Miami-Dade mayor demands candidate for county commission stop using her photo in mailer

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is threatening legal action against a County Commission candidate for a flier falsely suggesting she won Levine Cava’s endorsement.

The flier by District 12 candidate Sophia Lacayao shows a photo of her posing with Levine Cava and another photo of her with Annette Taddeo, a Florida senator running for Congress. Both are Democrats, and Lacayo is a Republican seeking a nonpartisan seat on the commission.

But Levine Cava and Taddeo haven’t endorsed Lacayo, a former Sweetwater commissioner who gave up her seat in 2020 over a perjury charge tied to false information about where she lived ahead of the city elections.

On Saturday, J.C. Planas, a lawyer representing Levine Cava, wrote Lacayo a letter with an image of the mailer and said the mayor’s image “was used in a manner that implies an endorsement from Mayor Levine-Cava.”

“This is obviously not the case as the mayor does not endorse your campaign,” Planas wrote. “Accordingly, the Mayor insists that you immediately cease and desist from using her image as part of your campaign. Should you fail to abide by her request, legal action may be taken against you.”

The Lacayo campaign was not immediately available for comment. The flier does not state Levine Cava or Taddeo endorse the candidate, who is running against Doral Mayor J.C. Bermudez for the seat held by term-limited Jose “Pepe” Diaz.

It’s not known where the photos were taken, but both Levine Cava and Taddeo are frequently posing with people at public events.

On Twitter Saturday, Taddeo said the Lacayo campaign used Taddeo’s photo without permission. As for the idea she would support Lacayo, Taddeo wrote: “Nothing could be farther from the truth. Please vote for @mayorbermudez.”

This story was originally published July 23, 2022 at 3:59 PM.