Coral Gables Vice Mayor Mike Mena votes to sell city land to his bosses

Coral Gables Vice Mayor Mike Mena votes to sell city land to his bosses

It may be two years away, but newly-minted Coral Gables Vice Mayor Mike Mena just lost any chance he had to be re-elected in 2023. No, it’s not just because of the condescending matter in which he dismissed resident-driven ideas from newly-elected Commissioner Rhonda Anderson, who proposed amending the zoning code to require approval and […]

In Coral Gables money race, unchallenged incumbent is leading

In Coral Gables money race, unchallenged incumbent is leading

With less than two weeks before qualifying ends, Coral Gables Commissioner Mike Mena still has no opposition in his group in April’s upcoming election. And chances are it will stay that way because of his war chest. Mena has amassed $111,650 in contributions since last April, according to the last campaign reports filed this week. […]

Incumbents safe so far in Coral Gables, as three fight for open seat

Incumbents safe so far in Coral Gables, as three fight for open seat

There are still a couple of months to qualify, but so far there are no challengers to Coral Gables Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli and Commissioner Mike Mena in the April election. That’s too bad, because neither of them deserve an easy slide without a challenge. There are three candidates — including former Commissioner Ralph Cabrera and […]

Frank Fernandez and Peter Iglesias stay in Coral Gables, for now

Frank Fernandez and Peter Iglesias stay in Coral Gables, for now

It’s been two weeks since Cathy Swanson Rivenbark, officially and reluctantly resigned as city manager in Coral Gables in the light of major commission resistance to her battle with the police chief and insistence that her No. 2 keep his status as the highest ranking cop in the city. In an ironic twist, Assistant City […]

New Coral Gables commission faces first development test

New Coral Gables commission faces first development test

Laughable traffic study should be thrown out Anti-development activists against recent upzoning in Coral Gables lost in last month’s elections when every single one of their candidates got beat in their respective races, including former Commissioner Jeannett Slesnick who lost the mayoral bid to former Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli by 187 votes. Now, they may lose […]

Mike Mena (read: developers) win Gables race, as expected

Mike Mena (read: developers) win Gables race, as expected

In their first run-off ever, Coral Gables voters on last week picked Mike Mena, a land use attorney who has never served on any city board or committee, over longtime activist Marlin Ebbert, a retired schoolteacher who was backed by the a group of residents irate about recent development decisions. It was 54 to 46 percent. […]

Ebbert, Mena head for runoff in Gables commission race

Ebbert, Mena head for runoff in Gables commission race

The four-way Coral Gables commission race becomes a two-way race as longtime activist and everybody’s favorite tia abuela Marlin Ebbert heads into a runoff with land use attorney with hipster facial hair Mike Mena. And Mena heads into it stronger, having garnered 44.5% of the vote Tuesday to Ebbert’s 33%. Retired Gables Police Sgt. Randy Hoff […]

Mucho mailers mean to mislead in Coral Gables election

Mucho mailers mean to mislead in Coral Gables election

With little more than a week to go before the Coral Gables election, voters are getting a mailbboxful of promises and endorsements and attacks. The mailers in Coral Gables are almost always something to talk about — and this year is no exception. From the endorsement of a former governor to the image of a university […]

Hoff, Mena stand out in 4-way Gables commission race

Hoff, Mena stand out in 4-way Gables commission race

Four candidates have filed to fill the seat left empty by Coral Gables Commissioner Jeannett Slesnick‘s mayoral bid. And while they couldn’t be more different, they all sound pretty much the same. We have a soft-spoken schoolteacher/grandma activist, the retired cop and union leader, the land use attorney who works with the construction industry and […]