We’re looking inside the NAACP forum at Florida Memorial University, where six Democrats and one Republican auditioned for a seat that has delivered for this district for 30 years. Here is who rose to it.
Second in a three-part series on Florida’s 24th Congressional District. Part one covers what is at stake. Part three fact-checks the claims made on this stage.
On the last Tuesday in June, seven people who want to represent Florida’s 24th Congressional District stood on a stage at Florida Memorial University and made their case. I watched all of it, and I want to tell you who showed up.
The stakes, briefly, for anyone just tuning in. Frederica Wilson is retiring after 16 years and has handed her endorsement, and a literal torch, to County Commissioner Oliver Gilbert III. The 24th is majority Black, home to one of the largest Haitian communities in the country, and one of only two Black-performing congressional districts left in Florida after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act this spring. In a district where more than 68 percent voted for Kamala Harris, the August 18 Democratic primary is not a step toward the election. It is the election. That is what these seven were auditioning for.
The forum was convened by the institutions that still do this work when the cameras are off: the Miami-Dade NAACP, led by President Daniella Pierre; Florida Memorial University, whose president, William McCormack, is the first alumnus to lead the school in 147 years; Wilson’s own Pumps, Pearls & Politics team; the Miami-Dade alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta; the Gamma Zeta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha; and the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce. Three moderators ran it: attorney L’Oreal Arscott; my godbrother, former State Senator Dwight Bullard; and attorney and Army veteran Travis Randolph, who serves as general counsel to the Miami-Dade NAACP. Dwight and I go back to Coral Reef Senior High, where he taught during my senior year, back when he was barely older than his students. His father was my middle-school principal. His late mother, the state lawmaker Larcenia Bullard, was a surrogate mother to a whole generation of us in South Dade. So when I say I watched this forum as family, I am not reaching for a metaphor.
The six Democrats agreed on the big things. The race is in the details, so here is the diced-up version: the question the moderators asked, and what the candidates actually said. I am saving the fact-check for part three, because who sounded good and who was right are two different articles.
The candidates, one by one
Oliver Gilbert III. The frontrunner and Wilson’s pick. He grew up in Miami Gardens, rode the bus and Metrorail to law school at the University of Miami, then became the city’s second mayor and later chaired the county commission. He beat Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, for that commission seat in 2020. On the commission he pushed fiscal discipline, led an unfinished effort to expand rapid transit, and helped secure more than $20 million for a Miami Gardens performing-arts center. He raised $250,000 in his first five days. His pitch is experience and delivery.
Shevrin “Shev” Jones. The other frontrunner. Raised in Carol City, a former AP chemistry teacher, and a state legislator for 14 years. He would be the only openly LGBTQ member of Congress from the Deep South. His record includes the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act and police body-camera transparency, and he was on track to become Senate Democratic Leader before giving that up to run. His pitch is a proven, cross-aisle fighter.
Kendrick Meek Jr. At 29, the legacy candidate and the youngest on the stage. A University of Miami-trained attorney who launched his campaign from his late grandmother’s living room. He has interned on the House Judiciary Committee, worked at the Human Rights Campaign, and served at the federal Office of Management and Budget. His pitch is generational change and affordability, aimed at younger voters.
Jean Monestime. The first Haitian American to serve on and to chair the county commission. He arrived from Haiti at 17 with no English, worked his way through school, and built a business career. In a district with one of the nation’s largest Haitian communities, his story is his platform. His pitch is the immigrant dream and a commission record.
Marshall Davis Sr. At 76, a cultural institution. For four decades he ran Liberty City’s African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, now named for him, and turned it into a launchpad that produced an Oscar winner (Tarell Alvin McCraney of “Moonlight”), a “Hamilton” cast member, and a former Alvin Ailey director. His pitch is arts, equity, and what creativity can do for a child the system wrote off.
Rod Vereen. A criminal-defense attorney of 36 years, a former prosecutor, and a former assistant federal public defender who ran for this seat once before, in 2010. His pitch is federal legal expertise, and, more controversially, data centers as an economic engine.
Te Mayonna Brown. The lone Republican, a self-described “pro-MAGA, pro-Constitution conservative.” She spent the night as the room’s single dissenting voice, and, on most questions, its clearest one.
Also on the ballot but absent from the forum: physician and repeat candidate Rudy Moise, no-party candidate Andy Daro, and write-in Patricia Gonzalez.
The night, question by question
“Do you support raising the federal minimum wage, and if so, to what level?”
Minimum wage. Everyone but Brown wanted to raise it. Only Meek named a figure ($17). Jones offered the sharpest idea: fix the “benefits cliff” first, the trap where earning one extra dollar knocks a family off a benefit worth far more than the dollar. Brown, a small-business owner, warned a $25 wage would bankrupt Main Street.
“With groceries and gas still high, what would you do to bring down the cost of living?”
The cost of living. Meek was the most concrete: suspend the federal gas tax on day one, pass Medicare for All, fund free childcare. Others talked tariffs and “wasteful spending.”
“What is the single most important thing Congress could do in the next two years to make housing affordable?”
