La Alcaldesa restructures Miami-Dade to focus on policy, equity, social services

Newly elected Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, the first female mayor in the county’s history, has already hired four of her top chiefs — and none of them are women.

But she told Ladra this week that she was getting ready to make more announcements and that at least one of them would be a she.

“We have a number of appointments still rolling out, including some promotions,” Levine Cava said. “We’re going to hand out a detailed table of organization on Tuesday.”

DLC does have veteran political operatives Johanne Cervone and Rachel Johnson as her chief of staff and communications director, respectively. But those are positions far lower on the ladder, not so close to that glass ceiling La Alcaldesa shattered earlier this month.

And they make way less than the chiefs (read: deputy mayors with a different name). According to a table released Wednesday by the mayor’s office, Cervone will make $175,000 a year. The other appointments are:

Morris Copeland as Chief Community Services officer, making $235,000
Ed Marquez as Chief Financial Officer, making $290,000
J.D. Patterson as Chief Public Safety Officer, making $275,000
Jimmy Morales as Chief Operations Officer, making $275,000

It’s actually a pay cut for Morales, who now makes $306,000 a year as Miami Beach city manager. Well, through Dec. 14. He resigned last month, not saying he was going to the county but everyone suspected.

_{Chief Financial Officer Ed Marquez and Chief Public Safety Officer J.D. Patterson}

Morales’ appointment is the most controversial. The former county commissioner has had a mixed track record at the Beach, where he came under the most fire for the police handling, or mishandling, of black visitors. The NAACP had asked earlier this year for him to resign or be fired.

This week, the Miami-Dade Branch of the NAACP asked Mayor Levine Cava to reconsider and send Morales packing.

“After years of being racially targeted, harassed and shot by the city of Miami Beach Police officers during high impact weekends, including Labor and Memorial days, leaders of the Miami-Dade Branch of the NAACP and other local groups called for the immediate resignation of Jimmy Morales on March 15,” the organization said in a statement.

“This appointment is very concerning to us and members of the community,” the statement continued.

DLC released a statement of her own.

“I am proud to have been an active supporter of the NAACP and to have worked closely with them for many years. I’ve spoken directly with the NAACP President and President-Elect about their concerns this week and about our shared commitment to the issues and causes I have worked on my entire career,” it said, adding that she would have a follow-up meeting with the NAACP leadership and Jimmy in the same room.

Ladra wants to be a fly on the wall for that.

“I have always been a leader who works to uplift marginalized communities and communities of color,” the statement continued. “That is exactly how I will continue to lead as mayor, and my administration will follow my core principles and values — inclusivity, fairness, and bringing people together to bridge divides. I look forward to continue an honest and thoughtful dialogue with the NAACP and with the community.”

Levine Cava told Ladra that she had spoken to NAACP Miami officers Ruben Roberts and Daniella Pierre and that they were going to give Morales a chance. “I welcome the feedback to make sure we get it right,” she said.

And then she staunchly defended Morales.

“I’ve known Jimmy for 25 or 30 years,” Levine Cava told Ladra. “I worked with him as a commissioner. I supported him for mayor. I worked collaboratively when he was in Miami Beach. I have a great deal of confidence in him as a person and as a professional.

“I think he’s done a lot to deal with this and move forward.”

She is not concerned that the climate after several police shootings of black men and the Black Lives Matter protests is too fragile for her to stand her ground. “I am the mayor, not Jimmy,” she said. “I have spent my life making sure we have no discrimination, no bias.”

To that end, she is opening an “Office of Equity” with two staffers “to start,” that will “look at everything from procurement to hiring to legislation to business opportunities,” through an equity lens. It’s something she talked a lot about on the campaign trail as part of her empowerment platform.

La Alcaldesa says that while there are existing equity efforts, they are “absolutely inadequate.” The number of businesses that are minority owned that have access to county contracts is smaller than it should be, she said, adding that the county needs to do a disparity study.

“We’re going to do a deep dive into all that,” she says. “Procurement is going to be part of the equation.”

As a commissioner, Levine Cava introduced legislation that would require an “equity impact statement” on every ordinance before the board. But it was never assigned to anyone so it’s never been done. “We are going to bring an equity lens to legislation and county practices.”

She said the main difference in her office from that of former Mayor Carlos Gimenez is that hers will be more innovative and more focused on planning, policy and social services.

“I have a very aggressive agenda for making changes in a number of things,” Levine Cava said, citing affordable housing, transportation, economic development and healthcare — she already named a chief medical officer.

She also said she was going to work closer with the cities, a criticism that many had about Gimenez, who left them out of the loop on COVID-19 crisis decisions and was stingy with the federal CARES stimulus funds for government mitigation of the costs of the pandemic response. She is reaching out to universities, colleges and religious institutions to build partnerships with them, too.

“I want more participation from a broad section of the community,” DLC said.

The new mayor also announced Wednesday that she was taking a 20% cut in salary, going from $250,000-a-year to $200K. But don’t feel so bad for her. It’s still a 300% raise from the $50K a year she was making as commissioner just last month. And the budget allocation for the mayor’s office stays the same at $4.8 million.

So, is she using the savings to pay for the Office of Equity?

“At this time of economic hardship for our community, we need to make sure we are using all County resources wisely to keep Miami-Dade on a stable financial footing,” Levine Cava said in a statement.

“As chief administrator of the County, I’m doing my part to ensure we are putting resources where they are needed most.”

Since it’s her fault that there’s a vacancy in District 8 because of how she timed her resignation, maybe she could use some of that budget to fund a special election.

Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade budget

La Alcaldesa restructures Miami-Dade to focus on policy, equity, social services added by Ladra on November 27, 2020
View all posts by Ladra →