Mayoral Candidates Band Together Against Opposing Candidate

MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) - It's not something you usually see less than a week before an election. Two candidates for Mayor banding together, standing side by side, agreeing on the same thing.  And that thing is their disdain for opposing candidate Phillip Levine.

In a rare, joint press conference Wednesday, Mayoral candidates Steve Berke and Michael Gongora joined forces, throwing punches at the other candidate Philip Levine.

"He's a flat-out liar and I'm not afraid to call him a liar. If Mr. Levine wants to sue me for calling him a liar..bring it. It will just show that he is a petty, little man. So if he wants to sue me, I'm not going to hide," said  Mayoral Candidate Steve Berke.

"Never in the history of Miami Beach has there been such a divisive, mean-spirited, nasty campaign as we have seen in the mayoral election." said Mayoral Candidate Michael Gongora.

Berke and Gongora say Levine is using intimidation tactics to keep residents, journalists and bloggers from exercising their freedom of speech by filing lawsuits and complaints against them.

Levine says he supports the right to free speech  but questions the methods and sources of negative advertising.

He's also not phased by his opposition banding together trashing him days before the election.

Levine called one of the bloggers he filed a complaint against "a political assassin" hired by Steve Berke's campaign.  The candidates going back and forth about ethics violation while also saying they want to focus on the issues that matter like parking, flooding, and the convention center.