The race for the Coral Gables commission seat in Group 2, now occupied by Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson, is as much a referendum on Mayor Vince Lago as it is a performance evaluation for the incumbent, who is facing her first re-election. The decision will likely come down to the difference between the anti-development vote and the list of Lago loyalists.
Residents in the anti-development base that helped Anderson secure her victory in a crowded field in 2021 had been disappointed — that’s the word heard the most — and turned against her even before they got a legitimate and uniquely qualified alternative in Felix Pardo, an architect who has been active on city boards and issues for more than three decades. Pardo currently serves on the Gables planning and zoning board where he has been a stalwart steward of the city’s zoning code.
Pardo has hammering down on the overdevelopment that has happened in the Gables under Anderson’s watch.
“Over the past decade, unwelcomed change has been chipping away at our great city. Seemingly, the city has been up for sale,” Pardo wrote in an email blast, using caps and bold letters that give it his voice. “Special interests have been given the keys to the city.
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“You see it in the unbridled and incompatible development, the choking traffic and the lack of resources to be able to fulfill our residents’ immediate needs. Some neighborhoods have become unrecognizable as part of Coral Gables. Awful decisions by some politicians have brought us to the brink of losing what has made this place special for one hundred years,” Pardo said, explaining why he decided to run. “I cannot continue to watch while our city disintegrates right before our eyes.
“I have chosen to seek elected office to correct the assault on our residents through the poor leadership of others,” he says, adding that Anderson “is responsible for many of the incompatible developments, misdirected priorities, negative impact on existing neighborhoods, and a lack of action in addressing residents’ concerns.”
Specifically, both he and the Coral Gables Neighborhood Association — which helped elect Anderson four years ago — have cited the 18-story Regency Parc building, which was granted more height in exchange for less 
density. Anderson calls it a win. Residents call it a “monstrosity” that “dwarfs the downtown post office and surrounding properties.”
Rhonda pushed for a “carve-out” in the city’s zoning code to allow the developer to build taller than the zoning code allows. To add insult to injury, the city repurposed a travel lane for pick-up and drop-off at the building, increasing traffic congestion.
“This was not in our zoning code, but Rhonda made it happen,” Pardo says in one of his super short YouTube videos, standing in front of the construction of the building. “If you vote for me, this will not happen again.”
Other short video feature damage at the historic water tower and the emergency, much needed renovations at historic City Hall, which is arguably an unsafe structure, as city commission meetings have been held in the Public Safety Building for the past recent months.
“There is a big difference between deferred maintenance and neglect,” Pardo says.
There was also some backlash to Anderson’s use of a photo from a meeting as purported evidence that residents approved the 2022nchange she sponsored. The problem? The photo is from a public meeting organized by the CGNA in 2021 to introduce the newly-elected commissioner to residents.
“Rhonda never mentioned her “concept” at that meeting or any meeting organized by the CGNA. If she had, she would have been booed out of the room,” a CGNA email says. “Her audacity to use this picture and say that ‘all residents approved…’ is a blatant example of Rhonda Anderson deceiving and lying to residents.”
CGNA President Sue Kawalerski told Political Cortadito that Anderson is misrepresenting herself.
“Rhonda Anderson lies,” Kawalerski told Ladra. “First, she took a picture from a meeting with residents that I organized four years ago and said it was a different meeting. She deceived the public with false representation.
“And, secondly, residents didn’t approve anything.”
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Besides, Anderson sounds like Lago’s mouthpiece. Remember how she made that robocall for his chosen candidates in 2023 — and then later was named vice mayor? And when she booted Claudia Miro, now in her second run for office, off the planning and zoning board because she didn’t vote how the mayor wanted? It seems that Rhonda has tied her trailer to Lago’s horse.
