Ceasar Mestre drops from Miami Lakes mayoral race

Ceasar Mestre drops from Miami Lakes mayoral race
  • Sumo

Miami Lakes Interim Mayor Ceasar Mestre — who was vice mayor until the arrest last week of Mayor Michael “Muscles” Pizzi on bribery and extortion charges after an FBI sting operation — has dropped out of the race to replace Pizzi permanently.

Miami Lakes Interim Mayor Cesar Mestre

In a text message to his friends and other council members, Mestre said that he was not going to run for mayor in order to focus on his family and his career.

Mestre called me back from a family event before his phone battery died and confirmed to me he was not running.

“The timing is not right for me and my family,” Mestre told Ladra. “And I don’s think putting my family in jeopardy makes too much sense at this time.”

Jeopardy? Hmmmm. Ladra has to wonder if his role in the kick-back scheme that was really an FBI undercover sting operation had anything to do with it. Running for mayor would certainly put more attention on his part in the whole corrupt mess. I also think that he may have realized that people would see him the same as they see Pizzi, since they have been allies for so long, and the campaign against him would tie him to Pizzi’s schemes.

Remember, Mestre was the one who — at Pizzi’s behest — presented the resolution to have the bogus Sunshine Universal company apply for grants on the town’s behalf. While the affidavit that was used for Pizzi’s arrest warrant was short on details on the how — it seems he never met with the undercover officers — there could be more to come and he has been requested to provide testimony on Thursday.

David Bennett and Councilman Nelson Hernandez

Anyway, that leaves a threeway race between Councilman Nelson Hernandez, dentist David “Doc” Bennett and founding town Mayor Wayne Slaton. Some other guy is supposed to be in it, too, but nobody has ever heard of him. We will know the full ballot by Friday, which is the deadline to qualify.

Hernandez confirmed he got Mestre’s text a little before 3 p.m. Sunday and that he was moving ahead with his plans to run himself. In fact, he will have a short press conference Monday when Hernandez will announce his candidacy and resignation from the council.

“This is a great opportunity to elect future leaders in a city that needs leadership now,” Hernandez told me over the telephone. “We need new ideas and a fresh mindset and the will and determination that a new generation of leaders can bring.”

That might be a dig at Bennett and Slaton, who were Hernandez allies and are still running for mayor, but are a bit older than the councilman.

“I consider both gentlemen my friends, but whatever their decision is, I’m going ahead with my plan and I hope I can get their support,” Hernandez said.

He said he also respected Mestre and his decision not to run.

“He has to do right by his family,” Hernandez told me.

Anyway, this means there will be another seat open when Hernandez resigns. Already, Ladra is hearing someone named Frank Mingo is going to run for that, with the full support of his friend, State Rep. Jose Oliva (R-Miami Lakes).

Bennett told Ladra that he would run for council if Mingo does not file by the deadline, which is Friday, but that he would not run against him because he would likely be well-funded if Oliva is going to back him.

He is encouraged by the fallout from Pizzi’s arrest: Bennett — who has long railed against the mayor and said he was corrupt — got about 150 phone calls in the hours that followed when news first got out Tuesday and a standing ovation at Einstein Bagels.

“If I’m going to lose, I’d rather lose against Hernandez than against Mingo,” Bennett told me, knowing that Oliva is likely to support Hernandez, too. So are the other local representatives, who include State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez and Sen. Rene Garcia. And Ladra can’t help but wonder if they discouraged Mestre from running.

“But no matter what, it’s all good,” he added, still giddy with the turn of events five days later and satisfied with anybody but Pizzi.

“No matter what happens, I have the next mayor’s number on my cell phone.”

