Now the party’s getting started.
There were no big surprises or sudden jumps from one group to another in Coral Gables as candidates qualified for April 13 election by the noon Friday deadline.
Perennial candidate Jackson “Rip” Holmes, who has no chance of winning anyway but keeps running and really cares about the city, moved from the commission cluster bunch race in Group 2 to the — why not? — mayoral race, which was going to be a head-to-head between Vice Mayor Vince Lago and Commissioner Pat Keon. Well, actually, it still is. Ladra doesn’t think Rip’s 400 or 500 votes can force a runoff. And neither does he.
In a video posted on YouTube Friday, he basically admitted he has as much chance as he has money — which is nada — and that he is only running because it gives him a platform for his message, which has always been to bring an anchor department store to Miracle Mile.
“If nothing else my candidacy for mayor helps me get the correct information out,” he says.
There could be a Round 2 in both commission races, however, especially since another perennial candidate, Phillip “PJ” Mitchell, jumped in at the last minute into the Group 3 contest. There’s no way that any of the first three candidates can take it in the first round now. Not Javier Baños, whose been campaigning forever. Not Kirk “Mr. Coral Gables” Menendez. Not the good looking Alex Bucelo, who has his father’s friends bankrolling his bid. Already, it was going to be tight. Mitchell secures the runoff. Thanks, PJ.
Read related: Coral Gables group 2 race goes from cluster bunch to 3-way along ethnic lines
The cluster bunch race in Group 2 got smaller with Jackson’s jump to the mayoral race. But everyone else qualified: Rhonda Anne Anderson, Tania Cruz-Gimenez, Mayra Joli, Claudia Miro and Jose Valdes-Fauli, heck, even Alexander Luis Haq, who hasn’t raised a dime, filed all his paperwork. Ladra says it’s still a race between Anderson, the Gimenez girl and the mayor’s brother.
Now things really get going. Already, there was a terse exchange between Valdes-Fauli and Anderson on her development votes on the planning and zoning board, where she was apparently all for the zoning update.
Soon, the political action committees get involved. So far, there are three.
Coral Gables First is the old PAC that consultant Jorge de Cardenas used for Raul Valdes-Fauli‘s mayoral campaigns, which collected $65,000 in contributions just in the last two months, with almost $200,000 in hand.
Read related: Miami politics creep into Coral Gables election via Javier Baños, Claudia Miro
Friends of the Gables, formed last year by friends of Bucelo’s, raised its first contributions last month, for a total of $32,500.
Keeping Coral Gables Beautiful was formed by consultant Luis Mata, who is supporting Tania Cruz-Gimenez, so it’s probably on her behalf. There are still no contributions reported there.
But we won’t start seeing the real PAC attacks until right before absentee or vote-by-mail ballots are sent around March 22, which is almost two weeks after the planned Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce debate March 11.
It’s on! Coral Gables candidates qualify with no big surprises; PACs get ready added by Ladra on
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