Miami-Dade has a new Mayor and for the first time in history it’s a woman
DORAL, FL – Miami-Dade has a new Mayor. Democratic Miami-Dade County Commissioner, Daniella Levine Cava, won the November 3 elections over her Republican opponent Commissioner Esteban Bovo.
With about 54% of the votes in her favor against 46% of Esteban Bovo, she became the first woman in the history of the County to be elected as Mayor since the role was created in 1964.
“I’m honored to stand before you as the first female mayor of Miami-Dade County,” she said. “This county does believe in compassionate leadership and we can be a community that takes care of all of its residents,” said Levine when she accepted her victory, as reported by CBS4.
She also expressed her gratitude towards her opponent while acknowledging he “ran a very strong campaign”.
“We’ve been colleagues on the commission for six years. I greatly admire your passion and commitment to our community and I greatly look forward to working with you at we take on some of the biggest challenges this community has ever faced,” said Levine Cava.
The recently elected Mayor declared she will work to improve the quality of life of Miami-Dade residents, and to help the county recover from COVID-19.
“Journey toward recovery will not be easy,” she said. “But my pledge to you is that I will work harder than ever, harder than ever to lift our county back up.”
She now has the challenging task to lead one of the most important counties in the nation with an annual budget of around 9.000 million dollars, and a population of 2.7 million people.
But Levine already has plans to keep up with the challenge such as expanding affordable housing and investing in infrastructure and mass transit.
“A lot of people is forced to have more than one job to be able to cover basic necessities and that is not right. We have to find a way to improve wages and lower housing pricing,” expressed the elected Mayor, as reported by Diario Las Américas.
Regarding traffic, she plans to expand the public transportation network to decrease the use of cars and to give an equal opportunity to move around the county to those who don’t own a car.
Her efforts will also be addressed towards the environment. “We have a greater risk in that area due to the sea level rise and the fact that sea salt is entering the fresh water sources we have in the Everglades. We have to raise certain streets and add water pumps to prevent flooding, as well as to finish fixing the sewage system.”
Carlos Gimenez wins in Floridas’s 26th District
While Carlos Gimenez is getting ready to say goodbye to his job as Miami-Dade County Mayor, he also prepares for a new role at Florida’s 26th Congressional District.
The Republican candidate defeated Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell with 51.73% of the vote in his favor to 48.27% of Mucarsel-Powell.
“When I first ran for Mayor, they didn’t think I was going to win that, too…I promise you I’ll be a much more effective congressperson and reach across the aisle. I won’t be as partisan as my predecessor,” said Gimenez Tuesday night in his victory speech.