Miami-Dade mayor’s political committee made an ad — and the county aired it

Before Miami-Dade’s mayor delivered her State of the County speech Wednesday night, the audience in the auditorium and those watching on the government’s online broadcast saw a polished video praising Daniella Levine Cava for both “strong leadership” and “progress you can see and feel.”

If the images of smiling constituents and gushing slogans looked like a campaign ad, that’s not a coincidence. The political committee behind the Democratic mayor’s 2024 reelection campaign, Our Democracy, paid for the video as Levine Cava works to fend off a recall petition drive from one of her Republican opponents in that race.

“Act now to support Mayor Daniella,” read an Our Democracy fundraising email that went out Thursday morning promoting the video. “Click below to watch Mayor Daniella’s new video ad, which premiered during her State of the County address.”

Levine Cava’s office said the PAC-provided video violated no law because there was nothing related to politics in the footage or narration.

“The Mayor is not on the ballot, and there was no political content shared in the video,” read the statement from her office. “It was a highlight of her work as the County Mayor.”

Titled “Real Leadership, Real Results,” the video showed footage of Levine Cava on the campaign trail and at county events while the narrator praises her leadership. “Miami-Dade is stronger than ever,” the narrator said. “Mayor Levine Cava is focused on progress you can see and feel.”

Mayors rarely get a friendlier crowd than at the annual State of the County speeches, where seats are filled by Miami-Dade department heads, elected officials, lobbyists and members of the public interested in watching a two-hour celebration of Miami-Dade’s top administrator.

The county’s YouTube airing of the speech had 1,100 views as of Thursday afternoon. By comparison, a video posted yesterday from the YouTube show of Alex Otaola, the Spanish-language host leading the recall effort against Levine Cava, had 11,000 views.

But the inclusion of the video in Levine Cava’s most high-profile night of the year highlights the priority her political team is giving Otaola’s recall effort. Launched by the filing of forms with the county clerk’s office, the petition drive has about 14 weeks to gather the required 66,000 voter signatures to spark a countywide referendum on whether Levine Cava should be removed from office. Otaola, who received 33,259 votes in 2024 to Levine Cava’s 163,668, is justifying the recall based in part on what he claims is overspending by the mayor’s administration.

The stakes are high: amid a recession and housing crash in 2011, voters ousted then-Mayor Carlos Alvarez after a successful petition drive funded by billionaire Norman Braman. At the time, Alvarez had championed an increase in county property tax rates and the public funding of Marlins Stadium. (Tax rates have dropped slightly under Levine Cava.)

In a press conference before her State of the County speech, Levine Cava dismissed Otaola’s effort as a “publicity stunt” for the third-place finisher in 2024’s election. But her petition drive is also giving her political operation a target.

When the clerk’s office approved Otaola’s recall paperwork two weeks ago, Our Democracy sent out an online petition for Levine Cava’s fans to show their support. Thursday’s email promoting the State of the County video didn’t mention the recall effort but urged readers to make a donation to “fight back against political chaos.”

Christian Ulvert, the Levine Cava consultant who runs Our Democracy, said the video cost less than $1,000 to produce.

Our Democracy posted the video on YouTube, and it includes a disclosure at the end saying the political committee paid for it. The video that aired during Levine Cava’s speech at Florida Memorial University cut off just before that wording appeared in the footage.

The Otaola operation so far appears to be a mostly online effort led by the host with a devoted following among conservative Cuban Americans in the Miami area. That includes posts urging people to visit businesses serving as petition hubs.

In a statement Thursday, Otaola accused Levine Cava of putting politics over her job as mayor.

“It is important for people to know that Daniella Levine Cava uses our funds to cling to power,” he said. “This is unacceptable.”