Ryan Nicol
EMILY’s List — a national organization aimed at electing Democratic women who support abortion rights — is endorsing Daniella Levine Cava in the Miami-Dade County Mayor’s race.
Levine Cava is seeking to be the first woman Mayor in the County’s history. She currently represents District 8 on the Miami-Dade County Commission.
Stephanie Schriock, the President of EMILY’s List, released a statement Wednesday confirming the endorsement.
“Daniella Levine Cava is an innovative leader with a clear vision for the future and a proven track record of fighting for Miami women and families,” Schriok said.
“Under her leadership as a county commissioner, Miami-Dade County became the first county in the United States to sign on to the UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and went on to adopt policies to ensure equal pay and equity for women in contracting and hiring. Once elected, Daniella will focus on closing the prosperity gap, curbing gun violence, and addressing the effects of climate change. It’s clear that she will continue to be a strong advocate for this community and EMILY’s List is excited to support her campaign for mayor of Miami-Dade County.”
Levine Cava is one of eight candidates running to replace outgoing Mayor Carlos Giménez, who is term-limited.
Also competing in the contest are entrepreneur Monique Nicole Barley, County Commissioners Esteban Bovo, Jean Monestime and Xavier Suarez, former Miami mayoral candidate Robert Burke, real estate agent Ludmilla Domond and former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas.
Levine Cava has been a strong fundraiser, trailing only Penelas in overall money added to her campaign.
In early March, Levine Cava announced she had collected more than 11,000 petitions as she attempts to use that method to qualify for the 2020 ballot. That’s about 80% of the 14,254 signatures required to be submitted by April 28.
But the spread of the coronavirus may affect that and other aspects of the campaign going forward. Multiple mayoral campaigns have said they would cease in-person campaign activity for the time being as society works to contain the virus’s spread.
