Newly-elected Coral Gables Commissioner Melissa Castro was so excited about her first commission meeting on Tuesday, nothing would faze her. Her car wouldn’t start, her heel got stuck in the elevator door, the Uber driver turned the wrong way and made her a few minutes late. But none of it mattered.
She was so psyched about her first chance to serve the residents that she took it all in stride. She was so happy to be there and so concentrated on the items in front of her, that she didn’t realize Mayor Vince Lago had been a condescending jerk, treating her like a little girl.
Castro thought it was odd when Lago went on and on about how the new commissioners were going to fix everything in the city. “I was so focused on the agenda, I didn’t realize what was going on,” she later told Ladra. “I was like, ‘Is he serious or is he exaggerating?'”
Then she went home and watched it on YouTube and realized he was mocking them.
“I felt totally disrespected,” Castro said.
Tuesday’s commission meeting in Coral Gables has given us a possible taste of what it will be like to have Lago and the two new reformist commissioners — Castro and Ariel Fernandez, the mayor’s nemesis and former publisher of the Gables Insider, which is on hiatus — serve on the dais together: A tense, combative, tug-of-war.
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Lago, who campaigned hard against both Castro and Fernandez, did not even try to hide how unhappy he was with the election results. His sarcastic mansplaining — or we could coin the term mayorsplaining — of government operations was so over the top, it was like watching Adult Swim.
What a sore loser!
And it’s not just Ladra’s observation. Several people commented on how “needlessly offensive” and “obnoxious” Lago was. More than one person used the word “bitchy.”
Now that they are here, at last, the new leaders, he called them, Lago can’t wait to see what they do to make the city more efficient and responsive. He said this over and over again. The message was that they have no idea what they’re doing and he can’t wait to see them fail.
When a couple of residents from Biltmore Way asked about the city’s outdated practice of providing golden pension plans for non essential employees, Lago saw it as another opportunity to take a dig, calling on the finance director to do some more mayorsplaining on his behalf. “Since we have two new commissioners, can you explain what are our pension requirements? What is our overall costs? And if we didn’t have that, what we could do?”
After she explained has the city has been trying to catch up with an unfunded liability, putting in an extra $4.5 to $8 million a year to bring it down, the mayor started jumping up and down again.
“That’s why I’m so excited to have a new commission that is going to find the money we need to do all these things,” he said, being condescending again.
“Now, as a commissioner, you’re going to have the opportunity… now you have to make decisions on what is the priority. Is it what Raul Valdes Fauli tells us is an issue in his neighborhood? Or what Brett [didn’t catch his last name] says is an issue in his neighborhood?
“I’m sorry, but I always go with public safety.”
He should have done a Steve Martin “excuuuuuuuuuuse meeeeeee.” Because that’s how it sounded.
“Let me respond to that,” he kept saying after Fernandez spoke, because it was the mayor’s job up there to challenge everything the new commissioner said. Right? That’s what it looked like. Ladra thought it was the other way around: Fernandez is there to challenge all the bullshit Lago says.
The commission spent about two hours discussing the performance of the city manager, all directed by Lago. He knew how the votes were going to go. He could have saved everyone two hours if he had just called the question. But then he would have deprived himself of yet another opportunity to hear his own voice and a chance to dig at the two new commissioners some more.
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When the police union president began to complain about the motor pool being a mess and officers applying to other agencies, how difficult int is to retain dispatchers, Lago said he was grandstanding.
“This negotiation should be happening behind closed doors with our team. No one is going to intimidate me, no union is going to intimidate me into making a decision that is not the best for our city,” Lago said.
Fernandez said that they were not grandstanding and that the public should know how the police officers felt as employees.
“Let me respond to that,” Lago said, adding that he was confident they would reach an agreement. He asked the city attorney if any municipalities did their union bargaining and negotiations in public. No, she said. It’s state law.
“I love it,” he exclaimed, like he had scored another point.
But the only people who can lose this game that Lago is playing with the new commissioners — I’m better, smarter, far more prepared than you are — are the residents and taxpayers of Coral Gables.
Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago shows his petty side with new commissioners added by Ladra on
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Didn’t know police & fire gave customer service! .
Start a petition to recall commissioner Menendez, to get him out of office. Talk and more talk won’t do it. If no petition, you and I will suffer two more years of bad government until the next election. START PETITION NOW!
The City is falling apart. The police are leaving for better jobs elsewhere. Same for fire rescue. The pension fund is down 25%. Homeowners have a nightmare, getting a permit approved to fix up their homes.
So, what does Commissioner Rhonda Anderson do about those problems? She spends her time working on a part of dogs! Yes, you read that right.
Get rid of her. One way to do it is with a petition for recall: it removes her from office. Then, a new commissioner for the residents can quickly take her place.
If not a recall now and only talk, talk, talk now, be prepared to suffer for two more years until the next election.
Actually, our question, about the outdated pension plan (for non-essential personnel) was not even answered. Non-essential personnel shouldn’t have an “option” (pension plan or 401k). What business does this anymore? We are nuts to keep electing people who can’t see this practice is cost prohibited! Please commissioners – STOP THE MADNESS! End the non-essential personnel pension plan!!! It doesn’t take a finance wizard to see that plenty of $$$ would be saved! Ridiculous!