Housing, the whole ballgame. Meek and Jones landed the credible answers: expand the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (the main federal program that pays developers to build affordable units), cap corporate-landlord increases, and stop big investors from buying up Black neighborhoods and rebranding them “affordable.” Gilbert wants to reform FHA loans to turn renters into owners. Monestime wants a federal tenant bill of rights and a 3 percent cap on first-time-buyer mortgages.
The lightning round. Yes or no on each: extend Haitian TPS, cancel student debt, expand background checks, legalize marijuana, protect abortion, pass Medicare for All, codify same-sex marriage, impose term limits, keep funding Israel, privatize Social Security.
The rapid-fire rounds. Extend Haitian TPS, cancel student debt, expand background checks, legalize marijuana, protect abortion, pass Medicare for All, codify same-sex marriage: every Democrat said yes, Brown said no, straight down the line. Two rounds were unanimous, all seven: term limits, and passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. One was unanimous the other way: nobody, not even Brown, would privatize Social Security. And one produced a real break in the pack. On continued military aid to Israel, Meek was the lone “no,” the most distinctive single stance any Democrat took all night.
“Given Florida’s book bans, do you support federal minimum standards for what schools can and cannot teach?”
Education and book bans. Jones, the only person on stage who has actually stood in front of 30 kids, backed federal minimum standards and reminded the room he fought DeSantis in Tallahassee to keep Black history in the curriculum. Brown, a homeschooling mother, wanted parental control and opposed federal standards.
“What federal investment would you prioritize for community colleges and HBCUs like Florida Memorial?”
HBCUs. Jones argued we should “fund HBCUs like PWIs,” and he had the receipts. Vereen went bigger, floating free tuition for Black students, $250 million to every HBCU, and a Reparations Act.
“How would you deal with dark money and the flood of cash unleashed by Citizens United?”
Dark money. They kept invoking a Supreme Court ruling that had come down that very day, and they were right that it happened. It is NRSC v. FEC, decided June 30, 2026.
An audience question: “Do you support the property-tax amendment on this November’s ballot?”
The property-tax amendment (Amendment 3). Brown supports it. The Democrats oppose it, and Gilbert framed it best: fire and police are protected under the measure, but the “non-essential” services (senior meals, after-school programs, transit subsidies) are exactly where the cuts land.
An audience question: “How would you keep good teachers in the classroom?”
Teacher retention. This produced the best solutions of the night. Meek would expand Hometown Heroes down-payment help. Vereen would revive a “Teacher Next Door” program. Gilbert would build a federal teacher-pay match modeled on the old COPS program for police. Jones added the piece nobody talks about: mentorship for new teachers and year-round pay so they stop scrambling for a summer check.
An audience question: “After 20 years of broken promises, what will you actually do for the Metrorail North Corridor?”
The Metrorail North Corridor. This is my lane, so read me carefully. Gilbert gave the strongest and most honest answer.
The receipts from the room
Here is the part the official recaps skip, and it may be the most honest testimony of the night. The livestream chat was its own focus group.
Rod Vereen owned the crowd. “Professor Vereen on the mic!” “100 days Vereen. Come on.” “His closing arguments be reeling em in.” “Receipts!!” One viewer watched it happen in real time: “Crowd talking!! They have shifted to Vereen.” The man can preach.
And then the crowd turned on his big idea. The instant Vereen closed on data centers as the district’s economic future, the chat broke. “Data centers where?” one person asked. And then another delivered the single truest line of the evening, the one that ought to hang over every campaign office in South Florida:
“Sir, have several seats. You have us warehouses and high-price townhomes that we can’t afford.”
Read that again, because a resident with a phone just diagnosed the whole problem in one exasperated sentence. Data centers and luxury townhomes bring a tax base and a ribbon-cutting. They do not lower anyone’s rent.
Meek overperformed. “Meek held his own.” “Meek might’ve won tonight.” “He has a rich legacy.” Monestime drew love and a jab in the same breath: “Yess Commissioner Monestime,” right next to “What church does Jean go to? I never seen him in Antioch,” and the retort, “Didn’t know Antioch was the only church in Miami.” The question of who really belongs runs under this whole race.
But the sharpest question of the night did not come from a moderator. It came from a viewer:
“I want to know how they plan to support whomever wins the race. Will they just disappear until they run for the next office?”
It drew an instant chorus of agreement and a companion line: “We don’t have any room for egos if we want change.” A packed house showed up on a Tuesday night, and the smartest strategist in the building was a woman with popcorn and a comment box.
