Surprise! Big development interests poured money into both campaigns
Riding an anti-development wave, Rhonda Anderson cruised into the Coral Gables Commission Tuesday, winning the runoff with a whopping 74% over Jose Valdes-Fauli, who just couldn’t shake the shadow of his big, bad brother.
Valdes-Fauli pulled almost the same 26% he got in the first round, when there were six candidates. Guess that’s his ceiling.
It’s too bad that Mayor Vince Lago has already promised Commissioner Mike Mena the vice mayor’s post, because it should be Anderson’s.
The attorney and former planning and zoning board member won handily, with half as much money, proving that a cardboard box can get elected if she stays clean and represents the true wishes of the residents. Hopefully, she won’t be pushed around on the dais when Anderson joins as the only woman and only non-Cuban.
Good luck with that, m’hijita.
But for someone who was supposedly allergic to developer money, she should have been itching like crazy the last week.
Anderson picked up an additional $44,500 in campaign contributions in eight days ending on April 22, according to the latest campaign finance reports. This includes a few bundles from Armando Codina (at least $5,000), Jorge Mas ($3,000), Rogelio Tovar ($2,000), as well as $3,000 from former Commissioner Frank Quesada and $2,000 from former Commissioner Wayne Withers.
That’s precisely what we can expect, however, from Kirk Menendez, Mr. Coral Gables, who beat Javier Baños by a few hundred votes, or 52% to 48%. Less of a mandate but still comfortable.
Baños campaigned longer and more negatively — something that apparently turns Gables voters off — and Menendez, soccer coach to almost everyone’s family member, didn’t turn them off enough with his big gains in real estate after pushing for the rezoning of the Crafts Section, where he owns three homes that have more than tripled in value in recent weeks.
The anti-development crowd that ushered Anderson in might not know what they bought with Kirk.
Read related: Endorsements fly in Coral Gables runoff election as VBM ballots arrive
Moneybags Menendez, who was a no-show at the only debate for the runoff, got a little last minute help from $87,500 blast in contributions. That’s more campaign cheddar in eight days, since he came in second in the first round, than he could muster in the five months prior.
It included bundled checks from multiple real estate and development interests — at least $8,000 from Sergio Pino, $5,000 from Rolando Delgado, at least $3,000 from each Codina and Mas and at least $5,000 from Stephen Bittel, who owns property on Miracle Mile and is pushing for maximum density and height.
Another company that owns the building with the Navarro Discount Pharmacy at the corner of Galiano and Miracle Mile donated $4,000 to Menendez’s campaign since April 13.
That injection of donations helped him pay for a $3,500 poll, 13,000 in advertising, $2,250 for t-shirts and more than $41,000 in “voter outreach” through Steve Marin and Sons.
Marin also helped elect Commissioners Jorge Fors and Mena — both of whom endorsed Kirk — meaning they will need him again in two years. So now Marin has three ears (read: votes) on the Gables Commission, in case he has any clients who have issues there.
Oh, wait a minute. Marin is registered to lobby for no fewer than five clients in the City Beautiful, including, lo and behold, Stephen Bittel.
Wish we knew all this and about the $900K mortgage when Alex Bucelo was still in the picture.
Rhonda Anderson and Kirk Menendez win commission seats in Coral Gables added by Ladra on
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