Miami-Dade commissioners likely to appoint Danielle Cohen Higgins to D8

The fix is in. Again.

Miami-Dade commissioners voted Nov. 19 to appoint a successor for District 8’s Daniella Levine Cava, who resigned to run for mayor, rather than go to a special election and let the voters decide.

And, through the process of elimination, that means that Danielle Cohen Higgins is going to be the new commissioner.

“I hope that’s true,” the attorney told Ladra Sunday. “God willing that is the case.”

This has not sat well with everybody. Not at all.

Commissioners basically said there was no money for a special election. In this time of COVID-19, nobody wants to spend around $1.2 million for an election with a runoff. We are facing austere times and there are better ways to use that money.

Like, for example, a commission Office of Budget and Policy, which will be led by former Vice Mayor and Budget Director Jennifer Moon, with a couple of other staffers and a budget of — well, look at that — $1 million or slightly more. There’s money for that.

Ladra understands the intent. This is a great idea. And in more prosperous times, it should be a priority. Because it’s a recurring cost. A special election is a one time cost. The alternative is appointing someone for two whole years, which is not what any appointments were intended for.

The commission also said at that meeting that they would only consider the candidates who had already filed paperwork associated with bank accounts opened for the 2022 race. It’s too early to qualify. So, if you had been thinking about it (Ladra is talking to you, former Police Director Juan Perez), you are cheese out of luck.

But that means the job is already Cohen’s, who is considered by everyone as La Alcaldesa’s handpicked successor, in part because they share campaign consultant Christian Ulvert.

According to insiders, Cohen Higgins already has at least the seven votes she needs already, as part of the deal that gave Commissoner Jose “Pepe” Diaz the chairmanship earlier this month. So, she has his vote. That was the trade. And las malas lenguas say she also has commissioners Eileen Higgins (no relation except another Ulvert alum), the four black commissioners (the candidate is half Jamaican) and maybe even Acting Chair Rebeca “La Abuela” Sosa.

In fact, by Tuesday, it could be unanimous. Because, really, there’s nobody else.

Some of the observers thought Commissioner Kionne McGhee would vote for Palmetto Bay Vice Mayor John DuBois, a friend who helped him get elected. But DuBois has taken himself out of the running, in protest.

“I want an election. The voters said they wanted an election,” he said, referring to the Nov. 3 ballot question that would amend the county charter to require electeds who resign for higher office to have their vacated seats filled by an election at the same time.

“How they can go ahead and do an appointment, well, it’s a mystery to me,” DuBois said.

He is 100% against any appointment for the same obvious reasons Ladra thinks it’s a terrible idea: (1) It’s for two years, not three or six months or even 11 months. Two years! That’s a congressional term! (2) The people just voted overwhelmingly against appointments.

Sure, the charter amendment approved by more than 78% of the countywide voters says the seat will be filled from now on in the same election where the seat is vacated. The vote was against appointments and special elections. But Ladra is pretty sure the appointments was the driving force.

Again, two years is a long time. A state House term.

The people’s will was also on his mind when Commissioner Rene Garcia voted against it, advocating for a special election.

A third candidate, Leonarda Duran Buike (photo), could be a grassroots dark horse in an election. But she doesn’t have the political palanca needed to get appointed. A fourth candidate, Alina Arellano, is reportedly a plantidate whose raised less than $2,400 and is only there to steal votes away from Duran, the only other Hispanic running. She’s pulling an Alex Rodriguez.

Duran Buike said she did not think an appointment was fair unless that person committed to not running in 2022. Cohen Higgins told Ladra she had no intent of dropping out of the race. She has been the frontrunner, having campaigned for 18 months, and has raised close to $190,000 in her campaign account as of the end of October.

The next two years are going to have some very important decisions and the person in the District 8 seat should be held accountable for those decisions. People can vote her out or (re) elect her if she’s done a good job.

“The residents of District 8 deserve far more than a babysitter,” she said.

Besides, the commissioners could ask for that kind of promise, but they can’t enforce it.

So, and maybe this is letting the wind out of someone else’s sails, but it looks like Danielle Cohen Higgins is a lock. She will be the new commissioner for District 8. What do we know about her?

Cohen Higgins was born at Jackson Memorial Hospital and grew up in South Dade in what is now a Section 8 housing complex named Milton Manors. A product of Miami-Dade public schools, she lost her father when she was 8 and was raised by a single mom who takes public transportation to work.

She graduated in the top 2% of her class at Sunset High and attend the University of Florida on a scholarship, becoming the first in her family to get a college degree. In 2006, she graduated from Florida State University School of Law and has been an attorney since she was 24. Cohen worked briefly at Greenberg Traurig before forming her own boutique law firm.

She was six months pregnant when she started walking door to door. She and her husband also have a little boy.

She’s running “to strengthen our community by improving affordability, investing in real transit solutions, and focusing on sustainable practices to protect and beautify our neighborhoods for generations to come.”

Danielle Cohen Higgins

Miami-Dade commissioners likely to appoint Danielle Cohen Higgins to D8 added by Ladra on November 30, 2020
View all posts by Ladra →