In debate, topics of race and gun violence divide Miami-Dade mayoral candidates

The two candidates running to administer Miami-Dade’s government as mayor differ on whether race plays a factor in how it functions, with Esteban “Steve” Bovo Jr. saying he has not seen evidence of racism there and rival Daniella Levine Cava calling it “systemic.”

“I’ve never seen any evidence of it,” Bovo, a county commissioner since 2011, said during Saturday night’s debate on NBC 6. “Obviously, if it happens, it has to be called out. As mayor, I won’t tolerate it,”

Levine Cava, a commissioner since 2014, took a different view. “We have systemic racism in county government,” she said, without elaboration.

Asked for examples after the pre-taped debate, Levine Cava’s campaign manager, Christian Ulvert, cited the county’s procurement system as the “first place we need to review closely.” A 2014 study found Black-owned businesses with an under-sized share of county contracts, compared to the number of firms available for the work.

The hour-long debate moderated by anchors Jackie Nespral and Jawan Strader included some sharp words between the two rivals running to replace term-limited Carlos Gimenez in November.

Bovo, a former Republican state representative running as a conservative champion of law and order, called Levine Cava “radical” and at risk of turning Miami-Dade into a “another New York or Portland” by shifting county dollars from core services like police and roads to social-services programs.

“She has radical ideas for our community that I’m just not down with,” Bovo said. “I love New York. I was born in New York. But I don’t want us to be another New York.”

Levine Cava, a former social worker and lawyer running for the non-partisan mayoral seat with heavy backing by the local Democratic Party, dismissed the criticism as a bid to scare voters because she hasn’t called for police cuts while advocating for Miami-Dade to focus more on social services.

“There’s nothing radical about the county caring about its citizens when spending its money,” she said. “Look, who else is going to take care of our seniors? Sure there are some state programs, there are some private programs. But at the end of the day, we are responsible for well-being of all of our citizens.”

The two candidates were on television together again Sunday morning, for an online debate on WPLG-10. Moderated by Glenna Milberg and Michael Putney, the event was more feisty but cut short by the station cutting to a press conference held by President Donald Trump’s doctors in Bethesda, Maryland.

“She hasn’t led on any of these ideas we’re talking about,” Bovo said during the WPLG event, which featured both candidates on separate screens and Milberg and Putney asking questions from the studio. He pointed to the $300 million rapid-transit bus project that runs through Levine Cava’s district in South Miami-Dade and which she opposed in 2018, saying the region deserved a Metrorail line the county said would cost $1 billion.

“We’re getting federal dollars for our south corridor to help with our transit down there. She voted against it,” Bovo said. “She voted against these... quite frankly, because it wasn’t her idea.”

Also on WPLG, the two candidates showed different approaches to the coronavirus crisis. In the spring, Levine Cava pushed Gimenez to be more aggressive in instructing residents to stay home, secure hotel rooms for isolation and push for more contact tracing in Miami-Dade. “My opponent gave the mayor a pass,” she said.

Bovo was critical of Gimenez’s scrapes with city mayors over county COVID rules and has made better communication with local leaders a prominent part of his coronavirus plan. He’s also broken with Gimenez on crackdowns, urging him to keep dining rooms open during the spike in COVID cases over the summer.

He used the Sunday debate to warn about the damage done by government COVID rules. “I believe county government has overreacted in many cases,” Bovo said.

Bovo and Levine Cava landed on opposite ends of this summer’s vote reviving the county’s civilian panel to review alleged police misconduct. Levine Cava backed the plan, and Bovo didn’t. In the NBC debate Saturday night, he pointed to an earlier version of the proposal she supported requiring that the panel’s budget equal 1% of the police budget each year.

She called the provision — dropped from the final version of the legislation the commission approved — as just setting a funding target for the panel. He called it evidence he’s more committed to an intact police budget than she is.

“Show me a neighborhood that is lawless and has crime, and I’ll show you a neighborhood that has no economic opportunity,” he said. ”That’s why supporting our police is so important.”

When asked about recent fish kills in Biscayne Bay tied to poor water quality, Levine Cava said she was ready to push for more aggressive action that’s been sidelined by the Gimenez administration. “We have not moved rapidly,” she said. “On my watch we will move forward aggressively on all of the fixes for the ... potential death of the Bay.”

She cited a set of proposed fertilizer restrictions and a plan to use county sewer revenues — money raised from water bills, which have been rising in recent years — to help subsidize the removal of private septic tanks by hooking up homes to municipal sewer systems.

Bovo said he wanted to explore financing septic conversions through the Ygrene system, which lets homeowners tack onto their property-tax bill payments to install solar panels and storm shutters.

The topic of systemic racism stemmed from a question on what “Black Lives Matter” means to the candidates. Levine Cava said: “We have people that have felt, and have experienced, the disproportionate impact of prejudice and racism, and we cannot tolerate it as a society.

Bovo said: “On the issue of ‘Black Lives Matter,’ absolutely. The life of Black people matter in our community. I believe in the sanctity of life. There’s no question of that.

“You know, as the only Hispanic in the race, I recall a time going with my dad someplace, and somebody disrespecting him and basically discriminating against him because he couldn’t speak the language,” he said. “And he was Cuban, so I understand that. But this is something society has to fix.”

Their sharpest exchange Saturday night came after a question about gun violence. Levine Cava referenced Bovo’s comments in commission meetings where Bovo linked shootings by teenage boys to a lack of a father at home. “Unlike my opponent, I don’t blame single mothers for the violence on the streets. He has done exactly that,” she said.

Bovo replied: “My sister is a single mother...Careful when you start throwing out accusations for political purposes.”

This story was originally published October 4, 2020 at 10:18 AM.