Willie Logan
Encyclopedia
Willie Logan is an American politician
from the U.S. state
of Florida
. A former member of the Florida House of Representatives
, he campaigned for the United States Senate
as an Independent
in 2000.
in 1975, Logan attended Miami-Dade Community College, from which he earned an associate's degree
, before graduating with a Bachelor of Science
degree from the University of Miami
in 1977.
After working for three years in the insurance industry, and volunteering for several political campaigns, Logan made his first run for public office in 1980, being elected mayor
of Opa-locka, Florida
at age 23, making him the youngest mayor of any American city at that time. That same year, he founded the Opa-locka Community Development Corporation, a non-profit
that he eventually built into a multi-million dollar organization with five subsidiaries
.
In 1982, while still serving as mayor, Logan ran as a Democrat
for the Florida House of Representatives and won. He served in the House for 18 years, during which time he was consistently rated as one of the most effective Democratic legislators in the heavily-Republican
Chamber.
In 1998, Logan touched off a firestorm of controversy when, after serving for 16 years and becoming one of the caucus' senior legislators, he was ousted as the first African American
Speaker
-designate in the Chamber's history by his fellow Democratic legislators and defeated for the post of minority leader
. Logan's detractors claimed that this was because of Logan's apparent disinterest in caucus affairs, while his supporters charged that it was the result of racism
, as Logan had been defeated by a white
candidate.
Whatever the reason, the results of the caucus election formed a rift between Logan and his party. That year, he endorsed Republican nominee Jeb Bush
in his campaign for Governor. He also formed an exploratory committee
and began to test the waters for an Independent campaign for the U.S. Senate.
On September 29, 1999, Logan officially announced his candidacy as an Independent. Under the slogan "Think Independent," he embarked on a motorcycle
tour of the state, which ended with a rally at the state capitol in Tallahassee
. Hiring Bill Hillsman
, the adman credited with the upset victories of Senator Paul Wellstone
and Governor Jesse Ventura
in Minnesota
, Logan aired one television ad, entitled "Shades," in which, in an homage
to the film Patton
, the sunglasses
-clad Logan stood onstage before a blown-up $1 million-bill and inveighed against "Big Money politics."
In addition to his position in favor of strict campaign finance reform
, which was the central issue of his campaign, Logan also campaigned on promises to enact strong environmental protection
and gun control
laws, slash corporate welfare
, reduce spending on military programs that he deemed unnecessary, enact the Patients' Bill of Rights
, cut the income tax
for couples making $70,000 a year or less, protect the Social Security Trust Fund
, and open up trade
with China
.
Although opinion poll
s generally showed Logan's support to be in the double digits, sufficient to gain him entry into a series of televised debate
s between the "major" candidates (which Logan was widely believed to have won), this support proved ephemeral on Election Day, as Logan placed a distant third with just 80,830 votes, or about 1.38%.
In March 2001, Logan, who had retired from the House in order to run for the U.S. Senate, was arrested in a public restroom
in Miami Beach
on charges of indecent exposure
, battery
, and possession of marijuana. The affidavit
filed by the arresting officer claimed that Logan was seen masturbating
in one of the restroom's stalls and subsequently resisted arrest
. A single mariujana "joint" was found in his pocket. Logan was released on bail
and, in August of that year, all charges against him were dropped after a judge
ruled all evidence against him inadmissible on the grounds that the arresting officer had violated his right to privacy
by spying on him through a peephole
in the bathroom stall.
In 2004, Logan made an aborted attempt at a political comeback, entering the race for Miami-Dade County Commissioner, seeking to represent the first district. Running as a Democrat, he placed second in the August primary with 26% of the vote, but lost the November runoff to fellow Democrat Barbara Jordan, receiving just 39% of the vote.
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. A former member of the Florida House of Representatives
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The House is composed of 120 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 156,677.The House convenes at...
, he campaigned for the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
as an Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
in 2000.
Biography
Born in Northern Miami-Dade County, Logan graduated from high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in 1975, Logan attended Miami-Dade Community College, from which he earned an associate's degree
Associate's degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...
, before graduating with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree from the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
in 1977.
After working for three years in the insurance industry, and volunteering for several political campaigns, Logan made his first run for public office in 1980, being elected mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Opa-locka, Florida
Opa-locka, Florida
Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the mid decade census, the population was 15,376 as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau....
at age 23, making him the youngest mayor of any American city at that time. That same year, he founded the Opa-locka Community Development Corporation, a non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
that he eventually built into a multi-million dollar organization with five subsidiaries
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
.
In 1982, while still serving as mayor, Logan ran as a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
for the Florida House of Representatives and won. He served in the House for 18 years, during which time he was consistently rated as one of the most effective Democratic legislators in the heavily-Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Chamber.
In 1998, Logan touched off a firestorm of controversy when, after serving for 16 years and becoming one of the caucus' senior legislators, he was ousted as the first African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Speaker
Speaker (politics)
The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
-designate in the Chamber's history by his fellow Democratic legislators and defeated for the post of minority leader
Minority leader
In U.S. politics, the minority leader is the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative body. Given the two-party nature of the U.S. system, the minority leader is almost inevitably either a Republican or a Democrat, with their counterpart being of the opposite party. The position...
