Doris and the Councilman

Doris Jacobson has been a long time city activist here in North Miami, seving on a variety of advisory boards. I first worked with her when she chaired the Youth Opportunity Board and I was appointed to the board nearly thirty years ago. Here she's in the lobby outside the city council chambers letting Councilman Scott Galvin know just exactly how she feels about some issue or another on the night's agenda. She can be very persuasive!

I first met Scott about17 years ago when he decided to run for a seat on the city council. He was 18 at the time and few people took him seriously. I was very impressed with his knowledge and personality, and made no bones about telling people just exactly that! That same year I ran against another incumbant, more from a desire to get the incumbant out of office than wanting to be on the council. The mayor encouraged me to run, and right after I filed the incumbant dropped out. I thought I was home free. Then another guy filed to run against me. His family owned a radio station and he was able to outspend me 7 to 1. I found out that the mayor had also switched sides! The city attorney and I talked a young female attorney into running against the mayor, who had been running unopposed. It was a fun race. Scott lost but everybody knew who he was! I lost by a narrow margin but I'd gotten the incumbant out of office, my original reason for running. Chris Moreno became our first (and only) female mayor. A very good one too! Scott waited a few years, ran again, and got elected. Last year he got re-elected. I expect he'll be running for state office, or even U.S. congress in a few years.

When James Mitchell came out with the Al Kaplan T-shirts last year I emailed Scott a link and he ordered one. A few weeks later at a city council meeting, during council reports, he stood up, took off his suit jacket, and put on the T-shirt. I met him in his office during break and got this shot of him at his desk.