Young cartoonist has admirers in the governor's mansion

A local student and budding political cartoonist draws a fan in Gov. Jeb Bush.

BY YVONNE CAREY
Special to The Miami Herald

Melissa Oppenheim is drawing attention with her political cartoons.

Last month, the 17-year-old from Southwest Ranches presented Gov. Jeb Bush and first lady Columba Bush with cartoons celebrating their achievements in the war against teen substance abuse at a state conference in Orlando.

“I was really surprised. I never thought I would meet him face to face,” said Melissa, a student at the Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale. “It says to me that the power of the pen has a profound impact on politics because I could never imagine meeting him for any other reason.”

Melissa also presented cartoons to James R. McDonough, director of the state Office of Drug Control.

In her cartoon, a takeoff on popular website myspace.com, Bush sits at a computer looking at “mygovspace.” The computer screen shows Bush tackling his “BHAG,” or Big Hairy Audacious Goal, of cutting teen substance abuse and conquering the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

Melissa gave Columba Bush a cartoon of the first lady in command of a boat with four sails showing her accomplishments, such as pride in Hispanic heritage and domestic violence protection.

“It was on a rush basis. She needed them in one week,” Melissa said, referring to Joy Mills, who managed the conference, Passport to Prevention: Navigating a Changing World.

“The governor said he liked the likenesses because he was depicted much younger,” said Mills, who commissioned Oppenheim's work.

Mills said they wanted to present to the governor, first lady and McDonough an unusual gift that would commemorate their roles in reducing substance abuse and dedication to prevention issues. After researching student political cartoonists and young caricature artists throughout Florida, she contacted Melissa.

“It sends a personal message to those who have made unparalleled strides [in the fight against drugs],” Mills said.

For several years, the Florida Prevention Partnership, which includes such agencies as the state departments of law enforcement, education, children and families, and the Florida Lottery, planned the conference. This year, it drew more than 1,000 people.

For Melissa, it has been a whirlwind of being in the right place at the right time.

Unable to get home after a family trip to San Francisco during Hurricane Wilma a year ago, a bored Melissa began to doodle images from current events, fashioned after cartoons she had seen in The Economist magazine.

She later sent them to editors at Lighthouse Point magazine and The Weston Express, where she is now regularly published.

“I draw political cartoons about news,” Melissa said.

Sometimes, she said, the magazines veto her cartoons. “They say people won't appreciate it, so I have to cater to extremely local events or go to science-based cartoons, like global warming,” Melissa said.

She received $1,000 for her work at the conference, half of which she said she will put toward her community service project, OPP-GUIDE, a pamphlet-style guide she created that reviews community service projects written by kids for kids, to help them choose service projects.