Miami Herald - August 3, 2006
Susan Anasagasti, sanasagasti@MiamiHerald.com

Laura Leyva had been a candidate in the race to fill the District 107 House seat being vacated by state Rep. Gus Barreiro, who is term-limited. But she did not meet the July 21 deadline to file paperwork with the state.

Now she is in the Miami Beach race, and said she plans to open a bank account and appoint a campaign treasurer to qualify as a candidate for the fall special election this week.

A special election to fill Garcia's Group 5 seat is set for Nov. 7.

Garcia announced his endorsement Monday in a gathering at the Rebecca Towers on South Beach, attended by Leyva and other supporters.

"During the past four months I've been running against Laura," Garcia said. "But we never really ran against each other. There couldn't be a debate. We agree on everything."

Leyva, 37, owns Physician Consultants, a Hialeah company that provides consulting to healthcare organizations. She was born to Cuban parents and grew up in Miami Lakes. She has lived in Miami Beach since 2005.

"I want to follow in [Garcia's] footsteps and those are big shoes to fill," she said. "He's my mentor pretty much and I really believe we need to continue having that Hispanic voice to represent the community."

Leyva earned her associate's degree in political science in the late '80s before heading to Santo Domingo, where she studied medicine at La Universidad Central del Este Medical School. She graduated in 1996.

She also has a master's in health services administration from Nova Southeastern University and runs Family AIDS Coalition, a nonprofit agency that provides services for those affected by HIV.

This isn't the first time she has run for office. In 2004, she ran against Rep. Marco Rubio for the state District 111 post.

She is the seventh candidate in the Beach race. The other candidates for Garcia's post are Michael Gongora, an attorney who specializes in community association law; Lee Weiss, an activist for the disabled; Elsa Urquiza, who recently retired from her job as an enforcement manager with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Ivor Rose, one of two owners of the much-debated coral rock house; Miami Beach artist Roger Abramson; and J. Deede Weithorn, an accountant and a longtime city activist.

Garcia, first elected to the Miami Beach City Commission in 1999 and then reelected in 2003, will remain as commissioner through the election. The winner of his seat will fill out the rest of his four-year term.

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