Daniella Levine Cava

Levine Cava consistently advocated for TPS extensions via public statements, official press releases, and signed advocacy letters. In June 2023, she issued a formal statement welcoming TPS extensions for El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua while urging the federal government to redesignate TPS for later arrivals. In her January 2026 State of the County address, she emphasized Miami-Dade's identity as an immigrant community amid escalating federal immigration enforcement. She also formally opposed the construction of the 'Alligator Alcatraz' Everglades detention camp, calling it a threat to the water supply and public assets, and requested county monitoring access — which was denied. In February 2026, she celebrated a federal court decision protecting Haitian TPS holders. However, as county mayor she has no direct authority over federal immigration policy, and overall federal policy during 2025–2026 moved strongly against the communities she was advocating for, limiting her practical impact to advocacy only.

Levine Cava made environmental protection a core priority, committing nearly $3 million to a multi-year Biscayne Bay initiative with the first $750,000 approved in the FY 2023–24 budget. In August 2025, she hosted a virtual Biscayne Bay Science Roundtable five years after the 2020 fish kill, convening experts from FIU, University of Miami, Nova Southeastern, and the Everglades Foundation to review ongoing threats including coral bleaching and seagrass decline. In February 2026, she issued a last-minute veto blocking a county commission vote that would have allowed development on ~246 acres outside Miami-Dade's Urban Development Boundary, citing protection of the water supply and the bay. She also appointed Loren Parra as the new independent DERM director in March 2026, elevating environmental resources management to a standalone department. She formally opposed the state-run Everglades immigration detention camp ('Alligator Alcatraz') as a threat to drinking water and the environment. Despite these efforts, Biscayne Bay continues to face serious ecological stress and full restoration goals remain unmet.

Levine Cava championed the SMART Plan to build rapid transit along five corridors and implemented the Better Bus Network to increase route frequency across Miami-Dade. The most concrete deliverable of her tenure — the South Dade TransitWay Bus Rapid Transit system — launched in fall 2025, featuring 60 all-electric Metro Express buses traveling a 20-mile dedicated corridor from Dadeland South to Florida City with 14 station-style stops; as of January 2026 the service was carrying approximately 10,000 riders per day. However, the broader SMART Plan faces headwinds: the commuter rail component is entangled in a lawsuit filed by Florida East Coast Railway against Brightline over feasibility and lack of consultation, and Levine Cava did not mention the commuter rail plan during her 2026 State of the County address. Rail corridors including the North Corridor remain unadvanced as of early 2026. Transit expansion is ongoing but significantly behind original ambitions, particularly for rail.

Levine Cava launched the Peace and Prosperity Plan in 2021, investing in law enforcement, community violence intervention programs, and youth opportunity initiatives. The plan has been sustained and expanded through her second term: the Office of Neighborhood Safety launched additional rounds of 'Safe in the 305' community grants in late 2024, and in February 2025 the county opened a Peace and Prosperity scholarship program for high school graduates affected by violence. Operation Community Shield, conducted under the plan, reportedly removed approximately 2,500 guns from the street. However, the administration's claim that Miami-Dade achieved 'one of the lowest gun violence rates among major metro areas' has not been independently verified against FBI UCR or CDC data in available sources, and the Peace and Prosperity Plan remains a commitment in progress rather than a fully measurable success. The county's bio page confirms gun violence reduction through the plan remains an active and continuing priority as of 2026.

Levine Cava launched multiple affordable housing initiatives including the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, Emergency Rental Assistance Program (assisting approximately 25,000 families), the Building Blocks Plan, Miami-Dade's first Tenant's Bill of Rights, an eviction prevention program with legal representation, and the Office of Housing Advocacy. In her January 2026 State of the County address, she reported that over 9,000 affordable and workforce housing units have been built since her first term, with 12,000 more in progress, and that she doubled the county's financial investment in affordable housing. The county's special assessment assistance program has provided $53 million in interest-free loans to nearly 2,000 households. She also introduced a 'Homes 2.0' plan exploring conversion of county buildings into residential units and the identification of vacant county land for housing development. Despite these efforts, Miami-Dade's housing affordability crisis has continued to worsen through 2025–2026, with skyrocketing property values, insurance premiums, and cost-of-living increases described as a defining ongoing challenge.

In July 2022, Mayor Levine Cava proposed and the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners approved a 1% reduction in the countywide, UMSA, library, and fire millage rates — the first property tax cut in over a decade and the lowest combined millage rate since 1982-1983 (Miami-Dade County official press release, July 19, 2022). A second consecutive year of tax cuts was included in the FY2023-24 proposed budget, with the mayor stating the two cuts together brought the combined rate to its lowest level since 1982 (Miami-Dade County press release, July 16, 2025). For FY2025-26, the Board of County Commissioners voted on September 18, 2025 to finalize a flat millage rate — no tax increase — preserving the lowest combined tax rate since 1982 despite what the administration described as unprecedented fiscal challenges (Miami-Dade County OMB budget page, Sept. 18, 2025).