5 Responses to "Ceasar Mestre drops from Miami Lakes mayoral race"

  1. Jeopardy? Hmmmm. Ladra has to wonder if his role in the kick-back scheme that was really an FBI undercover sting operation had anything to do with it. Running for mayor would certainly put more attention on his,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
    VERY ignorant assumption on your part LADRA mr mestre is speaking of jeopardizing his a family in a financial way, not anything else, but just like typical media to assume the worse and twist words for more than what it is , i think an apology is due , THANKING YOU IN ADVANCE FOR IT TOO…

  2. Wow. Tolete. Great points. And Ladra, great platform you have here. My only concern with Nelson is his obvious desire to use this as a stepping stone as well. I have a serious problem with his lack of business experience and his running a town when he still lives at home with mami and papi and does not pay property taxes or deal with the same issues the average Miami Laker deals with, like property insurance, school overcrowding, etc. Being book smart does not make you an experienced business person. Bennett is a business owner and an extremely smart one too to not take this more seriously and lay out a specific plan on how he plans to lead. I almost think he’s discouraged by the big name supporters that have come out for Nelson. Lets see if any more candidates take a shot at the title and provide us with a more viable option.

  3. Mr. Tolete, I must say, how nice it is to hear from someone who knows what they are talking about.

    I hear ya on almost everything. And I like Nelson, too. Except for one thing: Where were his questions on the Sunshine Universal deal and who knows what else that he didn’t raise any concern about? And I don’t the flying monkeys he has as allies (read: his friends in Tallahassee).

    Doc Bennett may be a little obsessed, but I can feel his pain. He has been screaming in the wind for far too long and, finally, people are hearing the echo. So what if he shakes things up a little? Sometimes, we need a little healthy shaking up. And I’d rather have some obsessed activist who just wants to clean up his town in charge than a guy who is using this post as a stepping stone. Just sayin’.

    That it will be an interesting next couple of weeks is an understatement. Please watch and comment with me.

    Love, Ladra

  4. Tremendo Rice y Mango!

    I’m so glad that I’m not the only one that notices that Bennett does not change. He had his rear-end handed to him in the last election and you’d think that he’d be a bit more humble or at least recognize that Miami Lakes doesn’t care for the finger pointing (at least not that much). Bennett never realized that despite that fact that some may have agreed with him about Pizzi, his unhealthy obsession with Pizzi was creepy and just weird (same applies to many of his cohorts)! He has the right to record a council meeting with his cell phone, but sitting front row with a camera in hand pointed at the council with the sole purpose of annoying the mayor contributes nothing to the town and leads to further discord in the community. Had he focused more on what he wanted to do in Miami Lakes and offered an alternative future for the town, perhaps he would have done better in the last election. He states that he would rather lose to Hernandez than Frank Mingo. Seriously? The race hasn’t even begun and he is already defeated. You don’t start your campaign speaking of a lesser defeat! A DEFEAT is a DEFEAT! Well…look at the bright side! At least he is helping the local print shops again!

    No matter what anyone says about Hernandez, his name carries weight. He may suffer from chronic absenteeism (commonly diagnosed in Politicians that don’t give a $h!t any longer), but Miami Lakes has changed and the Hispanic name does carry some additional points (Not ALWAYS and NOT with all voters)! Nelson does care about the community and has a very good chance of winning. What may affect him is his tainted history with the Pizzi clan. He ticked off one too many of them and they will never forget this moment: http://youtu.be/zSF4MmGkt2c . They will never forget all that Perdomo did for Nelson and how he stuck it to him at his first council meeting! They’d rather vote for Slaton than support Nelson! Actually, maybe they just won’t vote!

    That leads us to Slaton. This time he should campaign like he actually wants it! You won’t win an election building a Flux Capacitor at home while others try to get votes for you at the polls! As impressive as it would be if he could build a time machine, he should at least act like he REALLY wants it this time! And please…no more Top Ten Lists! Those little comedy skits didn’t help one bit!

    Let the race begin! Thank God this one will be short! Who wants to see all those damn yard signs again!

  5. Once again, Bennett is obsessed with the politicking and not the issues. Who cares whether you have the mayor’s number on your phone? Does that make you special or powerful in some way? Grow up.

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