'I Will Work Harder Than Ever,' Miami-Dade Mayor-Elect Daniella Levine Cava Takes Part In Food Drive Day After Election
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Democratic Miami-Dade County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava made history Tuesday after defeating Commissioner Esteban Bovo for the position of county mayor.
At a watch party in Wynwood, with about 150 people, "Girl On Fire" by Alicia Keys played in the background as she accepted her victory.
"I'm honored to stand before you as the first female mayor of Miami-Dade County," she said. "This county does believe in compassionate leadership and we can be a community that takes care of all of its residents."
She put those words into action the very first day as Mayor-Elect, reaching out to Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber.
"The first thing she said she wanted to do after the election was to help with a food drive," he said.
So Thursday morning she was helping load cars with food in both Miami Beach and Wynwood.
Standing next to the mayors of Miami Beach and Miami in front of the food drive she said, "There are 30 more municipalities, I have to work with 30 more mayors."
"I forced them to don the city of Miami mask as a symbol of the unity between city and County," Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said light-heartedly.
Levine Cava said she plans to hit the reset button with the relationships between the County and the cities.
"For 40 years I've been helping people to have a sense of a brighter future," she said. "We are only going to do it if we work together."
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Levine Cava calls herself a water warrior, a champion of the environment. She wants to expand affordable housing and invest in infrastructure and mass transit.
She supports the conversation that's come from the racial protests this past summer. She also wants to revitalize the economy.
