It’s been rumored for months but Miami Lakes Councilman Nelson Rodriguez will announce Thursday that he will challenge freshman State Rep. Cindy Polo in House District 103 next year.
Polo won the seat vacated by Manny Diaz Jr., who ran for Senate, in 2018 against another former Miami Lakes councilman, Frank Mingo.
Rodriguez, a Coral Gables firefighter who is termed out in 2020, posted a 
photo of himself mailing paperwork to Tallahassee on his Facebook page Tuesday.
“Can you guess what I just mailed? #2020…. major announcement on July 4th… Stay Tuned!”
The Republican confirmed to Ladra that he would announce his candidacy on Independence Day with a 50-second online video.
“As a veteran firefighter with over 30 years of service, I understand teamwork and the sacrifice that public service requires,” Nelson narrates into the montage of photographs of him on the job and on the dais. “Along with the Miami Lakes Town Council, I have managed to keep our taxes low and improve our services.
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“With your support, I’ll be able to take my experience to Tallahassee. I look forward to speaking with you in the upcoming months. Have a happy and safe 4th of July.”
Rodriguez told Political Cortadito that Polo was a ghost who voted against an 
appropriations bill that had road resurfacing monies for Miami Lakes.
“She has not showed up at Town Hall or any activities in Miami Lakes or, my understanding is, any other city in her district,” Rodriguez said. “And she voted against the city she represents.”
District 103 covers a swath of Northwest Dade, from Doral, through Medley, Hialeah and Hialeah Gardens, into Miami Lakes and ending in Miramar. It also covers parts of unincorporated Miami-Dade, including Palm Springs North.
But Polo voted against the budget in its entirety, not the Miami Lakes money, because she felt it did not do enough for affordable housing and other needs district-wide.
And, anyway, Rodriguez has been badmouthing her since she was still in committee.
It looks like he has had a bead on this seat since at least January, when — 77 days into Polo’s freshman term and way before she voted for or against anything — Rodriguez used his position as vice mayor to berate Polo during an official city commission meeting, saying she had not taken the time to visit the town in her official capacity.
He apologized the next month when Polo’s assistant went to the meeting. But it seems Rodriguez may have been laying his groundwork.
Read related: In HD103, Cindy Polo threatens GOP’s hand-picked Frank Mingo
“He took 17 minutes to insult me and said he would invite me to the town, which he never did,” said Polo, a mother and anti-blasting activist who decided to run after the Parkland shooting. “And when he came to Tallahassee, he met with representatives that do not represent Miami Lakes but cancelled on me.”
As for accessibility? She was in Tallahassee, getting to know the ropes, so to speak.
“We just got back in May and I’ve been doing legislative recaps all over, in 
both Miami-Dade and Broward, because I represent both counties. I’ve been to speak at several high schools,” she said, and the photo has her at Barbara Goleman High in May. “I show up to community events where people want to talk about the issues, not for photo opportunities.
“It’s just so interesting they have so much to say about my seven months in office and nothing to say about the people who were there for years and years and didn’t represent the district,” Polo told Political Cortadito.
The district swings Democrat and Polo won last year over the last Miami Lakes councilman by seven points.
State Rep. Cindy Polo is challenged by Miami Lakes’ Nelson Rodriguez added by Ladra on
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