Letter to the editor in support of Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago is laughable

The “undersigned residents of Coral Gables” who supposedly penned the letter to the editor supporting Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago and urging against his recall are a bunch of developers and other Lago lackeys, some with financial interests in the City Beautiful.

The content of the letter (which was probably really written by campaign consultant Jesse Manzano) is laughable enough already without the motivated signatures. It’s also strange that it was published in The Miami Herald Tuesday, a full week after it was first published in Community Newspapers (only the latter printed the names of all 49 “undersigned residents”). That almost never happens.

Let’s take the letter paragraph by paragraph.

“We, a concerned group of Coral Gables residents, write to express our profound discontent and outrage at the recent efforts by a few individuals and special interests within and outside our community to recall Mayor Vince Lago. Since his election over three years ago, Mayor Lago has epitomized integrity, respect, and transparency in his leadership.”

The recall effort is being spearheaded by longtime Coral Gables activist Maria Cruz, a onetime Lago ally and campaign volunteer who has been at odds with the mayor for about a year, but not because of any special interests except the protection of her quality of life. That’s really los pajaros tirando a la escopeta. That’s the Cuban pot/kettle comparison. So many of the people who have “profound discontent and outrage” also have special interests at play.

Cruz is concerned about Lago’s multiple lies and conflicts of interests.

Like the relationship with a developer in the Gables who paid Lago and a group of partners — including Baby X cousin Esteban Suarez — about $12,400 a month for a retail space that sat empty for more than a year, according to sources cited by The Miami Herald. That’s more than $152,000. For an empty storefront? Rented by the same developer who is under investigation for bribery payments to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and who purchased a $35.6 million building on Ponce from the real estate firm where Lago and attorney William Riley — who was arrested in September for money laundering and bribery with former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla — hung their licenses.

Like the way he used his palanca and abused his power to help a client get a handicap parking spot in front of her office building.

Or like the intentional omission of his lobbyist brother from an affidavit Lago very dramatically and publicly signed saying that nobody in his family had any ties to the owner of the largest property in Little Gables — when his brother Carlos Lago was once the property owner’s lobbyist.

Of course Cruz is not the only one who wants to lose Lago. And, unfortunately, because of the new campaign finance reporting deadlines, we won’t know who is paying for the petition collectors until after the deadline for the signatures. There could be some special interests there. But not close to the $1.5 special interests have poured into Lago’s political action committee, Coral Gables First.

Also, since his election over three years ago, Mayor Lago has epitomized secrecy, disrespect and abuse of power. Integrity? This is a guy whose pals are being prosecuted for felony stalking, money laundering and bribery. Hello?

“The efforts to recall Mayor Lago are not only misguided but also deeply harmful to the cohesive fabric of our community. These actions appear to be driven by personal differences rather than any substantive critique of his leadership or policies. It is crucial to recognize that such divisive endeavors serve no constructive purpose; they only threaten to tarnish Coral Gables’ reputation across Miami-Dade County and the broader state of Florida.”

Ladra and many others might argue that Lago is the one who has been deeply harmful to the cohesive fabric of the Gables community and has already tarnished the city’s reputation. Did Ladra mention he hangs out with criminals like the disgraced Diaz de la Portilla and his bagman, Anibal Duarte-Viera.

Seriously, Willy Bermello? Pastor Willy Bermello? You’re going to defend L’Ego? This has nothing to do with the projects you have in the city, right? Bermello, an internationally renowned architect who signed the letter, has had many projects in the Gables, including The Avenue Hotel and Residences that broke ground in November.

And Alex Bucelo should distance himself pronto from the tainted mayor if he ever wants to be elected to anything.

This recall is definitely not driven by “personal differences.” Unless you count honesty and dishonesty as a personal difference. Or adversity to public corruption. It pains Cruz to do this. Lago was her friend. She certainly doesn’t want the hate she has attracted from the anonymous Lago apologists online dragging up an unfortunate past incident as a teacher for which she has already been disciplined. She doesn’t want the frivolous ethics complaint filed against her last week by the mayor’s campaign fundraiser, six months after the alleged violation and 15 days after she announced the recall effort .

