For a man touring Florida accusing local governments of wasteful spending, Blaise Ingoglia — the head of the Florida DOGE, who reported last year that Miami-Dade had misspent more than $300 million (lacking any details, of course) — has picked a very awkward place to collect campaign checks: The Biltmore Hotel.
Yes, the same grand, Mediterranean Revival palace in Coral Gables famous for champagne brunches, presidential suites and ghost stories will host a March 18 fundraising reception for Ingoglia’s campaign to stay chief financial officer. He was appointed last summer by the governor to replace Jimmy Petronis.
The invitation promises a reception in the Biltmore’s Tuttle Room from 5:30 to 7 p.m., under the slogan 
“Keep Florida Fearless with Blaise.”
Fearless apparently also means well-connected.
Because the host committee reads like a who’s who of Miami-Dade politics.
Among the names welcoming Ingoglia to the City Beautiful: Miami-Dade Commissioner Rob Gonzalez, who championed the DOGE investigation and is apparently thinking of running for county mayor, is at the top. Also listed are Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez, County Commissioners Rene Garcia and Natalie Milian Orbis, Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago, Doral Mayor Christi Fraga, Miami-Dade Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez, Miami-Dade Sheriff Rosanna “Rosie” Cordero-Stutz, and a lineup of South Florida lobbyists and power brokers (like Ron Book and sports event host committee perennial Rodney Barreto).
Read related: Anthony Rodriguez rolls out red carpet for state DOGE, calls it ‘collaboration’
In other words: exactly the kind of local political ecosystem Ingoglia’s Florida Department of Government Efficiency has been touring the state to warn about. DOGE, as the initiative is branded, has been holding press conferences accusing cities and counties of “excessive spending” while hinting that property taxes are out of control.
Speaking of which, isn’t our local government giving Barreto’s FIFA World Cup committee at least $53 million, between Miami-Dade and city of Miami? Why, yes. Yes, they are. We are.
Critics say his FAFO message is nonsense because there are no details in the reported wasteful spending and because Ingoglia only targets Democrat governments. He isn’t shy about it in his campaign launch video six months ago. “My message to the bureaucrats and career politicians funding their leftist mission on 
taxpayer dime is simple: You can run, but you can’t hide,” he says.
The blah blah blah is campaign gold: Local governments waste money. State watchdogs, led by Ingoglia, will stop them.
Mmmm… unless they’re hosting a fundraiser? If Miami-Dade politicians are shaking the trees for the state official whose job is to investigate local government spending, is this diplomacy? Insurance? Or just the normal Tallahassee-Miami relationship — where everyone criticizes government waste until it’s time for cocktails?
It’s not like Ingoglia is going to need any more campaign fodder. He has already raised more than any other sitting CFO has in the history of the Sunshine State and has more than $5 million parked in both his political action committees, Friends of Blaise Ingoglia and Government Gone Wild, as of the end of last year (the last reporting quarter). He has another $710,000 raised in his campaign account.
And no real competition in sight. There is no Democrat running against him and three Republicans who are likely to withdraw before they qualify.
Read related: Gov. Ron DeSantis sends Florida DOGE squad to sniff out Miami-Dade budget
The historic and iconic Biltmore Hotel, of course, is famous for its ghost stories. Legend has it the hotel is haunted by the spirit of mobster Thomas “Fatty” Walsh, who was murdered there during Prohibition.
On March 18, there may be a few more ghosts floating around the room. The ghost of future audits. The ghost of campaign season. And the ghost of awkward political math.
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