There are still a couple of months to qualify, but so far there are no challengers to Coral Gables Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli and Commissioner Mike Mena in the April election.
That’s too bad, because neither of them deserve an easy slide 
without a challenge.
There are three candidates — including former Commissioner Ralph Cabrera and one-time crazy ass city manager-for-five-disastrous-minutes Carmen Olazabal — running for the open seat left by Commissioner Frank Quesada, who apparently is not running for re-election. Instead, Quesada is backing the third candidate, Jorge L. Fors, who looks like a bigger Mike Mena and raised incumbent money in his first two months. (But more on that later.)
Read related: Interim Coral Gables manager got a 20% raise — but ‘for now’
The mayor and Mena are vulnerable, and Ladra hopes anyone waiting in the wings won’t wait much longer to come out and stop the flood of money going to them — $47,200 for Valdes-Fauli and $70K for Mena, according to their last campaign finance reports (found on the city’s website) through November — simply because there is no other choice.
Heck, Mena feels so free in his seat that he didn’t raise a dime last month.
Both stood by while the police chief and his employees were dragged through the mud unnecessarily by the city manager’s office. They stood by like they currently stand by paying Frank Fernandez a six figure salary to stay at home and look for another job.
But while Mena has been pretty much in a coma and only put his big boy pants on yesterday, Valdes-Fauli has been arrogant 
and awful to people, even right from the dais. He also talks out of both sides of his mouth, telling people he was going to get rid of City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark — as far back as the campaign trail two years ago — and then defending her every chance he got on the dais. His story changes for the audience.
Cabrera, who lost twice against Cason, won’t try a third time. He is running for commissioner because its safer in an open seat and he can do just as much without the ribbon cutting ceremonial stuff.
Read related: Coral Gables Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark quits job in battle with chief
Former Commissioner Jeannett Slesnick is a possibility. She 
only lost to Valdes-Fauli by 187 votes and later learned that hundreds of her friends had not voted. If she runs again and makes sure those friends turn in their absentee ballots, she should have it in the bag.
“I think I could win. I just don’t know if I want to spend the time,” Slesnick told Ladra after the tree lighting Friday. “It took three months out of my life.”
While she prefers to spend her time these days raising funds for Democrat candidates to higher office — which she is very good at — she could very well be talked into it.
Ariel Fernandez is another good possibility. An activist turned one-time commission candidate, Ariel — who has stayed 
active — has the Hispanic name that would help the Hispanics who only voted for Raul out of some misguided loyalty to culture turn. After all, Valdes-Fauli traveled to Cuba under the Castro rule and defends the opening of relations with a country that still criminalizes political speech.
Like I said, he is not that hard to beat.
Fernandez said he would need to raise a lot of money to beat Valdes-Fauli but Ladra believes he can win without the big bucks by making the election a referendum on the mayor.
Who else is there? Anyone?
Incumbents safe so far in Coral Gables, as three fight for open seat added by Ladra on
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