Esteban “Steve” Bovo and Daniella Levine Cava will face each other in a runoff for Miami-Dade County mayor in November. I entered this race because I was frustrated with the direction of Miami-Dade County and felt that I could make a difference. Tonight I have come to understand that you can still make a difference even if you don’t win.”Levine Cava would be the first woman to lead Miami-Dade. Though the race for Miami-Dade County mayor is non partisan, Bovo has been campaigning as if it were. Former Miami mayor Xavier Suarez started strong then lagged in both money and polling despite solid credentials.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. The leading candidates in the race to become Miami-Dade County's next mayor are three sitting commissioners and the man who was mayor a generation ago. Much has changed since Alex Penelas left office 16 years ago. Now he is saying he wants his old job back. Penelas discussed his mayoral bid with Michael Putney and Glenna Milberg on This Week in South Florida and the video can be seen at the top of the page.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. Joining This Week in South Florida are City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Broward Mayor Dale Holness, Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, ICU Medical Director at Miami-Dades Jackson Health System Dr. David De La Zerda and Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Alex Penelas. The entire show can be seen at the top of this page.

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. With the primary election just a few weeks away, the race for Miami-Dade County mayor is starting to heat up. The most likely four, Alex Penelas, Daniella Levine Cava, Xavier Suarez and Esteban Bovo. Penelas has been in the job before, serving as Miami-Dade County Mayor between 1996 and 2004. Levine Cava said she's had a plan for Black Miami-Dade called Empower that's been out for over a month. Levine Cava said he welched then and, she said, he will welch in the future.

The new county mayor replaces two-term incumbent Carlos Gimenez, who must leave office in November. I have a very interdisciplinary approach; I am a lawyer and a social worker, candidate and county commissioner Daniella Levine Cava said. Former Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas said: "I did the job before, I managed a whole host of crises." It does not help us if we speak in two separate voices, Bovo, currently a county commissioner, said. Penelas said his former role as the county mayor is what's especially needed now as he believes the county needs firm leadership and working relationships.

DORAL, Fla. - Several candidates running to be Miami-Dade County's next mayor took part in a forum on Monday. It was one of the first opportunities to hear from five of the eight official candidates, all current or former holders of public office. The labor union sponsored event saw the candidates working to distinguish themselves in a quest to succeed the term-limited current mayor, Carlos Gimenez. At the forum were commissioners Xavier Suarez, Daniella Levine Cava, Jean Monestime and Esteban Bovo, and former Miami-Dade mayor Alex Penelas. Discussed at the form were handling the county's budget, mass transit, affordable housing, wages, rising sea levels and more.