Make no mistake about it. Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava could have resigned in time for her replacement to run at the same time as the other seven commission races.
Instead, her decision to defer the effective date may end up costing the county taxpayers nearly $1 million for a special election.
Levine Cava has said that she had no part in the delay of her replacement. Through her campaign consultant, 
Christian Ulvert, she said that a county attorney opinion shows the date of her resignation triggers the process for the commission to replace her or call for a special election.
Like when former Commissioner Bruno Barreiro chose to run for congress and resigned his seat effective immediately. Las malas lenguas say he did that on purpose to create a special election scenario for his wife, Zoraida Barreiro, who managed to get into a runoff and lose to Eileen Higgins.
Levine Cava herself chose to have the effective date be November 16, at 11:59 p.m. — so she’s hanging on to the very last minute. If she had resigned effectively in May or June, even, there would have been plenty of time to put the four wannabes that have filed to run in 2022 — but had every intention of running this year since Levine-Cava’s mayoral campaign has been going on for more than a year — on the August ballot.
Read related: Daniella Levine Cava resigns to run for mayor on heels of happy internal poll
“That’s the information I had and that’s the information I was running on,” said Leonarda Duran Buike, one of the four candidates that are running in District 8 — eventually.
Hammocks Citizens Advisory Committee Vice Chair Alicia Arellano filed her paperwork in March, fully expecting to run in August as well.
“We want an election,” Arellano posted on Twitter after the first story about this was published in Political Cortadito. “However, when I saw the County Attorney’s opinion, a special election doesn’t seem likely until the beginning of 2021. The board could appoint someone earlier.”
Palmetto Bay Vice Mayor John DuBois told Ladra that he was uncomfortable the way the opinion was distributed — 
or, rather, not distributed — to the candidates vís-a-vís the county clerk or elections supervisor and why it wasn’t sent to the other commissioners. Just Levine Cava, who asked for the opinion.
More than a month after she resigned, there’s been a lot of speculation about the commissioner’s timing. Most political observers believe that Levine-Cava knew exactly what she was doing and fully intended for this to happen this way. Why? There are a few reasons that might be advantageous, not just one.
Many think that Levine-Cava, who consistently comes in third in all the internal polls except her own, did it so she would have an insurance plan: Lose the election and get appointed to serve the rest of your two-year term. Some say that’s far fetched. But the county is going to be strapped for cash soon due to the COVID-caused economic downturn, so there could be arguments made to save the $900,000 that Elections Supervisor Christina White says it would cost to have a special election and runoff ($450K a piece). I can hear all the excuses and justifications already. Voters intended for her to serve a four-year term anyway, right?
That’s going to be the same argument if the commission decides to have a special election — within 90 days, so we’re looking at February? Yuck — and Levine Cava runs for her own seat. Yep, it’s not impossible. Can’t you hear the false arguments? She wouldn’t want to abandon her people (again). It stands to reason that she could win her district again. Her support is more deep than wide.
But there’s yet a third reason. This November resignation date allows her to stay on the commission with the other two colleagues running for mayor — Commissioners Esteban “Stevie” Bovo and Xavier Suarez — through the campaign. Which allows her to be there for important votes. Which allows her to use that leverage to raise money from interested parties. The commissioner position also allows her to use her office to campaign.
Ladra has spoken to several campaign consultants and they all agree that it would have been a disadvantage to resign 
before she had to if only for that last reason.
Ulvert, who is also representing District 8 candidate Danielle Cohen Higgins, told Ladra that he did not want a special election and that they, too, had expected the races to be concurrent. As proof, he sent Political Cortadito this graphic for a mailer that they had planned — but never printed. Notice the date says Aug. 25 and not Aug. 18, which is the real election date, which Ulvert surely has drilled into his skull. It’s an odd mistake.
(Editor’s note: Ulvert told Ladra after this story was published that the Aug. 25 date was printed last year, prior to the legislature changing the election date. Last year, he said.)
Read related: Special election in Miami-Dade District 8 prompts potential charter change
And it’s a serious issue. Important enough to get on the ballot itself. The Miami-Dade Chairwoman’s Policy Council last week asked the city attorney’s office to come back with a referendum question to put a charter change on the November ballot that would mirror the stated’s process, where the simple announcement of the resignation is enough to trigger the replacement process.
It’s a good change. Ladra would recommend that the voters approve that in November.
But it’s also hard for Ladra to believe that Levine Cava didn’t do this intentionally, knowing that she could have saved the county taxpayers at least $450,000 (a runoff would still be required within 30 days, according to the county charter, so that means September, if none of the four candidates get 50% plus one in the August election). So either she is a conniving, seasoned power-hungry politician simply disguised as a grassroots granola grandma or she’s clueless.
Either way, is that good in a future mayor?
Daniella Levine Cava timed resignation to force special election in Miami-Dade added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →
