Ryan Nicol
Miami-Dade Commissioner Jean Monestime is endorsing his colleague, Daniella Levine Cava, in the 2020 contest to be the next Mayor of Miami-Dade County.
“I have served with Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava for years and she has earned my trust and respect,” Monestime said.
“From the day she joined the dais, Daniella brought a sense of purpose and mission to deliver for our community with strong ethics and integrity. Our County needs a public servant who puts the people first and whose vision for a better Miami-Dade includes every resident and worker, and that candidate is my friend and colleague Daniella! She has a clear plan to deliver for our community and will be the voice our residents need.”
Monestime himself mounted a bid for the office after filing last fall. He withdrew his name from the running in April.
Commissioner Monestime isn’t the only new supporter for Levine Cava’s campaign. Former Chairman of the Public Health Trust Larry Handfield also says he’ll back Levine Cava in her bid to be Miami-Dade County’s first woman Mayor.
“With the many challenges we face today, we need a tried and tested leader to steer us through these tough times,” Handfield said.
“Daniella Levine Cava has been serving her community for forty years and has the experience, integrity and honesty that I we need in County Hall. Especially in the midst of this pandemic, we’re going to need someone who listens to medical professionals and puts facts and science above politics. That’s why Daniella has my vote and full endorsement to be Miami-Dade’s next Mayor.”
The two new backers are announcing their support just days after Levine Cava secured the coveted endorsement from the SEIU Florida.
“Both Jean and Larry have led our community with the vision necessary to lift up all communities in the face of racial and economic injustice,” Levine Cava added.
“Knowing that I can count on their wisdom and guidance each step of the way makes me confident we will move Miami-Dade forward and deliver the results our residents desperately need.”
Levine Cava is competing in the contest against Carlos Antonio De Armas, entrepreneur Monique Nicole Barley, current County Commissioners Esteban “Steve” Bovo and Xavier Suarez, real estate agent Ludmilla Domond and former County Mayor Alex Penelas.
Current Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez is term-limited, making the 2020 contest an open race. The mayoral election will take place alongside Florida’s primary elections on Aug. 18.
If no candidate receives a majority of the vote — a high likelihood in the seven-person field — a runoff between the top two candidates will be held during the Nov. 3 general election.
