Three commissioners opposed him on firefighters and tax rate, too Did ya feel it? The Earth shifted in Coral Gables Wednesday when Mayor Vince Lago lost his grip on power and the majority vote. Lago lost on his proposed charter amendment to move the city’s election from April to November. He lost his fight with […]
Critics worry that special interest influence will grow UPDATED: The Coral Gables commission this Wednesday may change the date of city elections from April to November, forever altering the way electeds are elected in the City Beautiful. It’s not just about a date. This change will make it harder for grass roots candidates with little […]
Coral Gables Commissioner Rhonda Anderson has booted Claudia Miro, a onetime commission candidate, from the planning and zoning board, saying her attendance, or lack thereof, is the reason. But the timing and circumstances point to another motive: Miro, who was recently reappointed by Anderson, voted last month against naming former Commissioner Wayne “Chip” Withers the […]
Change could give Mayor Vince Lago an additional 20 months in office To increase participation and reduce costs, the Coral Gables Commission may move the city’s biannual elections from April to November. But the question is, will they start in 2024 or 2026? The earlier option, moving the April 2025 election to November 2024, means […]
Voters in Coral Gables who got the robocall from Commissioner Rhonda Anderson agree on one thing: She sounds very unenthusiastic. Ladra is not sure that means anything. Anderson sounds monotone most of the time. But some insiders think she had to hold her nose to endorse commission candidates Alex Bucelo and Ivette Arango O’Doski, the […]
Coral Gables officials have admitted to making a mistake in February when a rewrite of the zoning code meant to clean up inconsistencies actually increased height and density in an area known as the Biltmore Section. Whoooooops. Now the city is trying to fix the error — but their hands may be tied. On Wednesday, […]
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 […]
Newly-elected Coral Gables Commissioner Rhonda Anderson is already delivering on her campaign promises, proposing sweeping changes to the zoning code at her first commission meeting Tuesday. Anderson sent Mayor Vince Lago and her colleagues a memo on May 4, just over a week after winning the April 27 runoff, detailing a bunch of suggestions that […]
Surprise! Big development interests poured money into both campaigns Riding an anti-development wave, Rhonda Anderson cruised into the Coral Gables Commission Tuesday, winning the runoff with a whopping 74% over Jose Valdes-Fauli, who just couldn’t shake the shadow of his big, bad brother. Valdes-Fauli pulled almost the same 26% he got in the first round, […]
After all that hand-wringing and sweating over the Coral Gables commission election, much fewer voters will actually have made the decision when it comes Tuesday. Already there are more than 2,500 fewer voters between vote-by-mail ballots and early voting than there was for the first round April 13. According to the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, […]