Odessa immigrant participates in elections in Florida: how do we get into big politics

Coming from the Soviet Union, Felix Kijner will compete during the mid-term elections in the United States on Tuesday for a seat on the council of the city of Sunny Isles Beach (Florida). As noted by the candidate in an interview TASS, he is the only or one of the very few Russian-speaking politicians in the United States who are currently conducting an election campaign.

Photo: Felix Kizhner personal archive

Without English and passport

Kizhner was born in Odessa and immigrated with his family to the United States from the USSR in 1979. “We came to New Jersey when I was 11 years old. I didn’t know English,” he said, noting that his parents were allowed to take no more than $1 thousand with them when leaving the USSR.

Kizhner, like his family, lost his Soviet citizenship when he left the country. “Back then, few people traveled with passports. When you left the Soviet Union, it was taken away from you,” he said.

In New Jersey, Kizhner graduated from high school and the state's largest university, Rutgers University, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree with a specialization in marketing.

“I was already active in politics then, I was vice-president of the Republican Club,” he said. — I understood that in the Soviet Union, for example, politics decided everything. Politics decided art, science, all budgets. And I realized that in America politics has the same influence.”

Kizhner worked in the pharmaceutical business in the United States and in Russia. In particular, he held senior positions in large corporations specializing in this field.

"Little Moscow"

The city of Sunny Isles Beach, which is located in Miami-Dade County in southern Florida, on the Atlantic coast, is often called “Little Moscow” due to its large Russian-speaking population. “No one has exact figures, but I would say that 35% of permanent residents in this city are Russian speakers,” Kizhner stated. “There are some areas or houses where, most likely, there are 40-50% Russian speakers.”

“There are people here from all over the former Soviet Union. Ukrainians, Muscovites, and [immigrants] from Moldova live here. That’s why it’s called “Little Moscow,” he stated.

According to census data, in 2017, about 22,3 thousand people lived in the city. However, as Kizhner noted, at the height of the tourist season, taking into account visitors, the population grows to 35-40 thousand people for several months. “People come from all over the world, traffic jams begin,” he said.

There are many places in the city whose names are reminiscent of Russia. In particular, there are stores “Matryoshka” and “Kalinka”. A lot of real estate belongs to citizens of the Russian Federation. “In percentage terms, this share has decreased over the past 3-4 years, but many Russians bought real estate, luxury real estate,” Kizhner stated.

A significant part of expensive housing is empty during the off-season. “If we take the eastern part of the coast of our city, then the houses are approximately 15-20% occupied, 80% of the apartments are empty,” Kizhner stated. “They were bought by very rich people who either come here during the season for a month or two, or keep them as investments.”

Fight for the post

Kizhner, along with two other candidates, David Grossman and Alex Lama, are running for the position of city deputy or city council member. In total, this body of self-government of Sunny Isles Beach consists of five people - four deputies and a city manager, they pass local laws and have one vote each. “Each of them is responsible for their own zone in which they must live, each has one vote. In principle, three votes decide the majority of legislative projects that are adopted,” the candidate stated.

As he explained, city laws should not conflict with state and county laws, federal regulations. The Sunny Isles Beach Board also elects an empowered city manager. He, together with the mayor, represents the executive branch of the city. Elections are non-partisan, it is believed that the race participants should be Republicans or Democrats should not play any role.

“I am the only Russian speaker who is participating in the race. It seems to me that he is the only Russian speaker who participates in all of America,” Kizhner emphasized. He stated that he especially counts on the votes of Russian-speaking residents of the city.

As the candidate said, the key provision of his program is ensuring road safety. “Our city has grown very quickly, and therefore we have a problem with pedestrian safety. We have places where, in my opinion, over the last year, 12 people were injured in road accidents. We also had deaths here,” Kizhner stated.

Other priorities on his agenda include ensuring budget transparency, fair taxation and distribution of funds. “We are a very wealthy city, and I can read financial documents. I can look at which departments are not making money, which do not have sufficient funds to improve the quality of life in the city,” the candidate noted.

US policy involvement

Kizhner emphasized that he would like to see more active participation in US politics by immigrants from the USSR. Now, he said, they are not voting actively enough. “There is still no federal Russian-speaking congressman, because, as I understand, ours do not know how to unite in America like other nations, other cultures,” the candidate noted. “One of the reasons why I am running is because I want to represent more of our Russian-speaking community,” he added.

“When I started talking to some people, they said: “What's the difference? Still, everyone decides without us whether we vote or not.” This apathy that exists is killing me. I want to overcome it, and I am overcoming it,” Kizhner said.

The Sunny Isles Beach City Council elections will be held concurrently with the midterms. Polling stations, like in many other American cities, will open on Tuesday at 7 a.m. and close at 19 p.m. To win, a candidate needs to get 00% of the votes plus one more. “It’s hard to get,” Kizhner stated, explaining that a second round of elections could be held in December.

“I have a real chance to win,” Kizhner noted. At the same time, he emphasized that, regardless of the outcome of the race, he considers it important that during the election campaign he raised questions that forced the city authorities to think. If defeated, the Russian-speaking candidate intends to run again when the opportunity arises. “Of course, definitely, this is just the beginning,” he emphasized.

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