And nobody wants to spend the time and money it takes to recall a once popular elected with a half a million dollars in a political action committee to defend himself.

The recall is, indeed, based on a “substantive critique” of Lago’s poor leadership and self-serving policies. Please refer to the fifth paragraph in this post. The “misfeasance and malfeasance” identified in the petition is his role in the sale of the Ponce building to the developer Rishi Kapoor. The wording:

“Vince Lago should be recalled from his elected office as the Mayor of Coral Gables, FL for committing misfeasance and malfeasance, as described below:

“Lago financially benefited from a 2022 lease of real estate by a company partially owned by him to a company owned by developer, Rishi Kapoor, when the said company had pending projects that were before the City Commission in Coral Gables. Additionally, Lago was part of a brokerage firm that received $640,000 from the sale of a lot where Kapoor planned to build a high rise. While Lago did not vote on any of Kapoor’s projects before the City, it was reported that he helped Kapoor’s project behind the scenes using his influence as Mayor in violation of municipal, county and state guidelines and laws.”

But there are so many things that could have been cited as a good reason.

Like the mayor’s influence in obtaining a handicap parking spot for the front of an office building he sold to Adriana and Eddy Fernandez. In her sworn testimony, Adriana Fernandez said Lago also helped them after they bought 3251 Ponce from him by introducing them to an architect who was “liked by everyone in permitting” and also to everyone in the permitting department.

Like how he weaponizes the police department against his enemies. Because Chief Ed Hudak did not just take it upon himself to call voters last year and urge them not to vote for Castro and Ariel Fernandez. And because it can’t be a coincidence that so many recall canvassers have been stopped, detained and searched by police for no reason.

Or like his retaliation against a planning and zoning board member who didn’t do his bidding.

Third paragraph in the laughable letter to the editor: “Mayor Lago’s leadership has been marked by a sincere and effective approach to governance, and he has always demonstrated a willingness to listen and engage with residents not only during commission meetings but also through weekly open office hours.”

Willingness to listen and engage with residents? Only some of them. Have any of these letter signers been at a commission meeting where he talks down to residents or shuts them down completely? Have they not noticed his complete disdain? Unless, of course, he’s on his phone texting or playing Candy Crush because he’s completely uninterested in what they have to say. And weekly office hours are now subject to a security check through a new glass key-access cage that was installed on the second floor of City Hall. Historic City Hall. Was it permitted? Did it go through the historic preservation board?

It looks horrible, by the way. And it’s probably going to be dismantled after Lago is gone. The citizens should burn it in a bonfire.

The fourth paragraph of the letter: “It is disheartening to see a small group attempt to undermine the stability and progress of our city for reasons that seem to stem from personal grievances rather than the common good. We believe that the time and resources spent on this recall effort would be far better utilized in collaborative efforts to address the actual challenges facing Coral Gables.”

Does this “small group” include the more than 800 voters who have already signed the recall petition? The Lago Must Go effort needs 1,649 signatures, or 5% of the 32,978 registered voters in the Gables as of the last election, for the first round by April 19. When those are verified and a judge approves the final language, they have 60 days to gather 4,947 signatures on petitions that will then include Lago’s 200-word rebuttal. It’s no easy task.

Only then, can the voters decide at the polls how small this group is.

One might also argue that Lago and his downward spiral are the biggest challenge facing the city and that ridding the Gables of him and his cronies is for the common good.

The last paragraph in the comical letter states, “We stand in solidarity with Mayor Vince Lago and urge our fellow residents to look beyond the noise and distraction of this recall effort. Let us instead focus on constructive dialogue and collective action to continue improving our beloved city. Our community deserves no less.”