I am not here for politics over the public or your future political aspirations over the city’s. Residents want commissioners to DO YOUR JOB! Stop trying to push YOUR architecture, YOUR art, YOUR anti bike agenda, YOUR over development, YOUR anti-employee, YOUR anti government, YOUR tantrums on OUR CITY BEAUTIFUL.
We have a great city and all YOU need to do is hire great people, train them, pay them, save our historic resources and provide positive customer services like parks, police/fire, landscaping, trolleys, golf/clubs, and enhance our Mediterranean architectural gem of a city. We didn’t ask you to “fix” it. We love our city. We love our parks, historic resources, and positive quality of life that is absent from nearly every other city in South Florida.
Recall mayor VICE lago!!
I had the exact same take-away from that meeting…….incredible and totally Pathetic!!!
Please make a mental note for ALL FUTURE ELECTIONS!!!
We need to find a Gables resident NOW to run against Lago in the election two years from now.
Maria Cruz would be a great choice.
Feel free to contact me in this regard by calling or texting me at 3055883005
Shame on you LAGO! iGLECIAS needs to be taken out! Shame on you Kirk Menedez such A HYPOCRIT!
Vince is the perfect example of a man whose abilities cannot fulfill his ambitions.
I wonder how many people in Carl Gables paid attention to all this; I am sure it is not big news on any local TV station’s news programs.
It appears Mr Lago doesn’t have good bedside manners. On our first visit to a commission meeting , we met Bill Kerdyck who was the master of offering individual attention to any comment of any Gables voter . A pleasant Gables gent. Bill Chapman ,was our Mayor.
If only someone had run against Lago. We would be rid of him.
I wish she would sue him for being so condescending and disrespectful. He is so full of himself, how is this guy still in his position?? Such lack of professionalism! For him to think that he continues to fool the residents by saying “he represents the residents” is just as disrespectful to all of us. This pig needs to go!
You are right on the mark. Lago was mansplaining every question, even those that Fernandez directed at the city manager couldn’t stop Lil Vinnie from answering. Fernandez needs to stay strong and Anderson needs to grow a pair and stop defending a guy that thinks nothing of her, only uses her for votes.
It’s very sad. The Mayor is an mis representation of who we are in Coral Gables. As a resident for 10+ years. This is terrible. He does nothing but bully and remain narcissistic. He bullies the police and fire department. Not only are they losing police officers and dispatchers, but I wouldn’t be surprised Eve they start losing firefighters as well. These are hard working men and women, putting their Leif on the line for us. And he bullies and mistreats them. He states he is about public safety, yet nothing is being done? It’s unbelievable.
[…] new somewhat anti-establishment commissioners to the five-person Coral Gables Commission is that the Mayor of Coral Gables, their chief target, is acting kinda grumpy (or worse). A motion to fire the City Manager (we have a weak-Mayor system, so the City Manager […]
The Mayor acts like a petulant frat boy who doesn’t want to share power with the new kids at school. But we all know what happens in Revenge of the Nerds.
He did sound like the little b*tch he is… Shameful. Petty. Typical.
I’ve never met anyone as self-unaware as Mayor Vinnie. He lost two lopsided elections and carries on even worse than pre-election – grandstanding, paternizing, and filibustering till we fall asleep from hearing his voice. He’s so egotistical, he’s unable to change. Pobrecito.
People joining any organization need to have humility. There is so much to learn. Rookies in any professional sports know it well. So should politicians. Best way for Ariel and Melissa to be effective leaders in Coral Gables, is to listen more, to ask questions, and not to play victim. People who feel victims do not learn, since they are too focused on themselves, and not on being of service to the community.
All of the bad blood, pettiness, childishness, sour grapes and other nonsense that comes from all quarters must stop. All five commissioners need to recognize elections matter and the People spoke. We are not happy with how our City is being run, so we voted for something different, candidates who promised a different perspective. This is not a “revolution”; we don’t expect, and likely don’t want, radical change. But read the writing on the wall and work together as a group for our benefit. Otherwise, there may be three new faces on the dais in two years.
Anyone who knows Melissa will soon learn that neither a broken heel, a broken car nor an errant Uber will not impede her inertia, nor should they mistake her meekness and kindness for weakness. Nor is she a sore loser, nor does she hold a grudge. The electioin is over. Will the “commission” be budgeting funds to serve popcorn and create monthly entertainment or take a deep breath and move forward and work out their POST ELECTION obligations?
Lago acted like a little brat. He’s a bully that needs to learn what the rest of us learned in kindergarten, get along with others or you’ll be removed from the game.
Thank you for this insightful summary of the meeting. Things will get worse from now on and I only hope that more residents of our city start opening their eyes and speaking out againt the demeanor of our mayor. Praying that Fernandez and Castro stay strong against our narcissistic, offensive and rude mayor. I am sure his mother would not be proud of his behavior.
I would put him in time out and wash his mouth out with soap. He needs a lesson or two on civility.
have yo 120% agree w you, Ladra. I watched the whole meeting in You Tube and Lago was just a pain the ass. in any other setting, he’d been told to shut up or walk out. he was all those words you use: petty, bitchy, condescending. the pension bit was a joke. the solution is not funding it to 100%, the solution is going to defined contribution plans, not defined benefit, like everyone else’s in America. what he’s doing is kicking the can down the road. a fire fighter or police officer getting a pension is one thing, but a documents clerk? why? that’s a low value added job. i can’t wait for the next mayoral election. hopefully we get someone to run against this joke of a guy. he becoming unhinged.