Jesse Scheckner
Miami bass pioneer Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell wants Miami-Dade County voters to “Shake It” to the polls and re-elect Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
The former 2 Live Crew leader and past mayoral candidate endorsed Levine Cava in an emphatic X post.
“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls the great people of Miami-Dade County,” he wrote just before 1 p.m. Wednesday. “I am putting all of my support behind @MayorDaniella that’s my girl get out and vote for her.”
Then in what might be interpreted as a defense of her performance in light of reports on the county’s lagging transit development and disrepair in public transportation infrastructure, Campbell added, “She’s doing a great job and has a lot more to do Rome wasn’t built or rebuilt overnight.”
Campbell’s endorsement of Levine Cava is an about-face from his position in 2020, when he endorsed her opponent that year, Esteban “Steve” Bovo, for the job.
He joins 25 of Miami-Dade’s 34 municipal Mayors and a passel of labor unions and advocacy organizations in backing Levine Cava.
Levine Cava, the first woman and Jewish person to serve as Miami-Dade Mayor, entered 2024 in a strong position to defend her job. She raised more than $3 million last year, of which she had $2.3 million on New Year’s Day. And she’s close to repeating a previously unprecedented feat she accomplished in 2020 by qualifying for the Mayor’s race by petition.
Five people are running against her in the technically nonpartisan contest. Three are Republican: Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid, GOP social media influencer Alex Otaola and actor Carlos Garín, who previously mounted unsuccessful bids for Congress and the Miami-Dade Commission.
Miguel “el Skipper” Quintero, a trapeze artist who received numerous citations for code violations at his home-based circus business, is the only other Democrat in the race.
Eddy Rojas, a cargo and transportation executive with no party affiliation, is also running.
Cid ended 2023 with $221,000 in campaign cash. Otaola had about $142,000. Quintero had less than $2,500.
Garín and Rojas filed to run at the end of January and reported no campaign finance activity yet.
All candidates for Mayor are competing against one another in the Aug. 20, 2024, Primary Election.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the two top vote-earners will face off in a runoff culminating in the Nov. 5, 2024, General Election.
