Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava beat her colleague on the dais to become the next county mayor — making history as the first woman elected to the position, the second most power political job in Florida.
Levine Cava won with 54% of the vote, an 8-point lead over Commissioner Esteban Bovo, according to the Miami-Dade Elections Department’s posted results. He beat her slightly on Election Day (by 1,493 votes) and a little more solidly during early voting (by 33,688 votes) but lost too big in absentee or mail-in ballots (by 118,670 votes) for it to make a difference.
It’s not a huge surprise. Levine Cava led Bovo in most polls — one had her up by 15 points — and her campaign had assembled a diverse and energetic coalition of supporters that included paid staffers from the Democratic Party that’s been behind her since she first ran against Commissioner Lynda Bell in 2014. Bovo just had Cubans and Republicans, which used to be enough but not anymore.
“Miami’s glass ceiling has been shattered,” Levine Cava shouted at her victory party in Wynwood, and turned serious right away.
“Tonight we are celebrating this moment, but even as we celebrate, we know that the task that lies ahead will not be easy, not be easy at all,” she said, flowing in and out of Spanish much better these days, as if it were natural to her.
“Nearly 4,000 Miami-Dade County homes are missing a loved one tonight because of COVID-19. And thousands more are fighting to recover from this virus. And our economy is struggling to get back on its feet,” la alcaldesa said. “Many residents will go to bed tonight wondering how they will make ends meet. That is the very sad reality.
“Our challenges are numerous and the journey towards recovery will not be easy. But my pledge to you is that I will work harder than ever to lift our county back up.”
She is planning to spend her first day as mayor elect Wednesday at food distribution events in Miami Beach and Miami.
Read related: Esteban Bovo uses lies, scare tactics and division to campaign for county mayor
In his concession speech, Bovo thanked his family — with whom he had gone to vote earlier that day — and God and congratulated Donald Trump on winning Florida. He was flanked by a bunch of his Republican friends, many of whom had been seen campaigning for him in recent days: Sen. Marco Rubio, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, former Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, former Sen. and Commissioner Elect Rene Garcia. Also on stage: his wife Viviana, senior advisor to Senator Rubio.
But the truth is Bovo had already looked defeated for days. Weeks, maybe. He seemed deflated. His shoulders sagged more. He must have seen the same polling numbers that Levine Cava had been boasting about.
His scare tactics rhetoric about her radical agenda and allegations that DLC would defund the police not only fell on deaf ears, but gave her the opportunity to show his record with police layoffs, which ain’t good.
And he had the gall to air TV and radio spots that said he was for diversity — somos diversos — while a whisper campaign urged Cuban-American voters to stay loyal and keep the mayor’s seat from going back to an Anglo for the first time in more than 30 years.
Las malas lenguas say Bovo’s already been on plan B, which is to run for Hialeah mayor next year or go back to work at Hialeah Park, either of which would be full circle for him. Bovo was an adman at the historic racetrack when he was appointed as a Hialeah councilman in 1998. His son, Oscar de la Rosa, was elected councilman last year.
He does not have the love of the Hialeah hoodlums, however. Mayor Carlos Hernandez endorsed former Mayor Alex Penelas in the primary. And Absentee Ballot Queen Sasha Tirador, who basically runs every campaign in the City of Retrogress, has been trashing him on radio and Twitter.
Read related: More millions in Miami-Dade’s Esteban Bovo vs Daniella Levine Cava for mayor
One thing is for sure: Bovo can raise money.
Even though he was behind almost every candidate in fundraising before he made it into the runoff, Bovo pulled up even to Levine Cava in their campaign accounts, each with about $1.75 million, according to their campaign finance reports. Levine Cava had in her political action committee, Our Democracy, than Bovo did in his A Better Miami Dade PAC ($5.27 million compared to $4.5), but he had a better final two weeks ending Oct. 30, picking up an extra $879,161 between the two accounts to her $528,278.
In total, DLC raised just over $7 million and Bovo raised $6.26 mil. But they each paid more than $12 a vote, when you do the division.
Call it the price of making history.
Miami-Dade voters elect Daniella Levine Cava first female county mayor added by Ladra on
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