Miami Beach Mayor Announces Gubernatorial Bid

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine, who has been hinting at a gubernatorial run for months, made it official on Wednesday. After facing Zika, Hurricane Irma and the ongoing threat of rising sea levels, the multimillionaire businessman will now take on special interests and Tallahassee politics in a statewide campaign that he launched from Wynwood, the Miami neighborhood that made national headlines for its battle against the mosquito-borne virus.

"As mayor of Miami Beach we didn't ignore rising sea levels," the mayor told a group of reporters and supporters on Wednesday. "We took action with state of the art pumps, infrastructure, renewable energy programs that are now being studied and recognized as a role model for cities around the world."

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is precluded from running for a third term.

Levine, a Democrat is finishing up his second term as mayor in a few weeks. He first hinted publicly at his interest in Florida's top job back in January when he delivered his state of Miami Beach address.

In an email following Wednesday's announcement, Levine quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in saying "the time is always right to do what is right." He pointed to what he called "Tallahassee’s climate of denial" in addressing climate change.

While the mayor stopped short of announcing his candidacy in January, his state of the city address had the look of a campaign video, including background music.

Levine launched Onboard Media, a startup that would grow into a multi-million company from a studio apartment above the News Café on Ocean Drive with only $500 in capital back in 1990. He reportedly has placed more than $2.6 million of his own money into the gubernatorial campaign.

Designed as a port-marketing program for the cruise industry, Levine's company grew into a $400 million concern, which he sold to Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy in 2000, creating the largest cruise industry concessionaire/partner in the world. That company is still headquartered in Miami Beach.

Levine now serves as CEO of Royal Media Partners, an exclusive partner of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, which handles the creation of all media for Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Club Cruises in the Caribbean and Alaska.

He lives with his fiancé Carolina, and their three children in Miami Beach.

Watch Mayor Levine's announcement below:

Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine pictured after Hurricane Irma by Paul Scicchitano