Political Cortadito’s Winners and Losers from Miami’s special District 4 election

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As always, there are winners and losers in every election that go beyond the candidates. As tradition, Political Cortadito has analyzed the campaigns and results of the special election last week in Miami’s District 4 to replace the late Manolo Reyes.

Ralph “Rafael” Rosado, an urban planning consultant and fired city manager of North Bay Village, is a winner, simply because he got 55% of the vote. But he’s also a loser, because only 11% of the eligible voters in D4 cast ballots and because he is now going to have to be a puppet vote for Commissioner Joe Carollo, who bankrolled his candidacy and ran his campaign.

And Jose Regalado, the former assistant building director and son of former Miami Mayor and current Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomas Regalado, and brother of Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, is a loser. He doesn’t win anything. Especially since he left a six-figure job as the number two at the city’s building department to run for office at the request of Reyes’ widow. Ouch.

And that brings Ladra to the list of other winners and losers.

The big winners are:

Topping this list, everyone agrees, is Carollo, whose horse made it across the finish line in first place. He bet big — some say he spent more than $800,000 through his political action committee — and is already gloating about the win. Está insoportable. And he’s going to have that third vote on so many things, including the Bayfront Park Management Trust, which he lost the chairmanship to Commissioner Miguel Gabela and which everyone expects Crazy Joe to take back, even though he is being investigated for misspending the agency’s funds. Carollo might even be able to go so far as stopping the investigation in its tracks.  This win also shows his strength in a potential run for mayor, which means he will get more money to replace what he spent.

Former Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, a lobbyist whose claws are still very deep into Miami government, just got another ally on the commission with Rosado’s election. Sarnoff was spotted at Rosado’s victory party Tuesday night. Will he get more taxpayer-paid contracts from the city? Ladra’s guess is yes.

Former City Attorney Victoria “Tricky Vicky” Mendez is celebrating Rosado’s victory. She is BFFs with Rosado’s wife, after all, and serves with him on their crooked Abuelo’s Foundation, which is a front to find homes to steal from vulnerable elderly residents to flip for a huge profit. Mendez, who could still be held liable for bad advice and other shenanigans at the city — and is representing Carollo anyway through a cushy job at the same law firm where Sarnoff works — just got additional protection for using the city for her real estate scam or any other shenanigans she may have pulled.

Read related: Lawsuit: Miami city attorney, husband ‘conspired,’ used city to flip property

Lying. Normally, Ladra does not include adjectives in the winners and losers circles post election, but this time it is different. Lying and scheming are also victors in this election because they will be seen as winning strategies that can be utilized again and again and again. Yes, it’s true that this may not be new. But it’s never been more blatant. Rosado lied to Ladra when he said that Carollo was “not there” and “not directing” a TV commercial he recorded a park. He couldn’t even admit to it after he was told that there was a video recording showing Carollo giving him instructions and Marjorie Carollo nearby holding a clipboard. He lied again when he said he was a lifetime resident of Miami (he used to live in Schenley Park) and then again when he said that he was independent and not being supported by any Miami commissioner. He’s a perpetual liar who is now a commissioner.

The big losers are:

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez thinks he’s won. But that’s because he’s a postalita without any calle. Suarez supported Rosado and got his dad, former Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez, to hype up the Rosado team. Las malas lenguas say he wants pensions back on the table. But Baby X will soon find out — the hard way — that he stepped right into a trap. Carollo has him wrapped around his finger and will soon stab him in the back. Probably in public. Crazy Joe is famous for burning bridges with nuclear bombs. Remember the mayoral election in 1983 between Maurice Ferré and Xavier Suarez, when Carollo was set to endorse Ferré at a public event and then ranted against him instead, on the mics, accusing Ferré of being anti-Cuban (he was Puerto Rican).

Jose Regalado is not the only one in his family licking his wounds. The whole family is hurting. They are used to losses, of course. But Tomas Regalado is taking this one hard. It feels kinda personal to him. It is. Carollo went on the attack against the whole family, lashing out in very cruel and personal ways like only Joe Carollo can, or will. Raquel Regalado is more disappointed, but still laser focused on her county job. The day of the election she was at a county commission meeting and then a virtual Zoom update on the issues at the Coconut Grove Playhouse since part of it collapsed recently (more on that later). Tomas N. “Tommy” Regalado, who lost to Carollo in a crowded 2017 race, must be feeling a little deja vú.

The loss Tuesday must still be stinging the Reyes family, as well. They backed Regalado hard. Not only did Chacha Reyes, who was married to the late commissioner for decades but never recorded a commercial for him, do a radio spot urging voters to support Regalado, but her son, lobbyist Manny Reyes, helped Regalado raise money for his campaign. They made calls and walked. They may also feel party responsible for Jose Regalado’s sudden unemployment, because they were the ones who asked him to run and continue Manolo Reyes’ legacy.

Read related: Manolo Reyes’ widow comes out strong for Jose Regalado in D4 special election

Miguel Gabela is not sitting pretty. Did anybody see his face at the Rosado victory fete? He was not happy. Gabela supported Regalado and is the biggest thorn in Carollo’s side right now. He has had two special meetings to reach out and slap Carollo recently — one on the Bayfront Park Trust’s mismanagement and misspending and another on Carollo’s weaponization of government (more on that later). Ladra thinks he is going to be on the losing side of a lot of votes at the next meeting — and for the foreseeable future.

Miami voters citywide are also loser. This was a District 4 race but the ramifications will be felt by all Miamians in all corners. Pensions, lifetime term limits, the change of election year, the future of the Bayfront Park Trust and its moneys, the future of the city’s community redevelopment agencies, and particularly the Omni one, are in play. Residents from District 1, Gabela’s district, and District 2 — Carollo already hates Coconut Grove people — should be especially afraid.

That seems like a pretty complete list, but Ladra always forgets one or two. So, please feel free to add any winners and losers left out of this story in the comments below.

  Joe Carollo, Jose Regalado, Ralph Rosado