Daniella Levine Cava

Levine Cava holds one of the most powerful positions in South Florida politics, leading a government with a nearly $13 billion budget that’s responsible for more than 2.8 million residents. 

Since she was first elected in 2020, the county has added 9,000 affordable and workforce housing units. She took the opportunity of her latest State of the County address to highlight her administration’s efforts to make permitting more accessible, spur more construction of affordable and workforce housing and provide financial assistance to condo owners facing steep special assessments — all issues that have become front and center as housing and insurance costs climb, and condo owners struggle to maintain their properties in the wake of the deadly Surfside condo collapse. 

The Democrat is facing a recall petition led by one of her political opponents, social media influencer Alex Otaola, with the local Republican Party citing concerns about crime and homelessness in the county as reasons to back the effort. 

Levine Cava has a roster of backers to counter the recall campaign, with real estate players and other executives from other industries key among them, including notables such as Turnberry and Steve Ross (via PAC donations) as well as billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin. Levine Cava, a Democrat, is the first female mayor of Miami-Dade. She’s term-limited by consecutive terms ending in 2028, but she could run again in the future. 

— Katherine Kallergis