The rain Sunday didn’t dampen the early voting crowd in Coral Gables as much as Ladra thought it would. There were almost as many voters as on Saturday, for a total of 1,554 ballots cast at the Coral Gables library.
Another 540 vote-by-mail or absentee ballots were stuffed into the drop box — 254 on Saturday and 286 on Sunday. That makes it a total of 2,094 votes just over the weekend.
Another 4,777 vote-by-mail or absentee ballots had been received at the Miami-Dade Elections Department by Friday, according to Deputy Supervisor Suzy Trutie. Which means at least 6,871 people have already voted.
Adding just the ABs together, the total vote-by-mail ballots returned would be at least 5,317 from the 12,538 requested, representing about 42% of the inventory.
Read related: Despite one stupid, preachy letter, Vince Lago deserves to be Coral Gables mayor
Tuesday is the last chance for Gables voters to cast their ballots for mayor and two commissioners. Expect runoffs in the two commission contests, with a slight chance of one in the mayoral race, thanks to a last minute press on that stupid Carollton School letter, which Ladra does not think is a deal breaker, if only because the alternative is much worse.
Early voting was sort of slow, but it was also entertaining. Commission candidate Mayra Joli, the enthusiastic nodding lady from the Trump town hall, channeled Whitney Houston on a karaoke machine and she and mayoral candidate Jackson “Rip” Holmes did a little show to Singing in the Rain on Sunday. Ladra told everyone they each had entertainment value.
On Saturday, Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla — fresh off double scandals involving his ghost employee and an illegal nightclub where he allegedly injured a code enforcement inspector — was milling around, the only guy in a suit. It looked like the same suit he wore to that illegal nightclub in Allapattah in February. Doesn’t he own casual wear?
Read related: Alex Diaz de la Portilla got caught at an illegal bar, confronted code officer
Observers thought he was there to psyche out commission candidate Tania Cruz-Gimenez and her husband, lobbyist Carlos “CJ” Gimenez, because of their, um, falling out. But nooooo. The Dean was there to lend a hand to Vice Mayor Vince Lago in his mayoral run. This is more damning than the letter.
Lago knows that. He seemed almost apologetic about ADLP being there.
“Alex Diaz de la Portilla, along with five other officials, called me to voice their opposition to the Miami Herald’s change in our endorsement,” Lago told Ladra Saturday. “Alex offered to join us and bring volunteers, and he showed up.”
ADLP is probably trying to score points with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a staunch ally and cousin to Lago, who also dropped by on Saturday. Baby X is all the Dean has left now that the other two amigos have turned on him.
People tried to dodge Diaz de la Portilla — like, awkward! — but he kept coming up to them, trying to be important in his suit and tie, running a group of Venezuelan “volunteers” on site. Ladra can’t help but wonder if it’s the same young ladies caught stealing and destroying absentee ballots on a WhatsApp chat in the 2018 special election for the Miami-Dade district 5 commission seat.
“At the end of the day, we had close to 90 volunteers (friends and family),” Lago told Ladra. Wonder where the WhatsApp girls fall. Friends, right?
Ladra would like to ask the county elections supervisor and the new city commission when elected to please extend the early voting period in Coral Gables for 2023.
And sell popcorn.
Coral Gables election wraps up on Tuesday, but 6,800+ have already voted added by Ladra on
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Xavier Suarez is a decent person. He doesn’t need a safe-conduct to come to Gables, especially when he is the ex-Commissioner of the County for this district ( 7 ) . He was our classmate at Havana’s Belén School, and a fairly good baseball player .
Ok, every day I read something new that appears to be a concerted effort to affect the election results. Frankly, in this case, should we be concerned about each candidate’s friends? What should be more important whether a candidate is so friendly with developers that want to make our City another New York City or that the candidate has friends that support him without expecting anything in return?
So far everything has been tried, from dark money to clean money, everyone knows where Vice Mayor Lago’s ads come from; we can’t say the same for Keon’s. She has the gall to say she has nothing to do with them.
