There are two new candidates for commission in the Coral Gales election this April.
It didn’t take long for someone to file to run in Group 3 after Kirk Menendez decided last week to run for mayor instead for someone to take his place. Attorney Tom Wells, who is Menendez’s appointment to the city’s charter review committee, filed Friday for the seat and will run against attorney Richard Lara, who is the mayor’s hand picked puppet.
Attorney Laureano Cancio (no relation to former Miami-Dade Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Cancio) also filed Friday to run against Commissioner and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson, who is also an attorney and a Lago puppet.
So this April’s election may be a referendum on Vince Lago.
Wells, a Gables resident for more than 30 years, has raised two daughters in the City Beautiful with his wife Diane and is an active member of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, serving as senior warden and on the vestry. He is a member of the Coral Gables Country Club, as well.
A North Gables resident, he fought to keep Burger Bob’s and then became active in the push to reopen Burger Bob’s and then the opening of it’s new reincarnation as the Birdie Bistro — which opened last month. He assists in restaurant operations on the weekends, like serving ice cream to people who recently attended the 76th Annual Junior Orange Bowl Parade. He also advocated for the renewal of the Fritz & Franz lease earlier this year.
Wells often speaks at commission meetings. He supported the ouster of former City Manager Peter Iglesias and opposed changing the election to November and the proposed 2% tax cut last year because it could affect services for a tiny savings to residents.
He said at a town hall organized by Commissioner Melissa Castro that the big winners would be the large developers. Houston-based owners of Gables Station would get a $29,408 savings while Wells’ own taxes would fall by only $94. “Why are we giving these foreign companies a tax cut that’s going to hurt our services?” He called it “a $2.65 million giveaway.”
Read related: Town hall on tiny tax cut in Coral Gables shows residents don’t want it
This pretty much aligns him with the positions of Castro, Menendez and Commissioner Ariel Fernandez, and against Mayor Vince Lago, who has been gas-lighting the commission in an egocentric battle since his two hand-picked candidates lost in the last commission race (read: referendum on Lago) two years ago. Lake Sour Grapes.
“It’s so toxic. It’s so personal,” Wells, 52, told Political Cortadito about the current state of affairs on the commission. “I think I can help restore civility in Coral Gables at City Hall.”
To that end, he called Lara — who announced his candidacy during public comments at a commission meeting — on Saturday, the day after he filed. “I said, ‘Let’s try to keep it clean,'” Wells told Ladra. “It’s not going to make or break either of us. It’s not going to define our lives.”
Still, he’s been hazed before at military school so he’s not scared of what may come.
He already has a website and says he won’t be doing a lot of fundraising. He expects to loan himself about $20,000 and will do a grassroots campaign. “We’re not in this to curry favors,” Wells said. “We just want people to vote and put signs in their yards.”
Cancio is a Pedro Pan kid, coming from Cuba in the Peter Pan flights for unaccompanied minor children. He grew up in Coral Gables, went to school in New York then returned 35 years ago. He went back to run the New York Marathon with his daughter, Olivia, in 2017. He lost 45 pounds training for the 26.2-mile race and was featured in the New York Post. The 74-year-old has since run three miles almost every day.
This is one of the reasons traffic is going to be one of his main issues. He sees the near collisions on his daily run and even has been close to being run over, he said. The other issues he will focus on are controlling over development — he became involved when his neighbors and he opposed a large development across from the Plaza proposed two years ago — and education. With all the new condos being built and families moving in, Cancio thinks public school options are too limited and wants to explore having the city run its own school system.
Read related: Kirk Menendez runs for Coral Gables mayor against city bully Vince Lago
He realizes that he will be running against Anderson, who “is tied to Lago and has supported Lago in everything he’s done,” but also Lago, who is going to do whatever he can to keep his only mostly-guaranteed vote on the dais (that is, if he can pull any energy from his own campaign against challenger Menendez).
“I’m 74-years-old. I feel fine. I have an obligation to, at some point in my life, give back to my community. And I don’t like what’s going on in Coral Gables,” he said. “I’m not going to lose my job. Nothing’s going to happen to me. I’m in the enviable position of having the ability to do this.”
He’s no fan of Lago’s, who he calls a “pompous ass” who “doesn’t know what he’s doing.” He said the mayor met with him and his neighbors two years ago when they were fighting the development. “The mayor is the most obnoxious mayor I’ve ever run across,” Cancio told Political Cortadito. “He was going to call the chief of police and have some of the residents arrested!”
Anderson hasn’t done much fundraising yet, with only $4,100 in her campaign account, according to campaign finance records at the city clerk’s office. Lara, the Lago plant, has raised $61,600, but only 3,000 since June, which could show a lack of true community support.
Ladra fully expects there to be more candidates very soon.
There will be thorough, ongoing coverage of the April election. To support Political Cortadito’s efforts on this beat, please consider making a donation to grassroots, government watchdog reporting. Thank you.
Two more candidates file for Coral Gables commission race in April added by Ladra on
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