Llorente Claims He's Prepared To Be Miami-Dade Mayor

MIAMI (CBS4) -- Marcelo Llorente may not be a household name, but he hopes to become the next Mayor of Miami-Dade County. With a fresh approach, and positive platform, Llorente could be the dark horse contender for the County's top job.

In a room full of ladies at a senior center, Llorente was quite popular. "Oh yeah, yeah! Very popular," said Daisy Pena.

Llorente is only 34-years-old.

"The seniors say 'you can be my grandson, and you remind me of my grandson'," Llorente told CBS4's Natalia Zea.

The former State Representative, who hopes to become the new mayor, will have to beat out some tough veteran politicians including former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez and Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina.

Llorente says his experience as a husband and father, his eight years in Tallahassee, including being the chair of an appropriations committee and his work as an attorney have prepared him.

"I think there is a distinction between being qualified, which I believe we certainly are, and traditional local government experience," said Llorente.

The candidate has been shaking the hands, and kissing the cheeks of seniors across the county. He's also been listening to their concerns.

He promises to reverse the tax hike former Mayor Carlos Alvarez put in place, which brought that Mayor's career to an untimely end.

"We're gonna prioritize the spending, we're gonna make the cuts where they need to be made to balance the budget, but I'm very confident that we can do that and lower taxes at the same time," said Llorente.

He also says he'll improve mass transit.

"I think Metrorail right now should be called "Metrofail". It picks people up in a place where they can't get to and it takes them somewhere they don't want to go. We need to fix that," said Llorente.

Despite being more than a decade younger than some of the other contenders in this race, Llorente is confident his fresh face and his "stay positive" platform will resonate with voters.

To see Llorente's campaign website and the websites of all of the candidates, just go to CBSMIAMI.COM/VOTE.