If you live in Coral Gables and you have gotten a code violation notice in the last three years, you might want to ask where it came from before you cast your vote in the April 8 election.
That’s because Mayor Vince Lago, who acts more and more like Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo every day, apparently spends some of his time driving around the City Beautiful and reporting code violations. A public records request for Lago’s text messages produced hundreds of texts to the city’s code enforcement department with addresses and code violations he spotted here and there in just a three month period. Many of the texts came with photos.
A homeowner on the 1400 block of Medina Avenue, for example, apparently placed some black garbage bags where they shouldn’t have been. Lago informed code enforcement that this was a “repeat offender” and asked for the history of citations issued at the address. “This homeowner is not aware of the rules,” the mayor wrote in a text.
Read related: Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago has a fancy new watch from guess who
So, he’s all about educating the public?
Lago also asked for the citation histories of other “repeat offenders” in the 1500 block of Venetia, the 4800 block of Riviera Drive, the 400 block of Aragon (at the home of a “constant law breaker”), the 3500 block of Ponce De Leon Boulevard and at the corner of Bird and Mariola Court. What does he do with those citation histories?
The mayor won’t say. He refuses to answer Ladra’s calls and texts.
Among other code violations that were reported by the mayor were a canopy in the 700 block of Anderson Avenue, a “rear temporary car port” in the 600 block of Majorca, a “pallet in the pit” in the 600 block of Blue Road, “paint cans out the entire weekend” in the 500 block of University Drive, another car cover on the 400 block of Velarde and a black garbage bag in front of a house on the 5100 block of San Amaro Drive.
That’s his neighbor.
There are more than 300 texts within a three month period in 2023 and there are complaints lodged against businesses, too.
So what, some may ask. There could be more code enforcement so why shouldn’t the mayor fill in once in a while?
Read related: Ethics board dismissed two Vince Lago complaints against Coral Gables activist
Well, because it could easily be an abuse of power. In Miami, Joe Carollo weaponized the code enforcement department against Ball and Chain Lounge, which had hosted a fundraiser for his 2017 opponent. Carollo tried to put them out of business, but it backfired and the owners of the Little Havana bar sued him in federal court, winning a $63.5 million jury award.
After all, didn’t Lago’s campaign fundraiser, Brian Goldmeier, file an ethics complaint against activist Maria Cruz, a code enforcement board member, because she took action on his code violation (nailing orchids to a tree)? He thought she was retaliating against him. How can we know the mayor is not retaliating against the people he reports to code enforcement?
We can’t. Lago shouldn’t be doing that. And Ladra bets it will stop if he is voted out of office next month.
Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago reports code violations on homes, businesses added by Ladra on
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