Tania Cruz-Gimenez strikes out on her own, runs for Coral Gables commission

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So, that’s why we suddenly see the former Miami-Dade mayor’s son and his wife on these Community Newspaper Facebook chats doing their best to look like James Carville and Mary Matalin.

Tania Cruz Gimenez is running for Coral Gables commission.

Ladra was wrong when she thought, after running into her and lobbyist Carlos J. “CJ” Gimenez — son of then-mayor Carlos Gimenez — at a bike path protest on Alhambra in January that he was pondering a run for office. Should’ve known it was her.

The smarter, funnier, and Democrat side of the couple — wonder if her father-in-law thinks she’s a socialist — makes for a much better candidate.

Cruz plans to run in the very crowded Group II seat against frontrunners Jose Valdes-Fauli, who has to fight his own name, and Rhonda Anderson. There are three other candidates already looking at that seat — including nobody from nowhere Republican darling Claudia Miro and chatty perennial candidate and downtown property owner Jackson “Rip” Holmes — but there are always last minute switches and surprises in the Gables.

Read related: Spotted: CJ Gimenez at Gables bike lane meet — lobbyist or candidate?

While this is her first run for office, it’s not her first time at the rodeo. In addition to her suegro’s campaigns, Cruz has helped former Miami commissioner Joe Carollo get elected. She also raised fund’s for Alex Diaz de la Portilla’s failed Senate bid.

But let’s not hold that against her.

A workaholic and busy attorney with all the right connections dabbling in political consulting — she just got a side gig in the Georgia senatorial runoffs — leads one to think: Why on Earth would Cruz run for office and bring the attacks and the pain that she just has to know is coming?

There’s that arrest in Boston with DLP and her work on defending Carollo from a residency challenge after his narrow win. There’s the father-in-law’s friends and family legacy. Maybe the gang needs a new public trough? Is Barby Gimenez, the other daughter-in-law, looking for a new no-show job? Or will she run next, for Miami Commission, as las malas lenguas say?

Cruz told Ladra that her husband has never lobbied Coral Gables and never will. She will make sure that there are no conflict of interests and, in fact, knows that Ladra will be the first to bite her head off if there’s a hint of it.

“I am not doing this to seek any financial or political gain. I am doing this because I love this city,” she said. And she has been tempted to run for a while, but she wanted to wait for the right time. The COVID-19 crisis and it’s impact on the local economy — several of her favorite restaurants have shut down for good — convinced her the time was now, says the North Gables resident for the past 14 years.

Read related: Mayor Carlos Gimenez clan involved in Joe Carollo lawsuit vs strong mayor

She and CJ Gimenez have a home blocks from Miracle Mile, within walking or bicycle distance from the couple’s office in the heart of the downtown. Both their girls attend Coral Gables Prep and you can sometimes see the family walking their dogs on Minorca or riding their bikes around the Granada Golf Course.

“That’s why we love living here. The City Beautiful is at the very core of our family,” Cruz told Ladra. And really, they rarely go anywhere else. They eat at Abracci, but only because Ortanique and El Porteño have closed, work out at the Biltmore, shop at Merrick Park and what’s left of Miracle Mile, where Cruz bought her wedding dress and their oldest daughter’s bedroom set.

“As much as we love our city, the unforeseen events of recent months has put our stable community in jeopardy,” Cruz said in a statement, referring to the impact of the COVID pandemic on small businesses and restaurants, including many “who were barely surviving following the poorly planned and executed $25 million Miracle Mile streetscaping project.” She says the city has not done enough to mitigate the damage of the double whammy.

“It threatens to forever change the very fabric of our community.”

Tax increases, reduced services, the pace of development and increasing traffic were some of the other things that had already started to gnaw at her before the pandemic exacerbated everything.

Read related: Coral Gables mayoral race in April shapes up as Pat Keon vs Vince Lago

“The recent disdain shown by some of our elected officials toward residents seeking only to be heard, coupled with a lack of transparency, make it even more important that residents speak up,” she said.

Ah, she obviously reads Political Cortadito. Told ya she was smart.

But what makes her think she can do this? “My 16 years as a practicing attorney representing clients in high-stakes litigation have trained me to advocate aggressively on behalf of those I represent, as well as to find pragmatic solutions to complex problems,” she told Ladra, without missing a beat, and a little aggressively. It’s her New Jersey nature.

“As a small business owner, I personally understand the difficulties of making ends meet in such turbulent times. And as a mother and wife, I know full well that the health, safety and economic well-being of our families is paramount,” she said. “At a time when our country is so divided, our community deserves leadership that can move beyond partisan politics and work collaboratively to find balanced solutions.

“Special interests must not dictate the City Beautiful’s future. We must.”

Sounds like a stump speech. But a good one.

Truth be told, and some people will be unhappy to hear this, Ladra has always liked Tania. She is not like the other Gimenezes. Well, she’s not technically a Gimenez at all. A Democrat, to start, she’s a New Jersey Cuban who roamed the streets of New York as a teen and went to law school in Hawaii. Hawaii! What a rebel! Loud and just a little foulmouthed, she is comfortable in almost any social setting, from the fanciest to the dankiest. Smart. Sarcastic. Funny. Engaged. But, yeah, she has made some very stupid choices that are going to come back to haunt her. Who hasn’t?

It’s like looking in a freakin’ mirrah!

Read related: Carlos Gimenez raises funds for Diaz; his daughter-in-law helps ADLP

What I didn’t know, until I started asking, was how politically independent and active she is. She’s not a Johnny Come Lately. She’s active in Gables civic groups like the Chamber of Commerce. And she’s a member of Ruth’s List, a mostly progressive political group that advocates for and supports female candidates. She gave a $1,000 contribution to Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

Man, would Ladra love to be a fly on the wall at one of the famous, pre-pandemic Gimenez family weekend breakfasts during an election cycle. Or even the next one.

Papi Gimenez is either fuming or making a list and checking it twice to see who he can hit up for contribs to his nuera‘s campaign. Valdes-Fauli has raised $31,500 and Miro $20,500 so far, according to the campaign finance records.

But they’re in trouble. Cruz can probably raise that in a day.

In the last few weeks, Cruz and CJ — which should be the name of their podcast — have been guests of the Community Newspaper Facebook chats, sharing their views on absentee ballots, BLM protests and how badly branded the “defund the police” slogan is and redistricting in Miami, among other things.

“Politicians, they want people who are uninformed,” Cruz Gimenez said.

God, I hope that’s not her campaign slogan.

  Carlos Gimenez, CJ Gimenez, Coral Gables politics, Tania Cruz