_jpg.png)
Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis recently said she is "deeply disappointed" about the decision Cynthia Moore Chestnut, Gainesville city commissioner at-large, made to endorse gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds.
On Sept. 3, Chestnut announced her support of Donalds, who is a Republican. She wrote in a Facebook post that she is a “ Black Democrat” and is not confused about who she was or what she believed.
“My endorsement of Byron Donalds is not a betrayal of my values; it is a declaration that Black voters are not political property,” wrote Chestnut. “We are not to be taken for granted, spoken to only during election season, or expected to fall in line while our concerns are ignored.”
Chestnut then went on to quote community organizer and women's rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, saying, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
Chestnut’s Reason for Endorsement
Chestnut mentioned representation in her post when she explained her endorsement.
“I want to see a Black governor of Florida in my lifetime, and I will not apologize for saying so,” Chestnut said in the post. “I do not have to agree with every vote he has taken or political decision he has made to believe that he deserves to be heard, questioned, challenged, and engaged.”
Chestnut, who is a FAMU graduate, credited Donalds, who also attended the university, for his support of historically Black colleges and universities, and their shared Caribbean roots.
“This endorsement does not mean I have not stopped being a Democrat. I simply have stopped accepting the idea that my party label should silence my judgment,” wrote Chestnut in the Facebook post. “I am endorsing Byron Donalds because Black leadership matters, political courage matters, and Florida deserves a conversation that is bigger than fear, habit, or blind.”
Davis Discusses Disappointment With Chestnut's Decision
In a lengthy Facebook post on her page, Davis, an Orlando senator, shared her thoughts about Chestnut's decision, saying it was “deeply disappointing.” At first, Davis said she wasn't going to respond to Chestnut's endorsement of Donalds, but said that Chestnut “doubled down in a way that will not let me keep quiet.”
“Dr. Chestnut is not just any Democrat. She was the first African American woman elected to the Gainesville City Commission, “ Davis wrote. “She served in the Florida House and on the Alachua County Commission, chaired the Alachua County Democratic Party, served as vice chair of the Florida Democratic Party, and helped found the Florida Democratic Black Women's Consortium, an organization dedicated in part to voter empowerment and voter education.So when a woman with THAT history invokes the "sacred value of our vote" to explain this endorsement, I have to say something.”
Davis also dove into Donalds’ voting history, pointing out that he voted against the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and his decision to not support the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Florida Voting Rights Act if elected governor. Named after two Black Florida civil rights leaders who were killed when their home was bombed in 1951, the bill would protect against voter suppression and discrimination.
“You know our history. You know what it took for Black people to gain political power in Florida,” Chestnut wrote. “So how do you spend a lifetime fighting to open doors for Black people and then lend your name and credibility to a political movement that you know many Black Floridians believe is working to close those doors?”
Davis' Concern for Chestnut’s Legacy
Davis, who is a FAMU graduate, also criticized Chestnut's comments about attending FAMU and his HBCU support.
“He attended FAMU,” wrote Davis. “He did not graduate from FAMU. But even if he had, what exactly does that prove?”
Davis added, “Attending an HBCU is not a voting record. Wearing orange and green does not erase how you vote in Washington.”
The Orlando senator ended her post by doubling back down on Chestnut and pointing out her previous support for gubernatorial candidate David Jolly.
Davis wrote, “You spent decades building a public legacy, Dr. Chestnut. I sincerely hope this endorsement is not the part of that legacy people remember most.”
Chestnut's Opinions on David Jolly’s Running Mate Pick
During a recent livestream on the Good News Report, Chestnut — who was a former mentor to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum — elaborated on what led her to endorse Donalds. She said it was Jolly's decision to name Gwen Graham as his running mate instead of choosing a person of color.
“I spoke to him the day after he made that decision and shared with him why I was concerned,” said Chestnut. “I said to him, ‘You had the opportunity to select a Black woman, a Black man, a Hispanic man, or a Hispanic woman, and you chose to go backward, not forward. Going with a Black candidate or a Hispanic candidate would have done very much to pull the state together, to pull the voting patterns together. We need to be able to reach out and recapture the votes of Black males. We need to be able to recapture the votes of Hispanics, so an all-white ticket, I don’t think, will achieve that goal.’”
But Chestnut made it clear that her support of Donalds does not extend to national political leadership.
“There's no tug to support Donald Trump,” said Chestnut. “I'm only interested in supporting Byron Donalds.”