If you missed the first Miami-Dade mayoral debate of the runoff Wednesda between Commissioners Esteban Bovo and Daniella Levine Cava, don’t beat yourself up. You didn’t miss much.
In fact, the 90 minute affair Wednesday — a Spanish-language debate on Univision 23 — made Ladra miss former Mayor Alex Penelas. At least he knows how to throw punches.
The debate covered most of the important stuff and is probably most notable for all the non COVID-19 questions about the “BayLink” connector to the beach — she wants to see a monorail like the MetroMover; he wants to wait to see what the current mayor proposes — the half penny sales tax funds for transportation expansion, sanctuary cities, permitting for businesses, affordable housing, the competitive bid process and, of course, the “defund the police” cause on which Bovo is basically running.
Read related: Alex Penelas and Steve Bovo steal the show, spar again in last mayoral debate
Bellowing like an old curmudgeon, again, Bovo — who is younger but seems older than DLC — railed that he did not want Miami to become another New York or Chicago or Portland. He said he had the police union support because he was on record as not wanting to defund the police, which has become code for diverting some of those funds — not patrol or investigation funds but certainly the fat — toward social services that help keep people out of the justice system. He keeps saying that Levine Cava would take police funding away and even has a new TV spot that, like a commercial for Donald Trump, streams images of violent unrest and uses that to scare voters.
It’s a lie to say that I will cut police funding,” Levine Cava said in her much-improved Spanish, which she should get points for. “I’ve always voted to increase police funding and I brought 80 new police officers to the south part of the county because we are growing and we didn’t have the protection we needed.”
Watching them felt like watching a reluctant spiff between Gargamel and Dora the Explorer.
Levine Cava may have said she would like to see some social programs expanded, and she voted for and co-sponsored the legislation that brought back the independent citizen review panel to provide more oversight of questionable police action. But both those issues are things that people have overwhelmingly said they want to see.
Read related: Miami-Dade ignores calls to move some police budget funds to social services
DLC got one chancletaso in when she pointed out that it was Bovo who voted in 2014 for the Gimenez budget that would have cut hundreds of police positions while she brought 80 new positions to her district in the south “because we were growing.”
She also got to turn the “communist” argument around on Bovo, not by calling him one, which is preposterous, but by preempting any attack on her liberal stripes. “Thank God we are in the United States and people can march peacefully. That’s a freedom lacking in Cuba and Venezuela.”
Drop mic.
Other than that, it was pretty much what you might expect. Maybe it was so dry because they were standing so far apart? Debates in the era of social distancing.
“Everyone knows I am a transparent person,” Levine Cava said.
“I know this community. I was raised here,” said Bovo, whose supporters have started a whisper campaign to “vote for the Cuban” or risk giving the gringos back the power they haven’t had since Steve Clark.
Blah, blah, blah.
If this is what the other debates are going to be like, let’s just vote now for Dora the Explorer.
Head to head Miami-Dade mayoral debate is a dud without Alex Penelas added by Ladra on
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” As far as gossip in Cuban circles about not giving back the mayoral seat to an “Anglo”, that is the first time I have heard that mentioned anywhere and the statement is only meant to stir up animosity against Cuban Americans. ”
MOST Cubans here in Miami are ethnic voting separatist and yes I am Cuban born in Cuba but it is insulting to imply most are not .
The truth is…. Miami-Dade deserves better than both of these payasos…
Ron Fe and J. Byrne sound like typical Trump/Bovo lackies
If Bovo becomes Mayor the county will become one big Hialeah
“La Ciudad Que Progresa Pa Tras” (The City That Progresses Backwards)
Bovo= absentee ball fraud/corruption.
Giménez 2.0.
Cava= Black Lives Matter/Antifa
and communism.
I will vote for Bovo any day of the week.
I think it’s ridiculous of Bovo to call Daniella Levine Cava a socialist. She doesn’t support a socialist agenda. We will always have freedom of speech and freedom to congregate peacefully, which is quite lacking in Cuba and Venezuela, when she is the mayor. Levine Cava is a very hard worker. She studies all the options on legislation before voting. She doesn’t have per-conceived notions on things, unlike Bovo. She will do the best for the entire community, not just the Cuban community, which is what Bovo has in mind. I am Cuban, but I think that with her background, we can count on Levine Cava to be a fine mayor and represent all the people of the county very well.
Bozo ‘wants to see what Gimenez proposes’ … that’s for Miami Beach but that gives you 100% insight into what we’ll get if Bozo is mayor: Gimenez all over again with a different face. And the criticisms re: DLC are as off-base as one can get. Bozo voted to ‘defund the police’ not DLC she ADDED 80 positions. So stop getting your knickers in a twist. DLC is anything BUT ‘communist.’ Bozo? Well the way Gimenez has taken care of his ‘friends and family’ all these years is pretty much how those communist/socialist countries run. Bozo has backed Gimenez every step of the way. You want more of same for Miami Dade County? Vote Bozo. You want meaningful change, improvement, forward thinking? Vote DLC.
The debate was not substantial for either candidate. Levine Cava responses were political correct in an effort to please the targeted audience and not true to her position. Bovo responses were in line with his position. Both candidates glided through the debate easily not challenged. The debate questions and moderators did not challenge either candidate responses, positions and or previous posture. Independent voters should research candidates positions on different venues to ascertain the accuracy of their stand. The debate was a missed opportunity.
Expected ! But Levine -Cava Transparent Person Come on You are forgetting Your TA Meetings in Homestead one of Yours Donors field office ? Every Commissioner have been tainted by Donors and Lobbyist Money ? All of You have Clean hands as the Charcoal Maker ?
Bovo is stupid to pander to police and it’s powerful union. Police just want more pay and benefits. Police just want to screw taxpayers.
This article shows how bias and socialist Ladra is. It is in fact a campaign advertisement for Cava. I was always under the impression that Ladra was a journalist, but I am obviously wrong. Its a fact that Cava stated “I will stop police foot chases so they stop persecuting our people”, that is her stance against the police that protect our beautiful and diverse community. She also dare to compare Miami-Dade County to Cuba and Venezuela, which countries have been destroyed by her similar ideas of government. I hope Ladra sticks to journalism and stops campaigning for Cava.
This article is akin to a campaign advertisement for Cava. In a previous campaign speech she stated “I will stop police foot chases so they stop persecuting our people”. That statement is wrong in some many places. First of all, her lack of knowledge about police work is obvious. Seldom do police “chase” on foot these days. By stating police “persecute” Cava infers we live in Caracas, or Havana not Miami-Dade County. Police here does not “persecute” as they do in those cities. Last of all, when she states “our people” she is referring to black people and inferring that we have a racist style of police intent on enforcing Jim Crow laws and putting blacks “in their place”. This statement made by Cava can only come from the mind of a socialist, who will defund the police of its budget intended to be used for extra patrol and security of our citizens. If you do not think that budget is needed, just ride the Metrorail these days and hope not to be beaten to a pulp by hoodlums.
As far as gossip in Cuban circles about not giving back the mayoral seat to an “Anglo”, that is the first time I have heard that mentioned anywhere and the statement is only meant to stir up animosity against Cuban Americans. Again, a campaign advertisement for Cava, not a true study of the campaign platforms of BOTH candidates.