Luther Campbell wants to be Miami-Dade County’s new mayor. The Miami New Times columnist and former 2 Live Crew frontman is looking ahead to the March 15 vote on recalling present Mayor Carlos Alvarez. In an extended column this week, he reveals his game plan for a campaign that should be a hell of a lot more fun than most. He lays out his motivation for running, why he thinks he can win, and his platform, which includes a tax on exotic dancers to help create childcare programs for single moms. So without further ado, here’s Luke!

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.