This snapshot was gathered in conjunction with the Museum on Main Street program at the Smithsonian Institution and its "Stories from Main Street" initiative. The project is intended to capture Americans' impressions and stories about their small-town and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, and thoughts about American democracy. This story is from a group of narratives inspired by the Smithsonian traveling exhibition, "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America."

Representative Vance Aloupis, Jr.: (00:01) As I indicated before, my district, I think is very representative of Miami as a whole. There's, as I said, real affluence in certain communities, real poverty in others, demographically is fairly consistent with what you would see in Miami. And I would say a couple of things. Obviously, the one issue that binds Miami together is traffic. And any politician that tells you that they have the solution to it is lying to you.

(00:26) It's really a cultural change to transportation, I think, it's going to require so many more variables than just new roads and new highways. People are worried about the cost of living, affordable housing, healthcare. They're worried about the quality of their children's education. And people come at these issues from different places. One of the things that I think is so encouraging about, the process in Tallahassee is that on most issues, not all, but most issues, our goals are the same.

(00:55) We all believe that every child, regardless of where you live, should have a high-quality education, that it shouldn't be limited to children in certain zip codes. I think we can all agree to that. And if you can't, then you have no business serving in office. Now, the path to that great education, I think, there are differences in opinion. And the metaphor that I oftentimes use is that; if you and I are going to Hawaii, you may fly through Dallas, and I may fly through LAX, but we're still both going to Hawaii. And the question that is before us is trying to figure out, where's the common ground? What are the issues that we can agree upon, and those issues that we don't agree upon? How do we work together and what makes the most sense for each of our constituents? But I would say, and I don't know if it's an issue, but I think the one thing that really binds together a lot of my district, and I imagine it binds together a lot of voters, is really a frustration with the divisiveness of politics and how far we've fallen.

(01:51) It's okay to disagree. It's not okay to have contempt for other people because they disagree with you on a position. It's unhealthy. And in spite of the fact that you are running in a partisan race, you are a Republican or you are a Democrat. I have found that everybody that I talk to, two things, very few people fall fully in the line of a party agenda. Very few people are a hundred percent Republican or a hundred percent Democrat. They may be more progressive on this issue, but more conservative on this issue, which to me says, more and more people are in the middle. I think you're seeing that in terms of voter registration. A lot more people are saying, "I don't want to align myself with either party. I want to be an independent."

(02:31) And then beyond that, I think it speaks more to the culture. People are really sick of a lot of, I think, the toxicity of what you're seeing creep into politics. And again, I'm one person at the very bottom of the totem pole in one state chamber. All I can do is try and be the best example that I can be for my colleagues and for my constituents, and serve in a capacity that I believe would make myself proud as a constituent that I would be proud of the service that I've presented.

Asset ID: 2022.35.03.b

Find a complete transcript at www.museumonmainstreet.org