Incumbent Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has topped the $5 million mark in her campaign fundraising, according to a statement from her campaign received Wednesday.

Levine Cava raised $650,000 in June, according to the press release. The next campaign finance reports are not due until Friday, but the DLC camp felt they had something to crow about: A total of $5.2 million raised, through almost 4,000 individual contributions, with an average contribution of $300. This, the campaign says, shows “strong and sustained support” for Levine Cava.

Read Full Story

Giving yet another indication that he is not a serious candidate for the Miami-Dade mayor’s seat, Alex Otaola, an activist, actor and podcaster with a penchant for the outrageous and a large Cuban-American following, chickened out of a meet-and-greet forum Monday that he had previously agreed to.

Otaola told the president of the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations Monday morning that he was too busy. Apparently, he is too busy for a telephone interview with Ladra because Diana, his handler, also cancelled Political Cortadito’s appointment with Otaola that we had for Wednesday.

Read Full Story

With about two weeks to go before absentee or mail-in ballots are sent to voters, residents in West Kendall got back-to-back mailers Friday and Saturday pushing for the re-election of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Not from her campaign. Not from her political action committee, Our Democracy.

The mailers came from the Florida Democratic Party in an indication that they are going to go all out to support La Alcaldesa against a mostly Republican field of challengers in a non partisan race that has become increasingly partisan.

Read Full Story

Survey is out — just as the mayor faces re-election

Read Full Story

A trapeze artist in a war with the county who is running a symbolic mayoral campaign against Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava was told last week that he can’t have his nickname on the ballot because it “is being used to mislead voters.”

Miguel “El Skipper” Quintero has gone by that name for years, he says. And he may appeal the decision, which he says was arbitrary, violating his due process. Quintero also says the decision indicates bias.

Read Full Story

Former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell knows her audience.

The candidate for U.S. Senate, who has challenged Rick Scott, launched a digital ad this week called “Freedom” — just in time to run on platforms streaming the Copa América fútbol tournament that draws hundreds of thousands of Latin American viewers. And Latino voters.

Read Full Story