Friction with Miami-Dade’s new election supervisor led to top staffer’s departure

In leaving her job as the top staffer in Miami-Dade County’s newly independent Elections Department, Christina White cited a conflict with her boss, Elections Supervisor Alina Garcia.

“I have come to the difficult realization that we do not share the same vision for this Office and therefore resigning from this position is necessary,” White, Garcia’s top deputy, wrote Tuesday in a resignation letter.

The letter revealed friction between Garcia, a Republican who won the supervisor race in November without experience as an elections administrator, and White, a veteran of the county’s elections operation who briefly sought the job as a Democrat before deciding against running.

The details of the conflict were not revealed in the letter, and White did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. In an interview Tuesday, Garcia praised White as a skilled administrator who was welcome to stay in her post but was better suited as a department head.

White is leaving her job to take over the Parks and Recreation Department under County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

White ran the office as the appointed elections supervisor for a decade under both Republican and Democratic mayors, earning praise for delivering Miami-Dade’s election results early in the 2018 statewide recount that brought ridicule to Broward for its flawed operation next door.

When a change mandated by the Florida Constitution required elections supervisors to be elected, White became a Democrat to run in the 2024 election in a bid to stay in charge once the department spun off into an independent and partisan office.

But before filing for the race, White opted not to run, and the contest was ultimately won by Garcia, a former state representative. Garcia kept on White as chief executive officer to run daily operations in the department.

Now, White is coming back to the county government to work for her old boss, Levine Cava, a Democrat.

Levine Cava announced White’s hire in a memo released Tuesday.

In a statement Tuesday night, White said: “I am very much looking forward to this new role where I can continue to have a positive impact on the community.”

In an interview, Garcia praised White for handing over a well-run and successful organization that continues to benefit from the systems and staff White had assembled since 2015.

“She’s a professional. She’s a great administrator. I’ve learned a lot from her,” Garcia said. “She really organized that department. It runs itself, basically.”

But Garcia also said White’s current role as her top deputy wasn’t the ideal role for her.

“Christina has done a great job at Elections. But you can’t have two supervisors of elections,” Garcia said.

In hiring White to run Parks, Levine Cava is moving the current director, Maria Nardi, to the county’s Housing and Community Development Department as assistant director. Nardi previously worked in urban planning for the city of Miami, where she helped create the Miami 21 zoning rules. Nardi has been Parks director since 2017.

White’s resignation takes effect May 30, an Elections spokesperson said. It’s not clear if White is still on the job or using vacation time to be out of the office until her employment ends under Garcia.

In her letter, White described herself as invested in Garcia’s success as supervisor. “Over the last four months, I have done everything I can to provide sound professional recommendations intended to put you in the best position for success,” she wrote.

White signed off her letter with: “I wish you the best of success in your role as Supervisor of Elections and trust you will serve the voters of Miami-Dade County with the same integrity to which they have become accustomed.”

This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 6:43 PM.