Mayor Levine Cava Delivers 2026 State of the County
- Thomas Schaffer
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
by Thomas Schaffer
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava delivered her sixth State of the County address last week at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens. Present were members of the Board of County Commissioners, including Chairman Anthony Rodriguez, and newly appointed City of Miami Manager James Reyes. In her remarks, the Mayor touted accomplishments from her past six years in office and called for unity amid the tumultuous national environment.
In the annual speech, Mayor Levine Cava spoke about issues of housing, the local economy, trust in government, and transportation. She also highlighted initiatives at Miami International Airport (MIA) and in transit.
Housing
Mayor Levine Cava acknowledged at the beginning of her address the difficulty that many residents face in affording housing costs. Miami currently ranks as one of the least affordable metros in the country, according to a 2025 Bankrate report. To combat the high cost of housing, the Mayor announced plans to build 12,000 housing units, in addition to the 9,000 completed homes built since the start of her first term as mayor in 2021. She also detailed the progress made through her PROSPER Initiative, which focuses on identifying county-owned, underutilized sites for home construction.
Local Economy
Despite the lagging national job market, Mayor Levine Cava noted the addition of 120,000 new jobs in Miami-Dade County over the past year and touted the 3.2% unemployment rate, lower than the national and state averages. She also spoke about the STRIVE305 initiative, aimed at solving permitting issues for small businesses, which she said had helped 75,000 small businesses in the county. Miami has a notoriously cumbersome permitting process for burgeoning small businesses, and it can often take as long as three to six months for small businesses to open a new location.
Transportation
The Mayor took a victory lap after the launch of Metro Express, the first bus rapid transit system in the county, in October 2025. Since its launch, she noted, ridership has nearly doubled to about 10,000 daily riders. The Mayor also announced the creation of the MIA Forward Flight Team, focused on improving passenger experience in preparation for the World Cup this summer.
Sports
While the Miami Hurricanes ultimately fell short against the Indiana Hoosiers in the college football national championship, Mayor Levine Cava gave them a shout-out in her address, proudly showing off a "U" hand gesture to show support for the university. She also outlined the sports events coming to Miami-Dade in 2026, which include the Miami Open, the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, the World Baseball Classic, and the FIFA World Cup. The Mayor also mentioned the opening of the Miami Freedom Park stadium, which is set to host its first soccer match this April.
"I can say, clearly and confidently, that the state of our country is strong." the Mayor declared in her address, touting the accomplishments from her two terms at the helm of the county government.
Following her speech, Mayor Levine Cava will return to the dais for the next Board of County Commissioners meeting on Feb. 17, where transit and preparations for the World Cup are expected to take center stage.