Barbara Watson (born July 4, 1950) is a Democratic politician from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. She served in the Florida House of Representatives, representing parts of North Miami to

Miami Gardens Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located north of Downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th and Northwest 57th Avenues to its west ...

in northern Miami-Dade County, from 2011 to 2020.

History

Watson was born in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

and became active in community affairs, serving as the Director of the Andover Civic Association starting in 1992. She owned and operated Watson Antique and Classic Cars with her husband, and later served as a director on the Florida Limousine Association of South Florida and served on the Dade County Limousine Advisory Board. Following its incorporation in 2003, Watson served on the

City Council from 2003 to 2010 and was the vice-mayor from 2007 to 2009.

Florida House of Representatives

When State Representative

Oscar Braynon Oscar Braynon, II (born February 1, 1977) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Miami Gardens, Florida, Miami Gardens, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2008 to 2011 and then in t ...

was elected to the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted in ...

to replace newly elected Congresswoman

Frederica Wilson Frederica Smith Wilson (born Frederica Patricia Smith, November 5, 1942) is an American politician who has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 2011, representing . Located in South Florida, Wilson's congressional dis ...

, a special election was held to fill the vacancy in the 103rd District, which included parts of southern

Broward County Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 m ...

and northern Miami-Dade County, stretching from Bunche Park to

. Watson ran in the Democratic primary on February 8, 2011, and faced former

City Councilwoman

Sharon Pritchett Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

and Erhabor Ighodaro. The race remained close up until election day, when Pritchett narrowly claimed victory over Watson; the '' Sun-Sentinel'' called the election for Pritchett. However, following a state-mandated recount, Watson went from a 14-vote deficit to an 18-vote lead over Prichett, enabling her to clinch the nomination of her party and to move on to the general election, where she was elected unopposed. In 2012, following the reconfiguration of the legislative districts, Watson was moved into the 107th District, which, like her previous district, was based in

, but switched the reach to

Pembroke Pines Pembroke Pines is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is located 22 miles (35 km) north of Miami. The population of Pembroke Pines is 171,178 as of the 2020 census. It is a suburb of and the fourth-most populous c ...

for an extension to North Miami. She faced fellow State Representative John Patrick Julien in the Democratic primary, and, once again, faced another contentious election. Watson emerged narrowly victorious over Julien, claiming a 26-vote lead over him. Following a recount, that was cut in half to a 13-vote lead and Watson was certified as the winner. However, Julien alleged that there was absentee ballot fraud and filed a lawsuit to block Watson's victory. In spite of her opponent's claim, Watson continued her campaign, though she only faced a write-in opponent in the general election. In October, a state judge ruled that her victory was legitimate, "despite some suspicious signatures on several absentee ballots cast," and she remained on the ballot, winning the election unopposed. Watson was term-limited from the House in 2020, after serving a partial term and four full terms.

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Barbara WatsonWatson for State House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Barbara 1950 births Living people Politicians from Miami Businesspeople from Florida Florida city council members Women state legislators in Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Women city councillors in Florida 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American city council members in Florida African-American women in politics 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women