Campaign 2016: Candidate Raquel Regalado Gives Current MD Mayor Failing Grade

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- There's already a "Mayor Regalado" in South Florida, but his daughter is now vying for the same title at the county level.

Raquel Regalado is trying to make history.

"I hope Miami-Dade County is ready for a female Mayor."

The 42-year-old single mother is an attorney, who followed in her parents' footsteps by making a name for herself in Spanish-language media on TV and radio.

Six years ago, she ran for a seat on the Miami-Dade School Board and won.

With her public service roots in education, she gives incumbent Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez a failing grade.

"Carlos Gimenez would get an F," she said. "He has failed to represent us. He is the king of the status quo. He truly does believe, as his advertisements say, that Miami-Dade County is better today."

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The daughter of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, Raquel says, if elected, she wouldn't give her father or the city of Miami preferential treatment.

"My father and I have a wonderful relationship. We always have, but we really don't give each other that much political advice," she said. "In fact, one of the most interesting things about our relationship is that in the Skyrise matter, I did sue my father. He was a defendant, which made Sunday dinners a little difficult."

The "Skyrise matter" she's referring to was her opposition to using tax dollars for the private Skyrise Miami project on the bay.

She says her three priorities for the county are public safety, transit and economic development.

With a divorce and foreclosure to her name, Regalado says she's better equipped to relate to the challenges people face every day in the county.

"It's about time we have someone in the Mayor's office who understands that," she said. "Everything from the accessibility of parks to after school programs, to the impact that transit has on our lives because we pick up our kids so late. These are the lives we lead and we have someone in the mayor's office who doesn't really understand that because he's so out of touch."

This isn't just a two-person race.

There are seven names on the ballot for the non-partisan Mayor's seat.

If no one gets 50 percent or more of the vote, the top two candidates will face-off again in November.