The political committee behind a recall effort of Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava missed a financial disclosure deadline — though the petition drive continues apace, according to county election officials.
The "Recall Cava" political committee, formed by former Republican county mayor candidate Alexander Otaola, had until Friday, April 10, to submit its financial disclosure form for the first quarter of 2026. According to the Miami-Dade County Supervisor of Elections (SOE)'s office, the committee failed to meet that deadline, and the SOE sent the committee a "failure to file" letter.
In a statement to media, Levine Cava's political consultants said this failure to disclose contributions and expenditures shows a lack of transparency on the part of Otaola and others behind the recall effort.
READ MORE: Miami-Dade Republican Party pushes Mayor Levine Cava recall effort
"The voters of Miami-Dade deserve to know who is bankrolling this recall — and Otaola is making sure they can't find out. That is not transparency," Christian Ulvert, Levine Cava's consultant, said in a statement.
Otaola could not be reached for comment about the deadline. Calls to the phone number listed on the committee's paperwork went unanswered.
The SOE told WLRN that Recall Cava PAC could be fined up to $500 per day that the report is not filed.
Though failure to meet this deadline could result in penalties for the PAC, it does not have a bearing on the recall effort itself. Otaola's camp has until May 14 to gather 66,000 valid voter signatures and submit them to the County Clerk and SOE. If that threshold is met on time, a ballot question will go to all Miami-Dade voters later this year asking if Levine Cava should be recalled.
Recall history
The recall effort began in January after Otaola filed his validated petition with the clerk's office.
Literature for the recall claims Levine Cava has misused taxpayer money and alleges — without evidence — that crime and homelessness in Miami-Dade County have risen under the Mayor's tenure.
Crime statistics show that violent crime has actually dropped countywide in the past several years; and that the increase in the number of homeless people follows a nationwide trend.
Otaola is a conservative online personality who ran unsuccessfully against Levine Cava, a Democrat, and fellow Republican Manny Cid for the county mayor seat in 2024. Otaola came in third place in the primary with approximately 12% of the vote.
Speaking to WLRN in an interview, Ulvert claimed the recall is a "sham effort" meant to drum up popularity for Otaola.
" This is an individual who was rejected by 89% of Miami-Dade voters in 2024. Clearly an individual who's looking to make a name for himself with political stunts on the backs of a very popular mayor," Ulvert told WLRN.
Ulvert said the recall effort has ostensibly spent money or received in-kind contributions because of online and television ads for the recall that have gone out over the past several months. Because the Recall Cava PAC hasn't disclosed its financials for the quarter, he argues the group is hiding the entities who are paying for the ad campaign.
The recall effort does have the backing of the Miami-Dade Republican Party, which distributed literature in favor of the recall on its social media channels.
