Daniella Levine Cava, Advocating for Miami-Dade Communities for the Last 40 Years

Daniella Levine Cava, District 8 Commissioner, talks about her primary concerns and how she has been serving our community for decades.

Daniella Levine Cava | Photos by Armando Carrada

“I am 63 years old, and I have been working for almost 40 years in the community, helping children, the elderly, and the less favored. I have been providing services, creating programs, looking at ways to collaborate and improve opportunities for our youth and the community in general,” says Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade District 8 Commissioner, while she talks about her government team and her advocacy for the well-being of her district residents.Currently, there is a transformative movement in which women play a fundamental role in American politics, and Daniella Levine Cava is one of its worthy representatives; due to her contribution to the local administration from her position as commissioner and for her tireless service to the community.

Daniella, who was elected as District 8 Commissioner in 2014 and re-elected in 2018, has served as an advocate for South Florida residents and communities since the early ‘80s. She has been supporting children and immigrants for her entire career, and even in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, she helped restore the lives and homes of those devastated by the storm in South Dade neighborhoods.

In 1996, Commissioner Levine Cava founded Catalyst Miami, to help low- and middle-income families through education and advocacy. “Catalyst helps approximately 5,000 people each year to become more self-sufficient,” reads her profile page at miamidade.gov/district08.

This tireless urge to serve the community is one of her driving forces. “We are focused on supporting sport, artistic, cultural and community participation programs for our young people, to provide them with alternatives that could potentially set them apart from violence, gangs or other criminal groups,” she says.

She emphasizes that one of the big problems we have in Miami-Dade is violence, which has been increasing in recent years, not only in the poorest neighborhoods but also throughout the county where residents have been affected.

“We are proposing laws to investigate where the weapons come from so that we can have insights to share with law enforcement agencies and establish preventive measures,” adds Cava. However, this proposal has been halted as the state does not allow local communities to pass any laws to regulate guns. “They even say that if you pass a law locally, a legislator could be fined, removed from office, or even potentially jailed. Now there is a lawsuit to try to overturn that law.”

FPL Awards $20K Scholarships to 10 South Florida Students

In addition to violence, another aspect that needs immediate solutions is the “affordability crisis,” as she calls it. “Our community is going through a prosperity gap, which is forcing residents out. Rent and home prices are skyrocketing, and the cost of living continues to rise much faster than wages. We need to make Miami-Dade more affordable so our families and younger generations decide to stay here, which in turn will help our local economy.”

Commissioner Levine Cava announced last April she was running for mayor of Miami-Dade County. Her concerns are based on the prosperity gap, threat of sea-level rise, and widespread distrust in county government. She set out a campaign under the slogan #AMayorWhoCares about these and many other issues the county is facing.

Haz clic para leer en Español: Daniella Levine Cava: Abogando por las comunidades de Miami-Dade durante los últimos 40 años