Shocker! Monique Nicole Barley, who came in fifth in the race for Miami-Dade mayor last week — but third in a number of predominantly black precincts — endorsed Commissioner Esteban Bovo on 
Thursday instead of her fellow Democrat, Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava.
What’s more is she’s likely leaving the Democratic Party and turning — gasp — Republican. It’s the party’s fault for totally dissing her.
“This is not something that I decided overnight. It’s been bothering me for a while,” Barley told Ladra late Thursday. “The idea was already there after I saw that the Democratic Party, they really don’t stand up for what they’re supposed to stand up for. If you don’t do exactly as they say, you’re not a part of their party.
Read related: Esteban Bovo leads mayoral race, goes to runoff vs Daniella Levine Cava
“They don’t stand for their true purpose, mainly to represent the middle class, low income and the black community,” Barley said. Instead, in Miami-Dade at least, they preferred the two white millionaires.
“They never reached out to me. The Black Caucus never reached out to me,” Barley said. “And I think I had the best black agenda, what they were looking for.”
Barley said local Dems were upset with her Thursday about the choice.
“They say I betrayed them but they betrayed me,” she said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come in third 
place in the precinct with the largest black community.” She is talking about Miami Gardens, where she also benefited from the competitive commission District 1 race and state Democratic primaries that overlapped.
Miami-Dade Democratic Party Chairman Steve Simeonidis told Ladra that the party intentionally stayed out of the first round. “There were numerous qualified Democrats in the race so we were completely neutral in the primary,” he said, declining to comment further.
While the prized props would come from the top two fellow castaway candidates, former Mayor Alex Penelas and Commissioner Xavier Suarez — who came in third and fourth, respectively — they are still hemming and hawing. Bovo reached out personally to Barley after she got 5% of the vote with almost no money. Levine Cava, she said, had a surrogate call her. Or an intern, maybe.
“We were supposed to have a meeting,” she told Ladra. “But they said she was out traveling so the meeting never happened.”
Read related: Mystery endorsement for Daniella Levine Cava won’t be mayoral castaway
Barley did meet with Bovo, however. “Steve Bovo has the right ideas to take Miami-Dade County 
forward,” she says in an online endorsement. “He has shown leadership, effectiveness and a willingness to serve. Together we stand for a better quality of life for the residents of our County.”
“We are on the same page as far as issues and things that are important to me in my district, like quality parks and recreation programs, economic development in Liberty City and Model City,” Barley told Ladra.
Yeah, she said district. Did she mean county commission district 3? Where her cousin, Miami Commissioner Keon Hardemon, is expected to slide into the seat vacated by termed-out Commissioner Audrey Edmonson? Is this endorsement part of some deal?
Barley, who told Ladra this would not be her last run for office, is the daughter of former State Rep. Roy Hardemon — and comes with that family’s fundraising power and influence — who also slammed the Democratic Party with the same anti-Black rhetoric, saying it “lynched” him in 2018 by recruiting current State Rep. Dotie Joseph to run against him in the primary. Like father, like daughter?
Strange as it may have seemed at first, this endorsement does help Bovo grow his base. While nobody expects him to get all her 22,000-plus votes, it’s exactly what someone wants in an endorsement at this 
point in the game — peeling off some new votes. Bovo is going to need to get votes from across the aisle in the general if he wants to win in an increasingly partisan race in a county that Trump lost badly in 2016. Meanwhile, Levine Cava keeps doubling down on her Dem defense, adding Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and Congresswoman Donna Shalala to her progressive posse.
Bovo didn’t return a call and a text from Ladra. The only thing he posted quickly Thursday morning on Twitter was a photo with the quote from Barley exhalting him and a “thank you for supporting #TeamBovo.” He spent more time and three tweets courting Suarez on Twitter Thursday evening with compliments and agreeing with X on some of his bit 10 big issues.
Read related: Agriculture Commissioner Nikky Fried backs Daniella Levine Cava for mayor
Suarez “ran a principled and policy driven campaign,” Bovo tweeted. “We are in full agreement on making government more efficient, and as Mayor I commit to following through on his suggestions that 
I believe to be good for the taxpayers.”
He aligned himself with X, whether Suarez wants him to or not.
“On transportation, like Xavier, I am dedicated to improving our system & will rely on his valued inputs & involvement. To increase affordable housing in our county, his proposal of reviewing all county property to determine how we may utilize it in partnership with the private sector makes great sense,” Bovo tweeted in 2/3.
“I firmly believe that our county will thrive so long as we have a commitment to take the best ideas forward. Suarez & I share common values and are dedicated to good government & common sense solutions for our county’s future prosperity.”
Suarez told Ladra late Thursday that he hadn’t seen the tweets but he was still waiting to see how the two runoff candidates coincide with his positions. Penelas has told journalists that he is still thinking about who to knight, but some close to him say he won’t make an endorsement either way.
The best thing about Barley’s endorsement of Bovo is they can’t say it’s a Republican or a Cuban thing.
Monique Nicole Barley backs Esteban Bovo for Miami-Dade mayor added by Ladra on
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