The scorecard: who spoke strongest
Here is my read on who spoke strongest to each of those priorities on forum night, next to the number every candidate should have to answer to. Call it a scorecard.
| District priority | The number that matters | Strongest at the forum | The edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing and anti-displacement | The most rent-burdened metro in America; about 6 in 10 renters cost-burdened; the county is roughly 90,000 affordable units short | Jones and Meek | Named the real federal tools: expand the LIHTC, cap corporate-landlord hikes, curb Wall Street home-buying |
| The Haitian community (TPS, immigration, Creole) | One of the largest Haitian communities in the U.S.; Creole is the No. 2 language spoken at home; about 1 in 5 residents is not a citizen | Monestime | Lived the immigrant story and holds the commission record; Brown was the lone “no” on Haitian TPS |
| Voting rights after Callais | Only 2 Black-performing districts left in Florida; up to 19 of 62 Congressional Black Caucus seats at risk | All six Democrats | Unanimous vow to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act; the one issue nobody split on |
| Cost of living and wages | Median income below the state’s; poverty near 16 percent; the federal wage frozen at $7.25 since 2009 | Jones on wages, Meek on costs | Jones targeted the benefits cliff; Meek was the only one to name a number ($17) and concrete levers |
| HBCUs, schools, and teacher pay | States shorted their land-grant HBCUs by more than $12 billion; FAMU alone by about $1.9 billion | Jones | Had the funding data cold and is the only classroom teacher on the stage |
| Transit equity | The half-penny tax has raised $3.7 billion; the North Corridor was never built; heavy rail runs about $1 billion a mile | Gilbert | As TPO chair he moved the line toward bus rapid transit and pushed for a 60 percent federal share |
| Seniors and Social Security | Amendment 3 would cut $4.6 billion to $8.4 billion a year from local budgets; all seven candidates opposed privatizing Social Security | Monestime | Offered the most surgical fix: a senior and disability exemption funded by a levy on homes over $2 million |
| Development that reaches residents | Miami-Dade needs roughly 90,000 affordable units | The crowd | The sharpest line came from a resident, not a candidate: “warehouses and high-price townhomes we can’t afford” |
Read the right-hand column and the pattern is hard to miss: Jones commands the most issues, Gilbert owns the one that is pure delivery, Meek presses on affordability, and Monestime carries the district’s Haitian heart and its seniors. That is not an accident. The legislator who can move bills and the executive who can move money are exactly why my card is on the table for Gilbert and Jones.
My card on the table
I make no secret of where my heart is. If I lived in the 24th, my two votes-in-spirit would go to Oliver Gilbert and Shevrin Jones. Let me defend that the way an operative defends anything, on the mechanics, not the mood.
Start with a truth nobody says in a season that worships fresh faces: a freshman member of Congress is, for about a year, an intern with a voting card. I mean that with love. The first term goes to learning floor procedure, standing up an office, hiring staff who know an authorization from an appropriation, scrapping for a committee assignment from the bottom of the seniority pile, and, I am barely exaggerating, finding the bathrooms. In a comfortable district you can absorb that runway. In the most rent-burdened metro in America, where a hurricane could take the roof next fall and a promised transit line has been vapor since 2002, you cannot. Wilson said it herself when she handed over that torch: “It’s a job for experience. You have to hit the ground running.”
Now measure the two men against the bar that Carrie Meek and Frederica Wilson set.
Gilbert has run things at scale. He was a city’s mayor and a county commission’s chairman, steering a multibillion-dollar budget, and he has actually moved federal and local money before, on transit and on that performing-arts center. He already speaks the language of appropriations and intergovernmental deals, which is the language that turns a member’s request into a check that reaches the block. Put him in Congress and his ramp-up is measured in months.
Jones spent 14 years passing legislation from the minority inside one of the most hostile Republican supermajorities in the country. That is the most underrated line on any résumé in this race. Anybody can pass a bill when their party runs the room. Getting one through a committee that wants it dead is a craft, and in a House where Democrats may not hold the gavel, it is the exact craft the job requires. Jones already has it.
Between the two of them you get the whole job: the executive who can administer and pull down resources, and the legislator who can write and move law in a room that would rather ignore him. Either one delivers faster than a gifted newcomer, and in a district this fragile, speed to delivery is not a luxury. It is the difference between a term that changes lives and a term spent learning the building.
Let me be fair to the rest, because I know these people and I respect this field. Kendrick Meek Jr. genuinely moves me. I worked his father’s Senate race in 2010, and watching the family name step forward as a serious contender for the seat his grandmother once held is a full-circle moment I will not pretend I felt neutrally. He has real federal exposure and a bright future, and I would tell any young operative to get on that train early. Monestime carries the Haitian community’s story and a serious record. Davis is living proof of what the arts can do for a child the world gave up on. Vereen can flat-out preach and knows federal law cold. This is a strong field, and that is the good news hiding inside a hard season. But when the stakes are survival, readiness is the tiebreaker, and on readiness, Gilbert and Jones are a cut above.
I hold one honest caveat, and I hold it out loud. The very experience that makes them ready is the experience that makes them the establishment, and the community’s torch jokes and its “will you disappear” question were aimed straight at people like them. So my support comes with a demand stapled to it: bring the table, do not just take the seat. Deliver, and keep delivering on the ordinary Wednesdays when nobody is filming. The woman with the popcorn already knows the difference.
Candidate statements reflect the June 30, 2026 Florida Memorial University forum, convened by the Miami-Dade NAACP. Community quotes are drawn from the event livestream. Claims made on this stage are fact-checked in part three of this series. The primary is August 18, 2026.
Denzel D. Burnside III is a Miami-Dade native, a minister, and a former organizer and campaign manager. He is the founder and executive director of the North Carolina Housing Table, a statewide housing coalition, where he works on housing and transportation policy.
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