Daniella Levine Cava made history in 2020 by becoming the first woman elected[1] as Mayor of Miami-Dade County. She now wants to see Eileen Higgins do the same thing in the city of Miami.
Levine Cava, who is now serving her second and final term as county Mayor, just endorsed Higgins as her preferred candidate to succeed term-limited Miami Mayor Francis Suarez.
Levine Cava said that as a colleague on the County Commission and from the Mayor’s Office, she has watched Higgins “take on tough challenges and turn plans into real results: more affordable housing, smarter transit, support for small businesses, and environmental action.”
“Eileen Higgins delivers for people — plain and simple,” she said in a statement. “Miami needs a Mayor who leads with integrity, accountability, and a clear plan to get things done. Eileen is that leader, and I’m proud to endorse her for Mayor of Miami.”
Since her upset election[2] to the County Commission in June 2018, Higgins has backed legislation to expand Miami-Dade’s living wage requirements[3], provide paid sick leave[4] to workers and improve transit.
She also spearheaded efforts like the MetroCenter project[5] to increase affordable housing and worked to successfully secure hundreds of millions of dollars in state and federal funds for local transit and infrastructure improvements.
The nod from Levine Cava on Wednesday joins others from Miami Gardens Sen. Shevrin Jones, Miami Rep. Ashley Gantt, SAVE Action PAC[6], LiUNA Local 1652[7], SEIU 32BJ[8], Equality Florida Action PAC[9], EMILY’s List[10] and Ruth’s List Florida[11].
Higgins said in a statement that she’s “honored” to have Levine Cava’s support.
“We share a commitment to restoring trust in government and putting residents first,” she said. “As Mayor, I’ll make Miami City Hall a partner, not a roadblock — cutting red tape, expanding affordability, and delivering safer, more connected neighborhoods — because it’s what our community deserves.”
Higgins is one of 13 candidates[12] running to succeed term-limited Mayor Francis Suarez.
Other Democrats in the race include former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell, Ellijah Bowdre and Michael Hepburn.
Republicans running for Mayor include Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, former Miami Commissioner Alex Díaz de la Portilla, former City Manager Emilio González, Christian Cevallos, Alyssa Crocker and June Savage.
Candidates Laura Anderson, Kenneth DeSantis and former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez, who previously served as a Miami-Dade Commissioner and is the current Mayor’s father, have no party affiliation.
Miami’s elections are technically nonpartisan.
The General Election is Nov. 4.
If no candidate in a given race receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two vote-getters will compete in a runoff.
References
- ^ first woman elected (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ upset election (www.google.com)
- ^ living wage requirements (www.miamidade.gov)
- ^ paid sick leave (www.miamiherald.com)
- ^ MetroCenter project (www.miamitodaynews.com)
- ^ SAVE Action PAC (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ LiUNA Local 1652 (www.liunalocal1652.org)
- ^ SEIU 32BJ (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ Equality Florida Action PAC (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ EMILY’s List (floridapolitics.com)
- ^ Ruth’s List Florida (ruthslistfl.org)
- ^ 13 candidates (www.voterfocus.com)