. Logan's detractors claimed that this was because of Logan's apparent disinterest in caucus affairs, while his supporters charged that it was the result of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, as Logan had been defeated by a white
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
candidate.
Whatever the reason, the results of the caucus election formed a rift between Logan and his party. That year, he endorsed Republican nominee Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
in his campaign for Governor. He also formed an exploratory committee
Exploratory Committee
In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to United States Presidential hopefuls, prior to the primaries.Exploratory...
and began to test the waters for an Independent campaign for the U.S. Senate.
On September 29, 1999, Logan officially announced his candidacy as an Independent. Under the slogan "Think Independent," he embarked on a motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
tour of the state, which ended with a rally at the state capitol in Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
. Hiring Bill Hillsman
Bill Hillsman
William Gerard Hillsman, Jr. is an American political consultant and advertising executive. He works and lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota...
, the adman credited with the upset victories of Senator Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...
and Governor Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Logan aired one television ad, entitled "Shades," in which, in an homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to the film Patton
Patton (film)
Patton is a 1970 American biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H...
, the sunglasses
Sunglasses
Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...
-clad Logan stood onstage before a blown-up $1 million-bill and inveighed against "Big Money politics."
In addition to his position in favor of strict campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
, which was the central issue of his campaign, Logan also campaigned on promises to enact strong environmental protection
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
and gun control
Gun politics
Gun politics addresses safety issues and ideologies related to firearms through criminal and noncriminal use. Gun politics deals with rules, regulations, and restrictions on the use, ownership, and distribution of firearms.-National sovereignty:...
laws, slash corporate welfare
Corporate welfare
Corporate welfare is a pejorative term describing a government's bestowal of money grants, tax breaks, or other special favorable treatment on corporations or selected corporations. The term compares corporate subsidies and welfare payments to the poor, and implies that corporations are much less...
, reduce spending on military programs that he deemed unnecessary, enact the Patients' Bill of Rights
U.S. Patients' Bill of Rights
A Patient's Bill of Rights is a statement of the rights to which patients are entitled as recipients of medical care. Typically, a statement articulates the positive rights which doctors and hospitals ought to provide patients, thereby providing information, offering fair treatment, and granting...
, cut the income tax
Income tax
An income tax is a tax levied on the income of individuals or businesses . Various income tax systems exist, with varying degrees of tax incidence. Income taxation can be progressive, proportional, or regressive. When the tax is levied on the income of companies, it is often called a corporate...
for couples making $70,000 a year or less, protect the Social Security Trust Fund
Social Security Trust Fund
In the United States, the Social Security Trust Fund is a fund operated by the Social Security Administration into which are paid contributions from workers and employers under the Social Security system and out of which benefit payments to retirees, survivors, and the disabled, and general...
, and open up trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
with China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Although opinion poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
s generally showed Logan's support to be in the double digits, sufficient to gain him entry into a series of televised debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
s between the "major" candidates (which Logan was widely believed to have won), this support proved ephemeral on Election Day, as Logan placed a distant third with just 80,830 votes, or about 1.38%.
In March 2001, Logan, who had retired from the House in order to run for the U.S. Senate, was arrested in a public restroom
Washroom
A public toilet is a room or small building containing one or more toilets and possibly also urinals which is available for use by the general public, or in a broader meaning of "public", by customers of other...
in Miami Beach
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
on charges of indecent exposure
Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...
, battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
, and possession of marijuana. The affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
filed by the arresting officer claimed that Logan was seen masturbating
Masturbation
Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...
in one of the restroom's stalls and subsequently resisted arrest
Resisting arrest
Resisting arrest is a term used to describe a criminal charge against an individual who has committed, depending on the jurisdiction, at least one of the following acts:* threatening a police officer with physical violence while being arrested...
. A single mariujana "joint" was found in his pocket. Logan was released on bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
and, in August of that year, all charges against him were dropped after a judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
ruled all evidence against him inadmissible on the grounds that the arresting officer had violated his right to privacy
Privacy law
Privacy law refers to the laws which deal with the regulation of personal information about individuals which can be collected by governments and other public as well as private organizations and its storage and use....
by spying on him through a peephole
Peephole
A peephole is a small opening through which one may look.In a door, a peephole allows people inside the security of seeing outside without opening the door...
in the bathroom stall.
In 2004, Logan made an aborted attempt at a political comeback, entering the race for Miami-Dade County Commissioner, seeking to represent the first district. Running as a Democrat, he placed second in the August primary with 26% of the vote, but lost the November runoff to fellow Democrat Barbara Jordan, receiving just 39% of the vote.
External links
- Willie Logan for U.S. Senate
- "Big Willie Style" by Jake Tapper
- Former State Representative Arrested In Park Restroom
- Judge Issues Ruling In Willie Logan's Case
- OurCampaigns: FL US Senate Race - Nov 07, 2000
- OurCampaigns: Miami-Dade District 01 Race - August 31, 2004
- OurCampaigns: Miami-Dade District 01 Race - November 2, 2004