How constructive is it to call dissent “noise and distraction”?

Mayor Lago and the undersigned residents of Coral Gables should do some refocusing of their own. Not everybody in Coral Gables thinks everything is copacetic. Not everyone in Coral Gables thinks that Mayor L’Ego is free of conflicts with his side gigs.

Perhaps if they instead focused on actually addressing the very legitimate concerns and taking action to mitigate the conflicts that clearly exist, it would do more to improve their beloved city.

The community certainly deserves no less than that. And they deserve true transparency.

So, in that vein, among the 49 who signed the letter — many of which are campaign donors involved in the real estate industry, 13 of which are spouses who may or may not even know that they were signing (always good to pad the numbers) — there are:

Gerardo Alvarez — A real estate broker at Sotheby’s International (and his wife).
Willy A. Bermello — The architect behind many signature Gables projects (and his wife).
Alex Bucelo — The twice failed candidate that Lago financed and supported last year (and not his wife?).
Jose J. Centurion M.D. — A cardiologist friend of Lago’s dad (and his wife).
Margarita Delgado — A public relations consultant who has worked for the Miami Parking Authority, among others, and was chairwoman of Lago’s PAC, Coral Gables First.
Raul Faget — Lago’s appointment to the citywide anticrime committee (and his wife).
Millie Garcia Navarro — The former legislative aide for former State Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla.
Alina Hernandez — The onetime assistant to the late Jorge de Cardenas, Lago’s former campaign consultant.
Jorge L. Hernandez — Another architect that does a lot of work in Coral Gables.
Samuel Lawson — A resident who suggested recalling Commissioner Ariel Fernandez at a recent meeting and who some suspect of being the anonymous blogger calling himself Aesop Gables to defend Lago (and his wife and his neighbor).
Ana Veiga Milton — She heads the Jose Milton Foundation, named for the architect and developer mogul Jose Milton, whose family is one of the largest property owners and managers in South Florida with almost 9,000 residential units and commercial real estate units.
Niberto L. Moreno — A cardiac surgeon and friend of Lago’s dad (and his wife).
Roberto Pesant — Senior managing director at Berkadia Miami, a commercial real estate office, and former director of acquisitions for Codina Development (and his wife).
Matt Sarelson — The attorney who filed an ethics complaint last year against Commissioner Melissa Castro.
Elena Torres — An interior designer included here simply because she’s a Democrat(!).
Raul Valdes-Fauli — A former two-time mayor who changed his mind about moving the election date after Fernandez and Castro won election upsets last year.
Adam J. Yormack — A real estate attorney who owns a business, On Chain Listings, with real estate investor Richard Swerdlow.

Many of these are the same people who are helping Lago fund a political opponent against Commissioner Kirk Menendez. Conspicuously missing are Bucelo’s parents, former Commissioner Chip Withers, George Kakouris, Tony Newell and Nick Cabrera. Also former Lago commission candidate Ivette Arango-O’Doski.

Granted, there are some regular folks signing the letter, too. Most of them are longtime residents in their golden years.

Jim Parke, a 45-year resident of the Gables, said he liked Lago and called the three amigos — Fernandez, Castro and Menendez — “the evil trio.” He said the recall is a waste of time and money and seemed surprised that the petition canvassers were getting paid (Pssst! So are the canvassers collecting signatures for Lago in his effort to change the election date).

“I don’t think anybody should be recalled,” Parke, 73, told Ladra. “I think they should be booted at election time.”

His wife signed the letter, too.

Vince Lago likes to say that Ladra is paid to write these stories. Let’s make him right. If you want Political Cortadito to continue to cover the recall in Coral Gables and the mayor’s campaign against the Three Amigos and anyone who will listen to them, please consider making a donation with the message: More Lago Please. It will make the mayor’s day to be right!

Coral Gables politics, Vince Lago

Letter to the editor in support of Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago is laughable added by Ladra on April 6, 2024
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