José Javier Rodríguez is a familiar face in Florida politics, having previously served in both the Florida House and Senate. But now the Miami Democrat has his eyes on a new role: State attorney general.
According to his campaign bio, Rodríguez also served as a legal aid attorney representing working people whose wages were stolen or rights violated. And most recently, he served in the Biden administration as U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor.
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For his attorney general campaign, he's competing against fellow Democrat Jim Lewis in the primaries. The Republican candidates are incumbent James Uthmeier and Steven Leskovich.
On "Florida Matters Live & Local," Rodríguez talks about why he's running, his priorities and more.
The interview below was edited for clarity and brevity.
What makes this the next logical step for you?
We need to return the Attorney General's office to the people. I'm running to be the people's lawyer.
The Attorney General's Office has gone very far afield from what it's supposed to be focused on. And as I said, I'm running to be the people's lawyer. That's not just a campaign slogan. That's a job description of a state attorney general.
You're supposed to look out for the interests of the people of the state. And I say the people because it doesn't mean that you're serving the interest of state government. Because a lot of people could be forgiven for thinking that the attorney general is like the governor's personal lawyer.
A lot of what comes out of the attorney general's office looks like he's like a press secretary for the governor. And what we ought to be focused on, what I will be focused on, are keeping Floridians safe and bringing relief from the costs and corruption.
So when I go around the state, I talk about the three C's, what we need to return to doing and what we're not doing now out of the Attorney General's office.
So you think the attorney general should serve as more of a check and balance on the governor's administration?
That's what the job is. The job is to look out for the people. I've been fighting for the little guy my whole career. When I was in the state legislature, fighting special interests.
We could talk about the ghost candidate scandal, maybe, and why that happened. Essentially, Republican operatives funded by Florida Power and Light ran a shill candidate who was bribed. The Miami State Attorney's Office did a great job prosecuting —there's a number of pleas, there's a conviction.
But the point of telling that story, the voters were the victims. But I was targeted, and the reason why I was targeted is because nobody stood up for the forced customers of our electric utilities more than I did in Tallahassee.
And I was consistent with how I served in Tallahassee. It didn't matter whether it was an interest group that was supportive of my own party. It didn't matter if it was somebody powerful, well-connected if you were screwing Floridians, and you're dangerous.
That is also my message as attorney general. That's what I will do as attorney general. That is the job — to be independent. My career has been standing up and fighting for the little guy, often against powerful interests — interests that have more time.
If you look at the money in the race so far, the odds are kind of against you. You've been hugely outspent here. So how do you get over that kind of money barrier?
My entire career has been fighting for the little guy.
So as a lawyer representing workers and low-income homeowners, you're usually against somebody who has more time, more money and more lawyers. Same thing in the legislature.
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We were successful in a lot of stuff, even though the odds were against us. Same thing in my campaigns. I've only ever run in competitive races, and I've been outspent by multiples when I ran for the state house and then ran for the state senate.
I served in federal office because I was Assistant Secretary of Labor, but in my electoral races, we were always outspent, and so I'm not concerned about that.
I do know that the track record that I have and the message I have is not a partisan one.
Restoring the Attorney General's office to focus on crime, costs and corruption, rather than what they're doing, which is the opposite. That is a message that will connect. And I have a track record. I don't ask my clients or my constituents what their party affiliation was when I went and fought the special interests. That's the same attorney general that you'll have.
Do you feel like you have policies that are going to appeal to voters who are Republican but want to see somebody else up in Tallahassee?
Absolutely.
One of the things that Floridians really deserve and we need to see from the Attorney General's office that has been my entire career, has been standing up to those who are taking advantage of us, including economically, right?
So if you're polluting the state with fentanyl, we're going to go after you. If you're polluting the state with algae blooms, we're going to go after you on the environmental front, but there's also the costs piece. How are we going to bring relief to Floridians when in Tallahassee, insurance companies, utilities — they get away with whatever they want?
As attorney general, you can guarantee that the multiple roles the attorney general plays will be brought to bear on behalf of the people, to bring some scrutiny to the insurance industry, scrutiny to the utilities, and bring our costs down. And that's a message that connects.
I've been all over the state. I think one message that really does connect is just to say, listen in Tallahassee, we need to check on all that massive corruption. Whether you like their policies or not, it's so corrupt up there — you need a watchdog.
You can listen to the full interview in the media player above. This article was compiled from an interview conducted by Matthew Peddie for "Florida Matters Live & Local." You can listen to the full episode here.
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