Daniella Levine Cava Much Better Pick than Lynda Bell For District 8. By Geniusofdespair

Blast from the past:

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Miracle of miracles, we don't just have a good candidate running against County Commissioner Lynda Bell (Who won by about 300+ votes): We have a fantastic candidate! I couldn't have hoped for anyone better. It is as if the stars were aligned and Daniella fell like Manna from heaven to save us from 4 more excruciating years of Lynda Bell!! Both Gimleteye (Alan Farago) and I enthusiastically endorse Daniella Levine Cava.  I have known Daniella for at least 8 years and she has always been someone I admired greatly.

Daniella founded and was the head of the Human Services Coalition of Dade County. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology with honors from Yale University and graduate degrees in law and social work from Columbia University. For a full-bio press "read more" Lynda.

I asked Daniella a few questions, and here are her answers.



Why are you running for County Commissioner?

When I came to South Florida 30 years ago, I fell in love with the people and the place. This warm, diverse, community took me in, and ever since it’s been my privilege to serve the people of Miami-Dade in a variety of ways. The job of a County Commissioner is a lot like the work I’ve been doing for years: building bridges between people and business and government to strengthen communities. I think my experience, and the lessons I’ve learned from South Floridians of all backgrounds, can improve county policies. And I believe that the strongest democracies are made up of people ready to solve problems, not build their own power. The best way I can honor that ideal is to step up and offer my service to my community in elected office.

How has your background prepared you for elected office?


I’ve worked almost my entire adult life for the well-being of the people in South Florida. I worked for the state as a lawyer and social worker on behalf of abused children and impoverished families. In 1996 I founded Catalyst Miami, a non-profit organization that connects community, business and government to improve healthcare access and economic opportunity in South Florida. By the time I resigned as President and CEO last week to launch this campaign, the organization had grown from my living room to a thriving force for good, with a staff of 30 and a budget of over $2.5 million. I think my long experience as a manager, collaborator and communicator will serve the district well.

Where will you locate your office?

In the heart of the district at the South Dade Government Center. (Genius: What? Instead of the office Lynda is using in Palmetto Bay that she lavishly decorated, that costs the taxpayers a couple of hundred thousand and we have to pay rent on it too. Lynda Bell said she was fiscally responsible and would not move from Katy Sorenson's FREE office. She did.)

I always thought that a commissioner in this district should speak Spanish, do you speak Spanish?

Yes, I speak Spanish in my professional and private life, as does my family. Not only did I spend part of my childhood in Chile, my husband Rob's family is rooted in Argentina and Uruguay and here in Miami we are surrounded by bilingual cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. I served as Spanish translator while in graduate school and used my Spanish representing clients when I worked at Legal Services of Greater Miami and the Guardian Ad Litem program.

What will be your biggest challenge in this campaign?


This is my first campaign, and as a political outsider I won’t have access to some of the big-ticket donors who underwrite a lot of the campaigns especially for incumbents. I’m going to run a grassroots campaign, and I’m going to need a lot of help from the people of district 8 who are ready for a change at county hall and eager to have a government that serves the many and not the few.

For more of Daniella's background and to donate :
Daniella Levine founded the Human Services Coalition of Dade County (HSC), now renamed Catalyst Miami, in 1996 to meet the needs of families and communities through public education, advocacy and dialogue on critical social and economic issues. In 16 years the organizational has evolved to serve as a hub for innovation in health and human services and an incubator for new approaches to community and economic development. The nonprofit's major initiatives include the Prosperity Campaign and Imagine Miami which have received national recognition from groups including the U.S. Treasury, Government Accountability Office (GAO) and Ford Foundation. New programs include the Nonprofit Leadership and Training Institute and ReServe. The organization employs 30 with a budget over $2.5 million from a mix of public and private sources.

Ms. Levine was previously employed as director of the Educational Advocacy Project for Legal Services of Greater Miami, legal director for the Guardian Ad Litem Program, and manager for foster care, adoptions and child welfare legal services at the Department of Children and Families. She played lead roles in founding Voices for Children, Florida CHAIN and the Florida Prosperity Partnership.

Board service includes: North Dade Medical Foundation, Florida Bar committees, League of Women Voters, Orange Bowl Foundation, South Florida Health Information Initiative and several advisory boards of Florida International University and University of Miami. Awards include: Florida International University, Red Cross, ACLU, League of Women Voters, American Association of University Women and National Council of Jewish Women. She was featured in America’s Table, a publication of the American Jewish Committee, that was included as a Sunday New York Times supplement. She was selected as one of 11 “leadership fellows” by the International Women’s Forum in 1999.

Ms. Levine taught “Social Change in a Global Era” at American University of Paris and social policy courses at University of Miami, Nova Southeastern and Barry University. She is a frequent speaker for groups including U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Grantmakers in Health, and the Federal Reserve. She has published dozens of articles in newspapers and magazines, including Johnson Foundation’s Wingspread Journal and Federal Reserve Southeast Region magazine. Ms. Levine received a bachelor's degree in psychology with honors from Yale University and graduate degrees in law and social work from Columbia University. She is married to Robert Cava MD, and they have two adult children, Eliza and Edward Cava.

If you want to know more about Lynda Bell -- Try this link.