Daniella Levine Cava gives Higgins the expected abrazo in Miami mayor’s race

We all knew it was coming, but Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava made it official Wednesday, wading into the Miami mayoral election, backing her political BFF, County Commissioner Eileen Higgins among the 13 candidates.
Nobody is surprised. But the timing might be key: It comes 12 hours after a less-than-lackluster performance by Higgins at a mayoral debate hosted by the Downtown Neighbors Alliance.
Read related: One-liners and other memorable moments from Miami mayoral debate
La Alcadesa’s press shop put out a glowing endorsement calling La Gringa “ethical” and “results-driven” and listed off Levine Higgins’ greatest hits: affordable housing, smarter transit, small-business grants, tree planting, plastic-cutting, fertilizer bans. It was as if she was checking boxes. Echoing the candidate’s first video ad, Higgins “has a clear plan” to get it done, the mayor said.
“Eileen Higgins delivers for people — plain and simple,” Levine Cava gushed.
Ladra has been watching these two walk in lockstep for years. Higgins has been one of Levine Cava’s most reliable allies on the dais, backing her housing plans and climate measures and showing up for the photo-ops. They’ve practically co-hosted groundbreakings together. And they share a brain in political consultant and former Democratic Party operative Christian Ulvert.
So of course Daniella was going to bless her campaign for Miami mayor. Who else was she going to endorse? Joe Carollo? Xavier Suárez?
For her part, Higgins said she’s “honored,” for the mayor’s support. “We share a commitment to restoring trust in government and putting residents first,” she said in a statement. There was nothing about sharing the blame for a $400-million budget shortfall that caused much handwringing last month and a $93 million hole that still exists in the county coffers (more on that later). But Higgins did promise to cut red tape, bring transparency, and make City Hall “a partner, not a roadblock.”
Sounds nice, though Ladra will believe it when she sees it. City Hall has a way of swallowing reformers whole. Two words: Damian Pardo.
Read related: Poll has Eileen Higgins in Miami mayoral runoff with Emilio Gonzalez
Higgins is running for the seat vacated by the termed-out Mayor Francis Suarez against 12 other wannabes that include Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez, former Miami Commissioner Ken Russell and former Miami-Dade Commissioner Mayor Sir Xavier Suárez.
A poll weeks ago had her heading into a runoff with Gonzalez, but Russell — who came in third — inched up a few notches after Tuesday’s debate, since he was more willing than Higgins to go toe to toe with ADLP and Carollo, and not afraid of throwing the dynamite.
Reached by Political Cortadito, Gonzalez told Ladra that he was not surprised that Levine Cava would support her ally.
“The same commissioner who voted for a budget that left taxpayers with a $400 million hole despite record property values,” said Gonzalez, who last week announced a bunch of law enforcement endorsements. “Where did the money go? Into waste, perks and giveaways, not into solving the real crises families are facing.”
To be fair, the county mayor and commission closed shortened the gap to about $93 million that needs to be found by midyear.
Still, Levine Cava’s endorsement gives Higgins a little extra boost as she tries to separate herself from the crowded field. She’s already got labor unions, EMILY’s List, Equality Florida and Ruth’s List in her corner, not to mention bragging rights for being the only candidate who qualified by petition signatures. And now she’s got the county mayor’s seal of approval, which comes built-in donor networks, ground game machinery and establishment clout.
But Ladra can’t help but wonder if it also comes with some baggage. Miami voters don’t exactly swoon over County Hall meddling in city business. Levine Cava has her own critics who accuse her of being too cozy with developers, too involved in the non-profit industrial complex, too slow on housing affordability, or too eager to chase headlines. If Higgins becomes “Daniella’s candidate,” she risks carrying those grievances into the city race.
That’s probably someone polled DLC’s pull in the city this last week, before making the nod public.
Read related: Partisan divide is strong in Miami mayoral race, Gonzalez vs Higgins
And let’s not forget — in Miami politics, endorsements don’t always translate to ballots. Sometimes they just remind voters of the backroom club they don’t belong to. And let’s not pretend this was some bold, game-changing move. This was expected. Levine Cava and Higgins are cut from the same cloth — progressive, policy-heavy, coalition-friendly.
Daniella just made it official with a big, warm abrazo.
The real question is whether Miami voters — who have been burned again and again by promises of “integrity” and “accountability” — are willing to believe it again.

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