VoteWater, a South Florida clean-water group, has issued its first endorsements of the 2024 election cycle, backing Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Cindy Lerner, candidate for the District 7 seat on the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners.

VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart praised both candidates as environmental champions.

“Daniella Levine Cava created the position of Chief Bay Officer, has championed septic to sewer conversions and fertilizer ordinances, and vetoed the proposal to expand the county’s Urban Development Boundary,” said Smart. “She’s a recipient of the Friends of the Everglades Marjory Stoneman Douglas Defender of the Everglades Award and the Miami Waterkeeper Jim Porter Prize

“We need more water warriors like Levine-Cava in Miami-Dade and across Florida,” said Smart.

Said Mayor Levine Cava, “Throughout my career, I have been steadfast in my commitment to protecting Miami-Dade’s precious waterways and ensuring the health of our natural resources. Under my leadership, our county has completed over $2 billion in water projects and committed an additional $500 million in capital projects for our water and wastewater system in the recently proposed budget, part of the largest water infrastructure project in Florida history! Through climate tech initiatives, we are building a more resilient and sustainable Miami-Dade County.

“Miami-Dade is on the front lines of climate change, but with these investments and initiatives, we have become an international leader in climate action and innovation to help protect our community and our precious ecosystems,” said Levine Cava.

Lerner, a former state Representative and Mayor of Pinecrest, also is a past recipient of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Defender of the Everglades Award and is a former board member of the group Friends of the Everglades.

“Cindy Lerner has been a consistent environmental advocate for years, has promised to fight public corruption and hold the line on the Urban Development Boundary and reckless growth,” said Smart. “That’s exactly what Miami-Dade needs.”

Lerner’s opponent, incumbent Raquel Regalado, “flipped” and voted in favor of a controversial plan to extend the county’s Urban Development Boundary, which could harm Everglades restoration efforts. After county commissioners passed the measure it was vetoed by Mayor Levine Cava; commissioners then overrode the veto, with Regalado again voting in favor of the project. A judge has since ordered the county to start over on the approval process.

Said Lerner, “As a decades-long advocate committed to assuring investments in restoring the flow of freshwater to Florida Bay, I’m honored to receive the VoteWater endorsement. I applaud their education and advocacy to engage Florida voters in supporting these goals.”

Headquartered in Stuart, VoteWater is a 501(c)(4) organization which works to empower Floridians to demand clean water and political accountability.