Commissioner-to-be Vince Lago lives in the Gables

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Voters are still casting ballots and what Ladra calls the electoral Happy Hour — 5 to 7 p.m. — is still in full swing.

Everyone is counting on a photo finish between Pat Keon and Mary Young in one of the commission races, but the other one is pretty much a done deal already, despite 11th hour tactics that may have backfired on one of the other candidates: Ross Hancock.

Ladra already called him Commissioner Vince Lago. He has had this from a few weeks back, if not from last year when he first ran. And it was evident today in the number of Lago-shirted volunteers at the polling places and the thumbs up they got from voters leaving.

But I do expect Marlin Ebbert — who looks like everybody’s favorite aunt — to sneak up and gain more support than either Lago or Hancock ever expected.

And maybe that is thanks to the last-minute, desperate stab by Hancock and his supporters — which includes the lovable but goofy South Miami Commissioner Bicycle Bob Welsh — to question Lago’s residency, which is a moot point and looks like the last-minute, desperate stab that it is.

Hancock filed a lawsuit against the city for allowing Lago to qualify under his home address, even though he doesn’t actually live there while renovations are made.

Lago lists a house at 5200 San Amaro Drive, which he bought in 2011 with his wife Olga for $405,000 — a bargain since the house sold for more than twice that much in 2005. He lives and votes at his in-laws hosue on Alhambra Drive while he lives with his in-laws on Alhambra after selling his apartment, which was on Edgewater Drive, also in the Gables. Gables law requires one year residency and nobody is questioning whether or not he lived in the City Beautiful, just where in the City Beautiful. Who cares? Ladra loves to catch candidates and even electeds outside their required residential district, and would not think twice about outting Commissioner Lago, whether or not we share many friends.

But there is no smoking gun here. San Amaro, Edgewater, Miracle Mile, Obispo. He could be homeless and slumming at Fewell Park — even though it’s closed after sunset; and just how, pray tell, do you close an open air, corner, neighborhood park?) and he would still qualify to run.

And all this fuss about his Homestead exemption being on his San Amaro house is also moot. Where on Earth should it be? He rented the Edgewater unit. He doesn’t own his in-laws home. You mean Lago is paying taxes on a house he owns, claiming one solitary exemption as allowed by law, even though he is not living in it. Eeek!

This is not a smoking gun either.

But Ross filed a lawsuit against the city anyway — on the day before the election. Which didn’t work. Because, let’s face it, it’s got no merits in law. It was a media move. And nobody paid attention.

“I think it’s shameful that a candidate for public office would take advantageof the judicial system to file a frivolous lawsuit,” Lago said. “For political gain,” I finished.

If this is the best you got Ross, don’t jump again.

And is this your second or third try? Because after this, you become one of Ladra’s perennial candidates.

Lago has explained it to anyone who asks, and provided copies of the documents that show he had every intention of moving into his San Amaro home before mold was discovered just as his baby was born. He had no intention, on the other hand, of moving to his in-laws — a three bedroom-home with four people in it already.

And if there has been any damage, I believe it has mostly served Ebbert, who seemed to pick up steam on Election Day.

“I like being the underdog,” Ebbert told me outside the Coral Gables Congregational Church, as she greeted voters arriving. “I like that the spin machine is scared of this little ol’ housewife.”

Little, maybe. She is short in stature. But old? Nah. She should run again after she comes out No. 2, Ladra told her. And she may.

“I’m the same age as Hillary,” she said, because Ebbert, like all female Democrats, is on first-name basis with the former First Lady. “If she can run, I can run.”

She will have more name recognition and lessons learned two years from now and will be a much more viable candidate. Unless another Lago/Quesada clone shows up. Those tall, dark, good-looking and suave-speaking cubanitos are hard to beat.

Lago stopped at the church just before noon Tuesday to feed his troops — burritos from Power Pizza, it looked like — and was a little miffed that I snapped a photo of him with his mouth full. He was still cleaning his teeth with his tongue — look closely — when he spoke to these voters in the photo.

Oh, stop wincing, Commissioner. It doesn’t matter. You win anyway. You won.

But he must be or own the spin machine that Ebbert is talking about (because it can’t be Hancock), since he has raised the most money and has the political mechanical pieces (namely, Gables Commissioner Frank Quesada and Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez, but also Cason in secret) behind him.

But he also seems to have worked really hard, starting more than a year ago and knocking on what he said were more than 9,000 doors — including 900 this past weekend.

Starting next week, new candidates can knock on his door — the one on San Amaro Drive. He told Ladra that he will likely move into his newly mold-free house next week.

Sure hope we’re invited to the homewarming. Ladra is housetrained.

And I promise she will not take photos of you with food in your mouth.