What a shame that you, Elaine, as owner of this blog and as someone who ought to care about real issues, can’t bring yourself to ask Lago if he supports his fellow Republican, Gov DeSantis’ blocking our City’s anti-Covid measures.
Crime family: thanks for pointing out firefighters are well paid (over paid?) as a profession and as Miami-Dade manager, Carlos kept the county payroll lower than his counterparts at the City of Miami were able to, even though the City local is smaller and weaker than the county and should be easier to manage.
If we’re going to make this about friends and family, even though Miami-Dade is much larger than Miami, under Carlos it was run heads and tails better on the micro level. Then look who has all the Miami connections/support ? I’m definitely not a fan.
Masochist firefighters? Firefighters have worked under Carlos longer than anyone, 46 years from the department level to the City to the County and it was rarely pretty. Lots of head butting, but IAFF members may not always like his politics but know at least Carlos is what you see is what you get, he was good to his word. Not like some machiavellian, watch-what-I-say-not-what-I-do, pseudo-public servants who supporters are future felons and current developers.
The median pay for City of Miami firefighters is over $180,000 per year. Many make over $240,000 per year plus massive benefits. M-D is slightly less. Carlos Gimenez spent 40 years screwing taxpayers. Now he lives off 3-4 pensions, all funded by taxpayers. Now his sons get paid to screw taxpayers.
Interesting to watch these masochist Miami Dade firefighters in their yellow shirts supporting Carlos Gimenez’s daughter in law Tania Cruz-Gimenez.
These are the same traitors who supported Carlos Giménez through three elections hoping for a bone in the form of a raise or a promotion.
Do you firemen have no shame? Have you not noticed what Carlos Giménez has done to County employees- including your fellow police officers? What is in it for you to support a family member of a corrupt politician with little regard for the citizens of this county and with an appetite for graft and absentee ballot fraud?
Wonder how many of those ballots turned in belonged to frail, elder citizens and obtained by Carlos Gimenez’s cadre of professional boleteras.
You guys take the cake. Next time I see you collecting at a street corner with your rubber boot I will snub you and drive past you you bums.
The amount of hypocrisy and just dirty politics with Mr. Transparency Lago is ridiculous. So the mailers that were sent to residents warning of City of Miami politics coming to the Gables were proven 100% correct. Francis Suarez, daddy Xavier Suarez, DLP and his brother Fredo- “Reiner” were all present. Ah yes and Jesse Manzano too. The fact that the Lago campaign hired the same Venezuelan young ladies used in the City of Miami elections is disgusting and proof of what’s to come if Mr. Transparency Lago wins. And to top it all off, the joke of having Mr. Ariel Fernández and the “Gables OneSider” team present is more of the Lago BS. “I am all about transparency and I love to use the phrase “let me be clear” in every other sentience but I won’t tell you the Gables OneSider is on my campaign payroll.” So disingenuous and such an indication of what’s possibly to become. Residents were worried about Salerno’s and Swanson Rivenbark’s lies, ha, trust me, Mr. Transparency will take the lies and shenanigans to another level.
Agree with “Red Flag” as far as ADLP showing up to support Vince Lago. The last thing we need in Coral Gables is Miami’s trash, whether Carollo/Banos or Lago/ADLP. I like Vince Lago and give him the benefit of the doubt, especially since you are reporting that Lago is Suarez’ cousin and ADLP might just be trying to play the “family and friends” card. Lago is definitely better than Keon. But this is why I support Rip. He’s the only mayoral candidate without such baggage.
Thanks querida! I rather entertain than steal, lye and cheat😉
Keep it coming!!! 💯
Don’t stop! Sigue! Sigue!
PS te asustaste un chin? Why did you left out “crazy” ah? Someone wipering in your ears? Letting you know I took a TITAN to court? For the same thing you were doing? Don’t worry… you are not a titan… 🥰
De la pinga did more damage to Lago, keon will make the runoff
Huge red flag! Getting an endorsement from a criminal like Alex DLP should be a huge RED FLAG to voters. Voters should vote for anyone on the other side.