— Tim Canova returned to the political stage Wednesday, two weeks after losing a hotly contested Democratic primary to U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
At a small demonstration outside Wasserman Schultz’s district office, Canova sought to pressure the Weston congresswoman into voting against the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
During the primary campaign, Canova cited Wasserman Schultz’s 2015 vote in favor of an expedited approval process for TPP to support his contention that Wasserman Schultz was more interested in pleasing big corporate campaign contributors than standing up for everyday working people.
Canova said TPP was the issue that convinced him to challenge Wasserman Schultz in the Aug. 30 primary. It also prompted some labor unions to endorse him, though the incumbent had the support of many other labor unions.
Opponents say TPP would cost 70,000 Florida workers their jobs, make prescription drug prices higher by limiting generic drugs, and lessen environmental standards. Supporters say TPP would help the American economy, and workers incomes, by opening up markets in the Pacific to more U.S. goods and preventing China from making inroads in those countries.
Congress could take up the trade deal in a lame-duck session after the November elections.
If Wasserman Schultz ends up voting for TPP, Canova said she would face political repercussions.
“I guarantee this, if she votes for the TPP, there will be somebody challenging her in 2018,” Canova told the 16 people who joined him outside Wasserman Schultz’s office. “And if it’s not me, it’ll be somebody else. And my prediction is that she’ll be challenged in the Democratic primary and by a very credible independent candidate as well in 2018 if she goes through with TPP.”
Canova has filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Congress again in 2018. But in a brief interview, he said that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll run again. “I don’t have any definite plans for 2018,” he said. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t run in 2018. I don’t know. It’s a long way away.”
Part of the reason for the Federal Election Commission filing is to “wind up” the primary campaign, in which he raised $3.8 million and ended up with 43 percent of the vote to Wasserman Schultz’s 57 percent. He said he hasn’t been fundraising since, and said he doesn’t think the campaign owes any money.
He told the people who gathered audience outside Wasserman Schultz’s office, many of whom worked on his campaign, that he plans to stay politically active. He told the group that he’s retained the lease on his Hollywood campaign office and hopes to turn it into a hub for political action. Canova said he’d have more to say about his political activities in coming days.
On his Facebook page, he promoted an appearance by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein at Miami-Dade College on Sept. 30. Since losing the primary, Canova has been largely silent on Twitter — where he was a constant presence leading up to the election — and four of his seven tweets or retweets since Aug. 30 have dealt with Stein.
“I have not endorsed her. I have not endorsed her at all,” Canova said. “I’m pretty much staying on the sidelines and not campaigning for anybody at this point.”
The professor of law and public finance at Nova Southeastern University supported Bernie Sanders’ unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, and Sanders endorsed Canova. While competing in the primary, Canova said he’d support the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. But, he said Wednesday, that was before Clinton endorsed Wasserman Schultz in the primary.
Canova said he doesn’t know who he’ll vote for in the Nov. 8 congressional election. “I’m undecided right now,” he said.
The Broward/Miami-Dade County 23rd Congressional District is overwhelmingly Democratic, virtually guaranteeing Wasserman Schultz a victory over Republican Joe Kaufman and independent/no party affiliation candidates Don Endriss and Lyle Milstein.
Canova said he was “impressed” with Milstein when he saw him during the primary season. “I’d urge everyone to take a look at him.”
Ed Wujciak, a Hollywood Democrat who wore a Sanders button to Wednesday’s event, said he too wasn’t sure who he’d vote for in the congressional race, calling it a “tough question.”
He said Canova’s candidacy “sort of unveiled the real Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Debbie Wasserman Schultz on paper looks like a Democrat, but if you look at what she does, the voting record, I think she’s turned into pretty much a Republican.”
Wasserman Schultz, a former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, was supported by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, and many other big name national and Florida Democrats.
Canova said that was a measure of how well he did in the contest. “You see how the party establishment closed ranks from the president of the United States down to the head of the Broward Democratic Party. We were up against the big machine. We fought a good fight, and again, a group like this, it’s small in numbers, but never underestimate the power of people when they’re motivated and they work hard,” Canova said.
aman@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4550
