Raise the roof! After thinking it over, Uncle Luke has decided to run for Mayor of Dade County following the recall of Carlos Alvarez on March 15th. He gave an interview with Miami New Times on his campaign and why he’s the best man for the job.

New Times: Why are you running? Are you crazy?
Luther Campbell: I am mad frustrated. I have always been involved in politics, going back to my battles in the city of Miami Beach, dealing with the city commissioners and the mayor. I ran my own nightclub, and I believed African-Americans were treated badly during Memorial Day weekend.

I’ve thought about running for public office before, but someone would always end up talking me out of it, saying, “We have this good person here, he will do good for the community,” so I always backed out. But I’d end up frustrated because they didn’t do anything. I’d give them ideas and they would just tell me what they wanted to hear.

I get in my car, ride around Liberty City, and everything looks the same as when I was in the neighborhood growing up. I see the same crimes in the same areas. Officers and residents are still getting killed in the community I grew up in. I go to a city like Atlanta that has sensible affordable housing, and no one is being murdered. I go to Miami International Airport and see the same construction that has been going on for like a hundred years. All of that frustrates the hell out of me. Why aren’t we getting it right in Miami-Dade? Why is our government only serving one set of people? That’s what is pushing me to run.