Daniella Levine Cava launches re-election campaign for Miami-Dade Mayor

Democratic Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, who is running for re-election next year, will hold less sway over the county's law enforcement and elections operations of voters keep her in office. Image via Facebook.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is officially running for re-election.

So far, she is the only candidate for Mayor on the ballot, county records show.

“Two years ago, I made a promise to build a government that listens, responds and innovates for the future,” she said in a statement.

“Today, I am launching my campaign for re-election to continue the work we started and deliver results for you. Now more than ever we need to fight for our freedoms so our residents can have their voices heard in government and our neighbors can feel safe in their communities, while having an equal shot at the American Dream.”

To mark her official entry to the Nov. 5, 2024, Mayor’s race, Levine Cava’s camp debuted a new campaign video Wednesday interspersing English- and Spanish-language messaging to detail her accomplishments and plans.

Levine Cava made history in 2020 as the first woman and the first Jewish person elected Mayor in Miami-Dade. Under her administration, the county lowered property taxes, set aside more than half a billion dollars to expand the local affordable housing supply with tens of thousands of new units and got to work on its “Connect 2 Protect” initiative to hook up properties on septic tanks to the county’s sewer system.

By the end of last year, Miami-Dade boasted a 1.5% unemployment rate, had diminishing levels of gun violence and was making encouraging progress on countywide public transportation development after more than a decade of previously misspent transit-tax dollars.

Miami International Airport had its busiest year ever. PortMiami welcomed more than 4 million cruise passengers and enjoyed an estimated 3% cargo uptick.

In December, Levine Cava unveiled a multiyear plan to address extreme heat in the county and protect residents from its effects. The following month, at her first in-person State of the County address since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, she announced a new innovation fund to spur progress in resiliency, housing and health care, among other things, and discussed further investments in affordable housing and rental assistance.

She also plans to “close the digital divide” through a new Broadband and Digital Equity Action Plan with partners including the Miami Foundation and Miami Connected.

“The time is now to seize on a moment of historic growth and new possibilities to deliver an economy that works for our residents, where people have the freedom to prosper and thrive,” she said.