Like a petulant brat who doesn’t like to be told “no,” Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago defied everyone and betrayed both his colleagues and his constituents this week when he displayed an Israeli flag in his window at City Hall, even though the commission had voted against raising the flag because of the outpouring of community opposition.
This should prove that he doesn’t care what anybody thinks.
Read related: Coral Gables commission backs off Israeli flag at City Hall after backlash
Lago hung a U.S. flag morphed with the Israeli one in the historic window of his office on the second floor Tuesday. He was so proud of defying the community sentiment that he posted a photo of it on Instagram, along with a photo of three young men — Ladra suspects his podcast pals — with Israeli flags prancing around at the park across the street.
“On October 7th, 2023 the world witnessed an unspeakable, heinous act as 1,200 innocent men, women and children were killed and 250 people were taken hostage by Hamas. It was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Lago wrote. 
“Today, we remember them and celebrate their lives as sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, neighbors and friends. Lives forever altered in an instant, by hatred and a lack of tolerance.
“We will always stand on the side of justice and our allies (Israel), never forgetting the freedoms we have as Americans.”
He also felt a need to make sure that everybody knows the “first photo is of the Mayor’s office over looking the front of city hall.”
Was that for the benefit of the Isreali consulate and embassy in Miami? After all, they were invited to “collaborate” on the post.
It certainly looks like the park protest was coordinated with the mayor’s office. There was no permit needed, said Gables spokeswoman Martha Pantin. “Individuals do not require a permit to display items such as flags, provided they do not block ingress, egress, or interfere with traffic flow,” she wrote in an email responding to a question.
Guess that means that anyone can show up tomorrow with flags from Palestine, Iraq, China, Russia, Libya. In fact, employees are also free to display another country’s flag from the windows of their offices and city vehicles, Pantin said.
“We do not have specific personnel rules regarding the display of personal items like flags, as long as they are not offensive in nature. Any items deemed offensive would be addressed in accordance with our standard policies.”
Perhaps they’ll tweak the official definition of “offensive.”
Read related: City raising an Israeli flag causes fuss and fury at Coral Gables City Hall
Pantin said “after checking with dispatch and the manager’s office, no calls or complaints were received regarding this matter.”
That was in an email sent at 4:51 p.m. It is not Pantin’s fault that she hadn’t yet seen the email sent 20 minutes earlier by Katherine Shehadeh, a resident who spoke at both public meetings against raising the Israeli flag on public property at a time when the world was denouncing what many — even inside Israel — are calling a genocide of the Palestinian people.
“In advance of next week’s meeting, where I know there will be further discussion on this point, I want to be sure everyone is aware of this post on the mayor’s official Coral Gables account that he made jointly with the Israeli Consul General, a foreign 
official, tagging a number of Coral Gables media outlets and his political action committee,” Shehadeh wrote in her email to Lago and the commissioners. “I want everyone to consider the moral and ethical implications of using their public office this way, particularly on a matter that was already addressed democratically and respectfully within the commission’s chambers.”
And that’s is the issue here. If Lago had posted an Israeli flag on his personal social media and raised a flag at his house on San Amaro Drive, there would be no problem. Like when Palmetto Bay Councilman Steve Cody posted something about the assassination of Charlie Kirk being ironic because of his stance on the Second Amendment. People wanted to skin Cody alive and demanded his resignation — which he has politely declined — but he wasn’t speaking as a commissioner.
Not only was Lago’s post on his official city profile, he went ahead and did this after a great deal of public debate — overwhelmingly against his idea of solidarity only with Israel — and his colleagues on the commission agreed to have some non-political show of remembrance instead. This is in your face defiance. More proof that Mayor L’Ego, who did not return calls and texts from Ladra, is a sour loser and a bully who only wants to get his way.
Is he always going to do whatever he wants despite what the commission votes democratically? Isn’t that what a dictator is?
Read related: Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago, allies bully and browbeat Melissa Castro
“It’s troubling to see the mayor once again ignore both the comission’s decision and the clear message from residents who asked us to keep City Hall neutral,” Commission Melissa Castro told Political Cortadito. “This isn’t leadership. It’s self promotion.
“Time and again, he’s shown that it’s not about residents want, it’s about what he wants,” Castro added. “Coral Gables residents came to City Hall twice to express their desire for neutrality, and the commission listened. We made a collective decision to keep our government impartial and focused on unity, not politics.
“When the mayor defies that vote and uses City Hall to advance personal agendas, it undermines public trust. A mayor should lead by example, not by personal ambition.”
If you like this kind of independent watchdog journalism, please consider making a contribution here to Political Cortadito. Thank you for your support!
Vince Lago hangs Israeli flag in City Hall window, posts photos on Instagram added by Ladra on
View all posts by Ladra →
Agree with Richard that Lago’s move makes him look like a weak little loser, but posting from his official government account and tagging his PAC also seems like a potential ethics violation, no?
I guess if he feels that strongly about it, then fine, let him go ahead and fly that in his office window. It shows how much his voice has been reduced to a peep. But does Coral Gables allow flag displays in windows? Maybe he’ll receive a fine from Code Enforcement?
2 commission meetings, 100s of emails- the residents spoke to not raise the flag of ANY and that means ANY foreign country at city hall. Do so at your home, temple, church, center etc. There was consensus and a process that resisted and commissioners followed. No exceptionalism.
Except that he proceeded to put an Israeli flag on his official Mayor office window. An office space, tax payers and residents paid for. He took photos of these activists that he probably hired to pose right in front of the green space in front of city hall. This is not democracy- that he didn’t get the votes for the flag or lights and still found a petulant way to sneak this in. Way ta go to make all feel welcome! Next flag up Rwanda 800000 dead! If there were people with a Palestine flag they would have been called protestors. Great to see the mayor has showed he bows down to the Israeli embassy. America first. You can support Jewish constituents and not put up the flag of a country that is commuting war crimes.
Stop with the foreign lobbying and take care of local city of gables matters.
I wish he would just do his job – he is, after all, an actual mayor of an actual city – and focus on the City’s priorities, rather than devote his life to his own petty universe of personally motivated rivalries and vengeance.
JACKSON RIP HOLMES Your one sided pivot raised more serious concerns about bigotry, anti-semitism and ignorance.
Man, this page has become the Coral Gables page. And to have three post on this issue is a bit odd and maybe a bit telling… This is a non-story. Really wish more important stuff was discussed.
What is up with Lago and co-tagging the Israeli embassy and multiple news organizations. It’s like he is getting paid to literally ignore the democratic process of consensus at city hall. The event already was taking place at Temple Judea, with respect and appropriately. Even the full police force was present. It was a beautiful event to commemorate the loss of Israeli lives only.
Why die on this hill of city hall for a flag of a foreign country. A flag that is so painful to so many people as we speak.
Lago better get ready to fly the flag of Palestine next to show support with 25000 babies dead. Haiti, Rawanda, Vanuzuela, Myanmar etc. you see the pickle you create where you cherry pick who you support when you are the Mayor of all.
Sneaky move Lago
Israel has murdered some 20,000 innocent children in Gaza.
This raises the question of why Vince Lago would publicly support the murder of innocent children.
That in turn raises doubts about his character.