Herald’s endorsement: Why we’re changing our election in Florida House District 113

Herold Editorial Team she previously endorsed state Rep. Vicki Lopez in November, she ran for re-election to Florida House District 113 because she was an effective and independent legislator. Next article published on Thursday By detailing how Lopez helped push through legislation that financially benefited her family, we must withdraw this support.

Lopez’s Democratic challenger, Jacqueline “Jackie” Gross-Kellogg, is now our pick in the district that includes Key Biscayne, Brickell and parts of downtown Miami and Little Havana. Gross-Kellogg, 56, lives in Key Biscayne and is program manager at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center.

While she’s not as well-funded or as high-profile as Lopez — the “housing queen” who sponsored much-needed housing safety legislation after the 2021 Surfside building collapse — Gross-Kellogg’s platform is consistent with a district dominated by nonpartisan voters registrations. In an interview with the Board, she spoke about her opposition to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent cuts to local arts and culture programs and regulations that take away the power of local governments to make their own decisions, tipping the scales in favor of developers and special interests.

Lopez, 66, has not been charged with any crime, but the story: TributaryFlorida nonprofit investigative newsroom published in the Herald raises questions about how it used its office.

Shortly after the 2022 election, Lopez co-sponsored a 2023 bill that would allow districts to use cameras to ticket drivers who fail to stop at school bus stop signs. Less than three months after the law went into effect, her son Donny Wolfe III became the new vice president of government relations for BusPatrol, a seller of school bus cameras. The company, which has a contract with Miami-Dade Public Schools, then hired Lopez’s former stepson.

Lopez told the editorial board that she is not the main sponsor or author HB 741 — was one of 12 co-sponsors — and that BusPatrol’s employment of her son was unrelated to the regulations.

Less than a week after announcing her son’s hiring, Lopez texted Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, asking Nixon to introduce her son to Duval County School District officials. Lopez stated that helping her son connect is a “normal thing for a parent to do.”

The next session, she voted for another bill that empowered companies like BusPatrol by allowing them to monetize every citation they published. Two ethics experts told The Tributary that Lopez should have disclosed that her vote would benefit the company that employed her son. Lopez said that after she was contacted by a Tributary reporter, she approached the House counsel and was told there was no conflict of interest with her vote.

This is not the first controversy surrounding Lopez. In the 1990s, she resigned from the Lee County Commission and went to prison under the federal “Honest Services” mail fraud statute. Her sentence was commuted by then-President Bill Clinton, and 14 years later the court overturned the sentence. She said she was wrongly convicted.

In 2011, Lopez was working with the Miami-based nonprofit Girls Advocacy Project when the Department of Juvenile Justice’s inspector general issued a report finding that she spent money intended for girls in the juvenile system on personal expenses and forged documents. Then-Governor Rick Scott’s Chief Inspector General chose not to investigate further and concluded that a preliminary investigation had occurred drew conclusions without sufficient evidenceThe Herald reported in 2012. Lopez stated that she did not misappropriate any dollars donated to charity and that the motive behind the investigation was personal vendetta.

Lopez’s legislative successes served her constituents well, and no charges were filed against her. But our job is to advise voters, and the accumulation of these issues does not look good.

Gross-Kellogg has long been politically involved as president of the Key Biscayne Democratic Club, former president of the Coral Gables High PTA and founder of the nonprofit Friends of Gables High. He believes the state should help homeowners at risk of foreclosure from special assessments related to new condo regulations and costly homeowners insurance premiums. She is a staunch supporter of the right to abortion.

The Herald confirms JACQUELINE “JACKIE” GROSS-KELLOGG for the Florida House 113 district.