Commission upset: Daniella Levine Cava beats Lynda Bell

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UPDATED: The final votes had not even been counted, but the hundreds of people gathered at the Palmetto Bay Village Center for the victory party for Daniella Levine Cava — a political neophyte who beat powerful Vice Chair Lynda Bell — danced anyway to a live band as elected celebrities started to pour in.

And danced. And danced.

They must have felt it coming, because in the end, Levine Cava and her semi-grassroots effort had pulled off what seemed impossible a year ago, and then unlikely six months ago, and then ‘dare we dream’ two months ago: She had beaten an incumbent county commissioner. Ladra’s been told that’s only the third time that happens.

The final count was a 788-vote difference that put Levine Cava at almost 52% to 48% for Bell.

But people must have known it as soon as the early votes were tallied and the newbie challenger — who had been trailing the incumbent by as many as 560 AB votes — climbed to a 373-vote lead.

From that moment on, it was a real party.

Former Commissioner Katy Sorenson and Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner were a given whether Levine won or lost. Both Lerner and Sorenson, who did not run for re-election in 2010, paving the way for Lynda Bell to get elected, have been behind Levine Cava from the beginning. Sorenson danced like if she had won.

Then came State Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez (D-Little Havana), former Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene Flinn, then Palmetto Bay Mayor Shelley Stanzcyk, then Congressman Joe Garcia and Florida City Mayor Otis Wallace and then, drumroll please, County Commissioners Audrey Edmonson and Barbara Jordan — a sure sign that Bell had been bounced.

“Lynda Bell did a wonderful job of serving her district,” Jordan told Ladra. “But the voters have spoken.

“I’ve known Daniella for many years,” Jordan added. “I know she cares about the people. She’s up to the task. And I welcome her to the commission.”

Commissioner Edmonson said she was glad to have a commissioner more simpatico to her own vision than Bell was. My words, not hers.

“I’m happy to see she’s won because we share some of the same ideas and philosophies,” Edmonson told Ladra. “Maybe this will be the turning point.”

There were hugs, kisses, high-fives, flashing teeth and lots and lots of dancing. And not just on the dance floor.

But the guests of honor were not the political celebrities as much as the hundreds of county employees — firefighters, police officers, 911 call takers, librarians, nurses, sanitation workers, water and sewer people — who had volunteered for Levine Cava and spent days under the hot sun on Election Day and during early voting. Her victory is also a major score for labor unions who early on got behind Levine because of Bell’s hard line on their issues.

“It’s inspiring,” said a jovial PBA President John Rivera. “This is a good victory for employees,” Rivera said, adding that he thinks one vote will can a difference.

“We’ve lost some votes 7 to 6,” he told Ladra. “And often, it only takes one commissioner to have the guts to take something in the right direction.”

Shortly before 10:30 p.m., when Levine Cava was comfortably more than 700 votes ahead, Garcia took the mic to present Sorenson who presented the new commissioner (although she don’t start ’til Nov. 18).

“When firefighters join together with nurses, when police officers join together with business owners… the people win,” Garcia said.

Sorenson said she felt “so vindicated” by Levine Cava’s election.

“Daniella is a person who is smart, shes thoughtful, she’s sensitive,” Sorenson said. “She understands issues on very many levels. She’s an attorney. She’s a social worker. she cares deeply. She is an authentic person.”

Levine Cava said the eight months of the campaign were “filled with ups and downs” and she thanked the volunteers who were there. “We’re here because of you,” she told them.

She also thanked her campaign managers Matt Williams and Christian Ulvert, who she said “molded” her and the campaign.

Levine Cava was quick to start forming alliances. She asked Jordan and Edmonson to join her at the podium. Said Jordan: “I’m so excited to have another commissioner who shares my concerns.”

Said Cava: “At the end of the day it’s a coalition. Everything I’ve ever done is through a coalition… the coalition that brought us here is the coalition that will move us forward. Each of us is a part of this government — a government by the people, of the people and for the people.”

Later, she told Ladra that the people who rallied with her is what made a difference. While Bell divided the people with her negative, hateful attacks, Levine’s campaign united people.

“If not for her lies, we would have won with thousands,” she told Ladra, adding that she was looking forward to a day with “no walk lists and no call lists.”

Well, she actually does have a call list — the dozens of callers and texters who had left her best wishes Tuesday after she pulled off one of the biggest political upsets seen in recent years.

  Daniella Levine Cava, Lynda Bell