At the first "State of the County" address of her second term on Thursday night, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava shared her administration's priorities of affordability, transit, public safety, fiscal responsibility and environmental resilience.
She highlighted existing efforts to improve transit like the Better Bus Program revamp of the county's bus system, and announced that the South Dade Transitway — a Bus Rapid Transit system — will open this summer.
READ MORE: Miami mayor gives his last State of the City address
Levine Cava addressed Miami International Airport's "Future Ready" plan — a $9 billion modernization initiative underway to improve infrastructure at the airport, including boarding bridges, escalators, elevators and other capital improvements.
The mayor, a Democrat in a nonpartisan role, also pledged to reach across the aisle with the new Trump administration to secure funding for building projects in the county, the nation's seventh-largest.
"Looking ahead, we will seek all opportunities to work with President Trump and our state leaders to continue making our infrastructure truly world class," Levine Cava said.
She also announced a new initiative called "WISE 305" to make the county government more efficient. The initiative goals: to get rid of inefficient and outdated county policies, save taxpayer dollars by eliminating redundancies in county departments and using technology to speed up permitting processes.
Among her affordable housing initiatives, she highlighted an effort to build new housing on county-owned and public sector land. Jackson Health System recently announced the creation of a 25-story workforce housing tower for medical workers near the Jackson Memorial campus in downtown Miami.
The mayor addressed environmental resilience with a commitment to plant native trees in neighborhoods with less tree canopy to combat extreme heat, as well as the county's ongoing efforts to replace outdated septic tanks and connect more homes to the sewer grid.
Watch a recorded video of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava's "State of the County" speech here.