Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is certain as to who he wants to be his County Mayor and he wants everybody to know: Steve Bovo is the man for the job.
Rubio endorsed Bovo for the Miami-Dade mayor position at an event at the Westchester Regional library Friday, five days before election day.
“There is only one person running for Miami-Dade County Mayor that I know for certain will never raise our taxes and will never tolerate, or never encourage civil disorder, and that’s Steve Bovo," Rubio said.
And the endorsement is big for Bovo, as Rubio enjoys tremendous popularity in Miami-Dade.
Bovo has declared himself the fiscal conservative and the law and order candidate, touting conservative principles in a non-partisan race.
“Radical ideas are starting to permeate here. Close the jails, defund the police, reimagine our police, these are all code words we have to fight against,” Bovo said.
And if not elected, he warns government will continue to move toward the left, and toward higher taxes.
Local
“On a local level, your tax dollar starts getting stretched to a point where the core services that we pay in taxes, the core services that we expect, start to get strained,” said Bovo.
Bovo has represented Commission District 13, which includes Hialeah and Miami Lakes, since 2011. He started his political career as a Hialeah City Council Member and also served in the Florida House of Representatives.
If he becomes mayor he promises not to raise taxes. And transportation, expanding rail service, would be his top priority, he said.
Bovo is up against five opponents, but he’s hoping the senator’s support seals the deal.
“As I make this decision it’s not the decision of a US Senator,” Rubio said. "It’s the decision of someone who lives in Miami-Dade County, whose family lives in Miami-Dade County and as someone who will come home to Miami-Dade County and be impacted by the decisions made by our local leaders.”
Bovo must receive a majority, 50% plus one vote, to win the mayor’s seat. If nobody enjoys a majority, the top two vote getters will head to a runoff in November.
