Gables Neighbors United, the political arm of the largest group of active and engaged Coral Gables residents, has endorsed political newcomer Melissa Castro for the commission seat in Group 4.
Gables United already endorsed activist Ariel Fernandez, publisher of Gables Insider, in the Group 5 race against attorney Alex Bucelo, who has the backing of the mayor at least two commissioners and lots of real estate development interests to fund his misinformation and attack campaign.
On Wednesday, after interviewing Castro, the board of directors quickly announced their endorsement of her over Ivette Arango O’Doski, Sean Patrick McGrover and Jackson “Rip” Holmes.
“I am humbled to have their support and endorsement because of the day, its the residents who really make my community,” Castro told Ladra. “Their endorsement is not only a vote of confidence in me, but also a reflection of the shared values we hold dear.
“It means a great deal to me and it inspires me to continue working hard.”
Castro told board members that she wanted to fix what she called “our broken City Hall.” She cited examples — from dirty politics to “the absurd rush to develop projects without addressing our infrastructure to our dysfunctional permitting process” to a lack of transparency.
Read related: Active Coral Gables resident group backs Ariel Fernandez — and hard
“Her awareness, directness, and pledge to stand up for residents and against the special interests is what convinced the board that Melissa Castro is the right person for the job,” reads a statement from Gables Neighbors United, which is the political action committee for the Coral Gables Neighbors Association, the largest resident group with more than 20,000 members.
But the truth is, she won’t be the mayor’s lackey.
Ladra already endorsed both Castro and Fernandez because, well, because Mayor Vince Lago is working hard to get their opponents elected so he can stack the commission and do anything he wants.
Gables voters who want to vote by mail can still do that if they request an absentee ballot by Saturday, April 1. Early voting begins this Saturday. The election ends on April 11.
Largest Coral Gables residents group backs Melissa Castro for commission added by Ladra on
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[…] meanwhile, enjoyed support from the Gables Neighbors Association, a 16,000-member resident activist group that opposes overdevelopment in the city — something […]
[…] has raised less than 10% of that, or just under $20K, mostly in small $100 or smaller checks, and has the endorsement of the anti-development Gables Neighbors United and Gables Insider publisher Ariel Fernandez, the other commission candidate, who won on April 11 […]
[…] has raised less than 10% of that, or just under $20K, mostly in small $100 or smaller checks, and has the endorsement of the anti-development Gables Neighbors United and Gables Insider publisher Ariel Fernandez, the other commission candidate, who won on April 11 […]
[…] has raised less than 10% of that, or just under $20K, mostly in small $100 or smaller checks, and has the endorsement of the anti-development Gables Neighbors United and Gables Insider publisher Ariel Fernandez, the other commission candidate, who won on April 11 […]
how can she impact taxes?
[…] received endorsements from Gables Neighbors United, the city’s largest resident activist group, and documentarian Billy […]
[…] also has the backing of Gables Neighbors United, the city’s largest resident activist group, and documentarian Billy […]
[…] also has the backing of Gables Neighbors United, the city’s largest resident activist group, and documentarian Billy […]
So proud to see her coming up! I am seeing a run off in the making but hopefully people will come to their senses and just vote her in!! We need to get these puppets out before they corrupt the city beautiful.
Gustavo, Hopefully she wont take any funds since she has made it very clear she is just for the residents and does not want to receive PAC money.
Gables Neighbors United WOW ? How many are Their Members “or is It just another Political PACK
Speaking of a dysfunctional permitting process, can someone explain why it is that the construction at Burger Bob’s and the Granada Golf Pro Shop are so slow in completing. I have asked around and no one seems to know. Usually, when you see construction standing still its permitting/inspection issues or financing. How could those be issues here when the owner, Coral Gables, is the same entity as the one that has to issue the permit. They can’t get an inspector out there on their own property so both of those places can start functioning and hopefully be profitable for the city rather than a drain to the taxpayers. And don’t tell me its “the County”. Presumably our commissioners can make a phone call and get their attention. I see one or two people inside the building all the time just looking at their computer screens but no one working on construction 90% of the time. What they have done there could have been finished in a month and its well over a year. I smell some political issue here that we voters don’t know about. Maybe after the election the new commissioners will get to the bottom of this.
Elaine, what basis do you have for stating that this group is “the political arm of the largest group of active and engaged Coral Gables residents” in these articles? That is completely false and you have zero foundation for asserting it. It is just the former Riviera Neighborhood Association, a group that obtained members to oppose ONE project – the Paseo project – failed, and now pretends to have 20,000 members which is laughable. Just because you email 20,000 people doesn’t mean you have 20,000 members. If they did, they would win every election. But it is a really a few misanthropes like Sue Kawalerski who pretend to have more weight behind them than they do and ALWAYS LOSE because they don’t actually have any support whatsoever. Meanwhile, among their supposed members is former Commissioner Chip Withers who is openly supporting the other candidates, Arango and Bucelo. This is like Ariel Fernandez saying he has tens of thousands of followers on his blog, and then gets 6 pathetic likes on his social media posts.
Dear Ladra,
I think Ms. Castro is an excellent choice here given that she stands counter to the Strong Mayor Wannabe’s apparent plan to stack the commission and advance his agenda of ego. This race appears to be ripe for a runoff, which is good news.
As you know Gables Neighbors United is a political action committee established by the Coral Gables Neighbors Association (CGNA), which claims to have 20,000 members. Just doing some math here, there are approximately 50,000 residents of Coral Gables with 36,000 registered to vote and 10,000 of those having voted in the last election. When you look at those demographics, the 20,000 members figure does not compute. The CGNA might have 20,000 email addresses, but I’ll bet the house that membership is a tiny fraction of that. But, this is typical of CGNA leadership. Sue Kawelerski is an expert in distortion and disinformation. The CGNA is just a tool to advance her personal agenda and satiate her lust for power.
Unfortunately, that means that they will try to influence Ms. Castro, much like they did to former Commissioner Fors, when he was a newcomer. It took awhile for Fors to figure this out, but when he did, Kawelerski ended up in the outs, I hope Castro prevails and believe that she will govern with the best interests of the community at heart. I also hopes that she has her eyes wide open when it comes to Kawelerski and her 20,000 email “association.”
Gables voters need new elected officials.
Vince Lago and his lobbyist brother Jose Lago are creeps. They are part of the Alex Diaz De La Portilla ongoing criminal enterprise.