Lately, she has taken to bashing every one of Commissioner Melissa Castro‘s ideas — even no-brainers like a residential parking rate pilot program and a expedited permitting review for residents — as if it were her assigned role. Notice how Lago has backed off Castro? Maybe he realized it looked like he was bullying her. Anderson sounds more and more like she’s doing his dirty work and that hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Pardo’s drumbeat on overdevelopment — in addition to Anderson’s capitulation to Lago and her demeaning, know-it-all way of talking to residents — is what drove the CGNA to endorse him in this race. In an email, the group says that Lago and Anderson are “tied at the hip” and “due for replacement.” A third candidate in the Group 2 race, Laureano Cancio (no relation), is a very nice man who is going to do nothing more than, maybe, force a runoff. His campaign, which is the only one to include establishing the city’s own public school system, is just not reaching people like the other two are.
That could be because he is not doing a lot of campaign outside walking and knocking on doors. Cancio is self-funding his run, with almost $4,300 spent so far. Among his expenses are seven registrations for two 5K races and the Manhattan College Coral Gables dinner for $120. Pardo, meanwhile, has spent $9,786 of the $29.5K he has raised since the beginning of February (including a $5,000 loan from himself).
As the incumbent, it’s no surprise that Anderson has more campaign money, with $77,480 raised since January of last year. Campaign finance records indicate that she has spent $35,500, more than half of which have gone to consultant Emiliano Antuñez, of Dark Horse Strategies, for canvassing, consulting and a mailer. Antuñez also does work for Lago’s political action committee, Coral Gables First.
This might be a good time to remind readers that the two commission seats two years ago were won against better funded candidates who had the mayor’s unwavering support. Just sayin’.
Anderson is endorsed by Mayor L’Ego and has a pretty good website that doesn’t bash anyone but lays out her achievements — of course, the Salvatore dog park is in there, because she is the queen of dog parks — and her priorities. She also cites her experience lobbying in Tallahassee for legislators to lower future windstorm insurance costs.
Pardo’s homepage boasts the endorsements from all the city employees, though the fire union, the police union and the Teamsters local, which represents the general employees. The police and fire union sent out an email blast last week blasting Anderson and (and Lago) for making “false claims” during their campaigning. In Rhonda’s Report email, the vice mayor says there were 700 applications for police receive and 17 new officers hired since last June. The police union president says that the 17 new hires has been offset by 12 officers leaving for one reason or another and that the department is still 30 officers short (more on that later).
In an email blast just days ago, Pardo lists a slew of longtime, active Gables residents who support him. “As someone who was born and raised in Coral Gables and worked as a professional in the city for over 40 years, I have witnessed many commissioners and mayors who have served our city. I proudly endorse Felix Pardo, who unequivocally is the most knowledgeable, qualified, honest, and decent candidate to ever run for a city commission seat,” said Gordon Solokoff, a well-known dentist.
“Coral Gables will benefit greatly by having Felix Pardo as our next commissioner.”
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Former City Manager Jack Eads is also quoted as saying that he was pleased to learn that Felix decided to run. “His continuous outstanding record of service to the City is exemplary. Residents of Coral Gables deserve the quality of service Felix can provide.”
Pardo also has the support of some solid waste employees — probably because Anderson insulted them. She said “None of the current sanitation workers have the aspiration,” according to an email from Pardo. Eddie Coard Jr., a solid waste operator II, took it to heart. A 12-year employee, he said he has always felt appreciated by residents.
“Our team works day in and day out, on holidays, weekends if we need to, in the hot sun, in the rain, no matter what, we are here doing our part to keep Coral Gables Beautiful,” Coard says in the email blast. “When I heard those comments made about me and my team during that Commission meeting, I was hurt. How could someone put us down by saying we have no aspirations?
“We can’t have someone on the Commission that talks about us like that,” the email states. “Today, I am asking you to stand up for your solid waste team by supporting someone who has always treated us with respect and has never talked down to us like Rhonda did.”
It’s not just you, Mr. Coard. Anderson talks down to everyone. She still has the monotone energy of a cardboard box, which is what Ladra thought four years ago when she first ran. But now it’s a box that thinks it’s better than you.
Whether overdevelopment is an issue for them or not, voters should remind Anderson that she is not better than them.
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Felix Pardo nabs anti-development base from Rhonda Anderson in Coral Gables added by Ladra on
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