Omari Hardy facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Omari Hardy
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 88th district
In office November 3, 2020 – January 10, 2022
Preceded by	Al Jacquet
Succeeded by	Jervonte Edmonds
Personal details
Born	(1989-11-28) November 28, 1989 (age 35) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	University of Miami (BA)

Omari J. Hardy (born November 28, 1989) is an American politician. He served in the Florida House of Representatives for the 88th district. His term began on November 3, 2020, and ended on January 10, 2022.

Early Life and Schooling

Omari Hardy was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He went to college at the University of Miami, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. Economics is the study of how people make, share, and use things of value.

Political Career

Before becoming a state representative, Hardy worked as a teacher. He also served on the City Commission for Lake Worth Beach, Florida. A city commission is a group of elected officials who make decisions and create laws for a city.

A Famous City Meeting

In March 2020, Hardy became well-known across the country after a video of a city meeting went viral online. This was at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a global health crisis.

Before the meeting, Hardy had argued for new rules to help people in his city. He wanted to stop the city from shutting off utilities like electricity and water for people who couldn't pay their bills. He also wanted paid sick leave for city workers and for the city to cover their medical costs if they got sick with the virus.

Hardy's ideas were not immediately accepted. During an emergency meeting, he criticized the City Manager, Michael Bornstein, for letting the utility shutoffs happen. He also said the mayor was not protecting the city's residents.

In a passionate speech, Hardy said, “We cut people’s utilities this week and made them pay... to turn their lights off in a global health pandemic. But you don’t care about that!”

Bornstein later said that about 100 customers had their utilities turned off that week, but the services were turned back on the day before the meeting. The mayor accused Hardy of trying to get attention for political reasons.

A video of this argument was posted on YouTube and was watched millions of times. Many people supported Hardy, including famous figures like basketball star Shaquille O’Neal and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.

Florida House of Representatives

In October 2019, Hardy announced he would run for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives. This is one of the two groups that make up Florida's state legislature, which creates laws for the state. Because of a Florida law, he had to resign from his job on the city commission to run for the state office.

While serving in the House, Hardy once caused a stir during a debate. He said that another representative had used a hurtful term to describe a Black colleague.

2022 Special Election for Congress

In April 2021, the U.S. Congressman for Florida's 20th district, Alcee Hastings, passed away. A special election was held to choose someone to take his place in the United States Congress. Omari Hardy decided to run for this position.

He ran as a progressive candidate. This means he supported big ideas for social change. His platform included:

• Medicare for All: A plan for a government-run health insurance system that would cover all Americans.
• Green New Deal: A large-scale plan to fight climate change and create jobs in green energy.

Hardy also spoke about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. He supported a movement called Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel. This movement encourages people and groups to protest Israel's policies toward Palestinians by refusing to buy Israeli products or invest in Israeli companies.

Because of his views, a political group that supports Israel ran ads against him. The ads accused him of being against Jewish people because he supported BDS and opposed U.S. funding for the Iron Dome, which is an Israeli missile defense system.

Hardy did not win the election. He received less than 6% of the total votes.

Personal Life

In 2011, Hardy was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This is a condition that can affect a person's attention and self-control.

External links

• Florida House of Representatives - Omari Hardy
• Campaign website