Coral Gables: Three full races are on with 10 candidates

Qualification ended at noon Friday for the April Coral Gables elections that nobody really knows about and all three seats on the ballot became contests with a last minute entry against Commissioner Frank Quesada and a free-for-all of six candidates in the open seat vacated by termed-out Commissioner William “Billy” Kerdyk.

Activist Enrique Lopez, who has long been a self-proclaimed independent reviewer of the commission’s performance, finally challenged Quesada, who had warded off any opposition until the last day. He’s got a lot of catching up to do and a $50,000 warchest to fight, but Lopez also has his following. At the very least, and although it still should be a cakewalk for Quesada, Lopez makes that race interesting. Quesada has done nothing to earn a free ride and there’s an anti-incumbency wave riding the nation, so who knows?

There are only two candidates for mayor. Incumbent Jim Cason, who has raised — thanks to developers who have business before the city (more on that later) — more than twice as much as former Commissioner Ralph Cabrera, who is running mostly on Cason’s inability to even acknowledge issues in the city like crime and controlled choice, let alone lead on them. Ladra is solidly in Cabrera’s camp and has even lent her writing and strategic talents to the campaign. He was the right choice in 2013 and he’s the right choice today and I think that people are beginning to see that. It is not going to be a cake walk for Cason this time.

The third group looks more like a tournament than a contest, with six candidates vying for the open Kerdyk seat. Naturally, it’s going to draw wannabes. Because without an incumbent, it is a real viable opportunity for anyone with a little money and/or a good campaign to win. Especially now that there are six people vying for it. Those numbers may very well help put a Slesnick back on the dais.

Jeannette Slesnick filed on Thursday. If she can motivate her base and the support base for her husband, former Mayor Don Slesnick, and if the other five candidates split the rest of the votes, she can easily take this away from Ariel Fernandez, who has been campaigning the longest, and Anthony Newell, who has the support of Quesada and Commissioner Vince Lago.

PJ Mitchell, who has run and lost before, and attorney Sandra Murado, whose campaign is run by the mayor’s campaign man, might be wasting their time and money.

But maybe not as much as local eccentric (read: loony tunes) property owner Jackson Rip Holmes, who also threw his hat in the ring at the last minute and, at the very least, promises to make the race and the upcoming forums and debates more, um, colorful.

The election is April 14th. And, seriously, people don’t even know about it. Which is likely why there is traditionally such little turnout. Two years ago, about 7,100 people voted out of 30,000 voters. Cabrera has suggested that the city change it’s election day to coincide with county elections, which would not only save the city $150,000 or so, but would also ensure that its leaders are elected by a larger sampling of the represented.

We’ll get to know more about the large sampling of candidates at the first of the forums on March 8 (commission races) and March 9 (mayoral race) at the Coral Gables Congregational Church.

Coral Gables, Frank Quesada, Jeannette Slesnick, Jim Cason, Ralph Cabrera

Coral Gables: Three full races are on with 10 candidates added by Ladra on February 21, 2015
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