San Juan, Puerto Rick Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz Soto has endorsed former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine in his bid to become the sunshine state's next Governor.
The announcement came in the form of a video the Levine campaign released, showing that Soto's endorsement came as a result of Levine's involvement with helping out after the hurricane devastation that occurred in Puerto Rico last year.
Cruz Soto explains that "Out of nowhere, I got a phone call from this guy I had never heard of, that I had never met. ‘Hi Mayor, my name is Philip Levine.’ Not Mayor of Miami Beach, just Philip Levine. ‘And I’ve been watching you and your people, and I am going to get on a plane and I’ll be there Saturday with medicine, food and supplies’.”
She added that "here’s this guy that doesn’t know me, that felt our pain, and was willing and able to use the power that he had in Miami to make sure that we were taken care of in San Juan and in other cities of Puerto Rico. And he just said, ‘This is from the people of Miami Beach to the people of Puerto Rico.'”
This was important to her because "He didn’t use the Puerto Rican tragedy as a photo op. He didn’t go there just to get his picture taken.”
In response to the endorsement, Mayor Levine commented that he is "honored to receive the endorsement of Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz, who has continued fighting for her people even when Washington turned its back on Puerto Rico. She’s a public servant in the truest sense of the word and I’m humbled to have her support in this election.”
He also noted that "Much remains to be done, both on the island and here in Florida. As Governor, we will work together to do better for our Puerto Rican neighbors — we are all Americans. We will never turn our back or throw in the towel."
The video can be seen below:
