Kaufman Is Betting Key West Wants Change

With vote-by-mail ballots already arriving in mailboxes, Key West's closely watched mayoral race is in its final weeks. Incumbent Mayor Danise "DeeDee" Henriquez is seeking another term against City Commissioner Sam Kaufman in what has become one of the island's most intensely discussed elections in recent memory.

Palm and Prejudice invited both candidates for a brief conversation to discuss the state of the race, undecided voters, and what they believe will ultimately decide the election. Mayor Henriquez was also invited to answer similar questions. Palm and Prejudice will publish that story if she responds

In the following lightly edited conversation, Commissioner Kaufman argues that voters are seeking change at City Hall, describes what he sees as a demand for greater transparency and accountability, and reflects on the intensity of conversations taking place across the island.

Commissioner Kaufman, we're getting really close now to the final election day. What does the race feel like to you at this point?

Kaufman: I think so many people in the community are excited about the opportunity for change in a positive direction and having a City Hall that is responsive, allowing for more communication and explanations about how decisions are made and more inclusive, quite frankly.

Does it feel different from what you expected when you first got into the race?

Kaufman: It's more a fulfillment of what I did expect because a big reason, maybe the main reason, I decided to run was because of the lack of communication, lack of accountability, lack of a normal process, if you will, of how decisions are made. And so many decisions I was seeing a year ago, a year and a half, in the last year-and-a-half, so many decisions have been made behind closed doors without even commissioners knowing the basis for decisions, how decisions were being made over and over again repeatedly. That frustration from my perspective is shared by countless numbers of others in Key West. And it's what really, what I see is what community members are looking to change in how City Hall does business.

Do you have a sense of where this race actually is right now? Do you feel like it's as close as everyone seems to think?

Kaufman: I am running like I'm behind regardless of how I feel, because that's how a candidate should run for office, not counting on any particular result. But I feel extremely positive about the reaction from people as I walk door-to-door, people that I meet for the first time. That tells me that our message is resonating with large numbers of people in Key West.

Please correct me if I'm wrong. I think from going through some of your filings, you've reported spending money on professional polling. So without giving away your campaign playbook, did you learn anything from polling that surprised you?

Kaufman: No.

Who do you think is still making up their mind in Key West at this point?

Kaufman: I think probably people that don't know either of the candidates – maybe have not really looked into it yet and maybe making a decision on election day could be. But a lot of people that I talk to, like the people I'm meeting for the first time, are aware of the race and have made the decision.

Do you feel like that is a big change from, not the last mayoral race, but perhaps two cycles before the current one when we did have a race that saw someone facing off against someone?

Kaufman: I think this mayor's race has received a lot more attention and a lot more interest citywide. And I think that – a lot more press coverage. So that may account for it. I think there's just a lot of interest as opposed to, let's say, other races on the ballot. What I'm hearing from people is people are going to the polls to vote for mayor or commissioner. And that's driving people to the polls, which is not – normally people are driven to the polls to vote for governor or senator or the bigger races, statewide or federal positions. I think people are this time around really interested in the mayor's race.

Interesting. I'm going to ask the same to the mayor if and when she responds. But in terms of each of you having one main argument presented against you from the other side, there is an argument from your campaign, of course, that City Hall needs real change, more accountability and better leadership. A lot of people from your opponent's side have essentially said, "Well, you've been on the commission for 10 years." So what's your answer to the voter who says, "Well, haven't you been part of City Hall too all this time?"

Kaufman: Yeah. So for those who are observers of City Hall and of my record, they know that for 10 years I've been fighting for affordable housing. I've been fighting for water quality testing, improvements to our stormwater system for flood mitigation. They know I've been fighting for better healthcare. And for the most part, I've been in the minority for the last 10 years on some of these key issues. So, that's why this election is so exciting because we have an opportunity to change not only the position of mayor, but the entire commission. So we can end the cycle of favoritism to those most politically influential in these backroom deals. We could end that sort of process and we could create more of an even playing field for all people in Key West when it comes to all the business in city hall. And it's exciting because we can actually have real water quality testing.

We can actually have real improvements to our sewer system and to our stormwater system and our flood mitigation programs. And we can have real clear communication to the public. We had a major flooding event a month ago. You heard crickets from City Hall. Nothing. No explanation. What's the city doing? What are the priorities for flood program? Things like that.

People want to have a leader who can explain what the city is doing, when they're doing it, how they're doing it, why decisions are being made. We never hear from this mayor on any issue during city commission meetings even. No explanations of how she votes, no explanations of what the city is doing on any issue. So we need clear communication. We need much more communication. And I'm going to bring all of that. And it's such an opportunity and it's exciting.

Commissioner, you've probably talked to more voters for this cycle than any other cycle you've had to run. What's the one thing that people keep bringing up to you that isn't getting enough attention at the forums or in the media?

Kaufman: I think that overall, the lack of trust in this City Hall is what resonates the most when I see people giving me that thumbs up. What's so interesting is a big pattern of what I experience is it's not just you have my support. It's people saying over and over again, "We're praying that you win." It's like deep in the souls of these folks who are expressing this to me. It's much more meaningful. The expressions have much more depth and are so much more meaningful than the average politician. You would expect the high five and get them and that sort of thing. Over and over again, I hear people pushing their hands together in the prayer motion and saying, "We're praying for you." I had never experienced that.

Oh my god. Are you a savior?

Kaufman: No.

You could be. I would want to be a savior, maybe. I think that's cool.

Kaufman: Definitely not a savior. I'm more of a facilitator. That's how I view myself. I don't have the answers, but we all have, collectively we do. And so we have to come together and we have to identify what are the best practices? What's the best method? How do we achieve success for everyone as much as possible?

And my strength is in doing that. I mean, look at my involvement with the [Lower Keys Medical Center] progress. I just brought people together and formed a task force. And then we shined a light on the hospital district process. And that made a big difference. And that's the kind of thing that I'm going to bring to this, whether it's issues of flooding or if it's issues of parking or your neighborhood developments or whatever, we're going to bring people together to figure out what is the best course of action.

But your question was, what's the experience? And the sense I get is a lot of voters feel so strongly about this particular election, and that I have not experienced before.

If you stripped away all of the language from your campaign and talking points and all of that, what do you think is the concise fundamental choice Key West voters are making between you and Mayor Henriquez?

Kaufman: If you want more of the same, then have the current mayor. If you want the change for accountability, openness in government, inclusiveness in our government, following best practices, aiming at restoring trust in building consensus across the community, then the change is voting for me. And I don't think it could be clearer. And I'm very happy that the voters and our community has a choice. And to me, it's a pretty clear choice.

And finally, commissioner, whatever happens in August, what has running city-wide taught you about Key West that your decade as a commissioner had not?

Kaufman: That's a good question. I don't know. I think that there might be actually some micro issues that I didn't know about pertaining to specific neighborhoods that just never came to bear. Someone came to me today and asked me about the issue of fishing at the city marina and how that's negatively impacting the commercial charter boat operations. I never heard of that before. So to me, I don't think I've learned much about the city because I've been really active over the last 10 years. I mean, I've been active on – you name the issue. I can speak intelligently about it because I have studied the issues and I have been so active on the city commission. But when it comes to very specific type of concerns, I have learned about more specific neighborhoods.

Commissioner, thank you for your time.

Kaufman: Yeah, anytime.