. I will lead with what affects a family’s life directly, their rent, insurance bill, and kid’s school, then let the policy follow from there.

We also need candidates who’ve been Democrats through the hard years, not just the convenient ones. Voters need to know exactly who they’re getting. Floridians are looking for someone who is going to fight for their civil rights while making the government work for everyone, not just the 1%.

What’s an issue where you believe your political opponents have a legitimate point?

Even where I disagree with Republicans on the solution, I think their emphasis on government accountability and not wasting taxpayer money is a legitimate concern.  Democrats should also take this concern seriously instead of dismissing it. Floridians are right to be skeptical of how their money is spent. I think that skepticism should push all of us, regardless of party, to be more transparent about it.

Is there an issue where your own thinking has changed over the years?

Running a statewide campaign has changed how I think about affordability. I used to think about it mostly through a legal and policy lens. But sitting with families across Florida who are one bad month away from losing everything showed me that this isn’t an abstract budget line, it’s the defining emergency of people’s daily lives. That’s part of why affordability sits at the very top of my platform..

What brought you into public service, and what would make your time in office a success?

I was born in Haiti, grew up in Miami-Dade public schools, and put myself through Yale and Georgetown Law. I did this because I believed in what this country and this state can offer its citizens. That’s what brought me into public service, the belief that the government should keep that potential for other people too. I’ll consider my time as governor a success if working families can actually afford to stay in the state they call home. And by leaving Florida a little more decent and a little less divided than I found it.

Is there anything else you would like to say?

My three main priorities are:

1. Affordability.

2. Civil Rights.

3. Less Hate & More Love.

As a civil rights attorney, I will keep fighting for everyone’s rights in our state. Including hard working immigrants who add to our state every day. And I truly do believe that we need more love and less hate in our world and in Florida. We need to provide quality healthcare, get more people in affordable housing, and take care of our seniors. These three priorities are critical for me and I will continue to focus on them. Lastly, I’m running because Florida families are tired of waiting for someone to actually fight for them. I’ve spent eight years proving I will, and I’d be honored to keep doing it as governor.

Dotie Joseph Interveiw

Rep. Dotie Joseph is currently running for Governor in the state of Florida.

The primary election is Tuesday, August 18th but early voting is well under way. For more info about Rep. Dotie, click here.

For more info about voting in Miami-Dade County, click here.