Judge Jacqueline Schwartz is a white lady who apparently thinks white ladies have a hard time getting elected in Miami-Dade despite having served as an elected county judge for the past 12 years.
After defeating Cuban-American challenger Frank Bocanegra, Schwartz was so proud of herself for being a victorious white lady that she issued a statement boasting about how she had defeated a "nondescript Hispanic."
"I think my re-election is a very significant victory for the people of Miami Dade County," Schwartz said of her reelection on Tuesday night in a statement. "We have gone past the days when any nondescript Hispanic name could go on the ballot and defeat any Anglo sitting judge."
Yes! Finally, a ray of light for the long-disenfranchised Anglo population in American politics ... Wait, what?
Granted, some have complained that judicial candidates with Hispanic last names tend to do better. Likely because, well, no one really pays that much attention to judicial races and the county has a Hispanic majority. This is not something unique to Miami-Dade. Some say the same could be said of judges with Jewish last names in Broward County.
But Schwartz is known for her temper.
Schwartz, who received the endorsement of anti-LGBT group the Christian Family Coalition, has also generated earlier controversy in her campaign after a store clerk at a Coconut Grove convenience store said the judge stormed in to complain about her opponent's sign and screamed, "Go and fuck yourself!" In fact, that lead the Miami Herald to revoke its previous endorsement of Schwartz. (At least she had the homophobe endorsement to rely on.)
Bocanegra, her opponent by the way, was not a "nondescript Hispanic." He's a former Miami-Dade police major who got his law degree in 2008. He had a brief stint as manager of Miami Lakes, and, as New Times broke, was sued over harassment charges.
Which is to say it was a race with a lot going on.
Schwartz probably won because she was the experienced incumbent, and Bocanegra only had his law degree for six years.
But, yes, let's bring race into it!
According to Naked Politics, the Cuban American Bar Association has condemned Schwartz's remarks. In a letter sent to Schwartz, the group called her remarks "troubling" and didn't like that Schwartz implied that some of her judicial colleagues had only been elected because of their last names and not because of hard work and experience.
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