Best of Miami 2011: Best Politician

In anticipation of the upcoming Best of Miami issue hitting newsstands June 16, here is a sneak peek at one category and its winner.Best PoliticianFrederica Wilson...

By New Times staff

June 14, 2011

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In anticipation of the upcoming Best of Miami issue hitting newsstands June 16, here is a sneak peek at one category and its winner.

Best Politician
Frederica Wilson

Unless you support terrifying cyborgs sent from the future to eliminate state government with just their laser eyes (cough, cough, Rick Scott) or count yourself a member of the Marco Rubio Tea Party Pretty Boy Army, the past 12 months have been a dismal time to be a South Florida voter. A terrible year, that is, with one bright, sequined, outrageously colorful-hat-wearing exception: Frederica Wilson, Miami's newest rep in the U.S. Congress, is pretty much the bomb. Wilson made a name for herself by winning unlikely battles: first as a Miami principal who closed a fume-spewing plant near her school, then as a state representative and senator taking down everything from high school dirty dancing to HIV testing for prisoners. Now in Washington, she has brought some much-needed visibility to a Democratic freshman class overshadowed by the boisterous GOP, earning a cover photo on the Washington Post Magazine, and backing controversial legislation, such as a ban on cell phones while driving. Down with the cyborgs! Up with blinged-out cowboy hats!

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