By BETH REINHARD, [email protected]
Remember Dennis Kucinich?
Squint hard and you may recall the Democratic congressman from the 2007 presidential debates. He had served more years in office than that whippersnapper Barack Obama. He raised issues that no other candidate was willing to address.
Kucinich was virtually ignored by the media and the voters.
Today, Kevin Burns is the Dennis Kucinich, the Rodney Dangerfield, the Kevin who? of Florida's U.S. Senate race. The North Miami mayor who brought the city new schools and a greener image gets no respect.
''There's no doubt that I am a credible, viable candidate,'' Burns insisted recently over breakfast, saying what goes without saying for most credible, viable candidates.
Candidates like Burns pop up every election, with little or no political experience, fundraising ability or Obama-esque charms. If only Jimmy's Eastside Diner, where waitresses and customers greet Burns with hugs, served as a voting precinct.
While shoestring campaigns occasionally carry the day in local races, they are near-impossible in a Senate contest in the fourth largest state. Democratic front-runner Kendrick Meek raised nearly $1.5 million in the first three months of this year. Burns raised $17,500 and spent slightly more.
But when state Sen. Dan Gelber bowed out of the race one week ago, allowing Meek to focus on the likely GOP nominee -- Gov. Charlie Crist -- Burns stayed put. He took his alloted three minutes -- and then some -- at the Florida Democratic Party's annual dinner and delved into issues many mainstream politicians ignore: gun control and gay rights.
''Kevin Burns is a serious candidate for Senate, but in my opinion, based on funds raised, stands zero chance against Meek,'' wrote Phil Busey in an e-mail sent to hundreds of other party activists.
So what makes Burns run?
For one thing, he's losing his day job. An ordinance doing away with term limits failed in November. His successor was elected Tuesday.
Burns is a real estate broker who faced foreclosure last year and filed for bankruptcy in 1997. His financial problems, he said, help him understand what many constituents are going through.
North Miami is an only-in-South-Florida, working-class town with a large Haitian community, a lovely state park, a landmark Royal Castle, a Bagel Bar that serves kosher food, and two gay city officials. One is Burns. He and his partner of 26 years have a daughter they adopted in Vermont, since Florida bans gay adoption.
After ex-Miami Heat star Tim Hardaway made anti-gay remarks in 2007, Burns invited the former player to spend time with him. Hardaway said no ``because that was more for publicity for him.''
Which brings up another reason Burns is running: He likes being out there. He's known for inserting himself into splashy local news stories, like a March 2008 bee swarm and the June 2008 discovery of a home with 70 sick animals.
While he'd be a contender for the state Legislature, Burns says it's too partisan. (Is he familiar with the U.S. Congress?)
''People in Washington are so removed from the day-to-day problems of their constituents,'' Burns said. ``I'm dealing with the same issues, only I have to come up with solutions that work or else I live with the consequences.''
Burns' campaign may also stem from a not-most-likely-to-succeed complex. The mayor's biography cites a high school award but Burns admits he won only honorable mention. As for the recent Democratic Party gala, Burns said, ``People came up to me and said I was the first- or second-best speaker.''
Beth Reinhard is the political writer at The Miami Herald.
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