Coral Gables activist forms PAC to recall former friend, Mayor Vince Lago

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Coral Gables activist forms PAC to recall former friend, Mayor Vince Lago
  • Sumo

Maria Cruz has had it.

Coral Gables’ most active and famous gadfly is done with Mayor Vince Lago, who used to be her dear friend and ally. One would have thought she was crushing on him. Now, Cruz has formed a political action committee to push an effort to recall Lago.

The first text message blast went out Wednesday afternoon, hours after the city clerk stamped the papers she filed to open the PAC.

“Vince Lago says he’s just a ‘part-time mayor,’ but it’s his full-time work that’s leaving a stain on our City Beautiful,” it starts. “His real estate firm made over $640,000 for selling a piece of real estate on Ponce De Leon Boulevard to a corrupt Coral Gables developer under FBI investigation. Lago then became the corrupt developer’s landlord, the developer paying Lago & his partners hundreds of thousands in rent for an empty space that was never even occupied.

“We don’t need a Mayor whose full-time job is shady deals with corrupt developers under FBI investigation,” it reads, with a phone number to call for a recall petition (305-988-1317‬) and a new website, lagomustgo.com, with the same messages.

Read related: Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago has business with accused money launderer

Lago was one of the real estate agents involved in the $35.5 million sale in December 2022 of 1505 Ponce de Leon Boulevard to Location Ventures CEO Rishi Kapoor, getting a piece of the $640,000 commission. Kapoor is under investigation for, in part, paying Miami Mayor Francis Suarez — Lago’s best buddy and friend crush — $10,000 a month for 17 months for “consulting” at the same time he was seeking permits from the city for his projects. Lago recused himself from multiple city commission votes on Kapoor’s projects because he rented a retail space to Kapoor across from the 1505 building.

Problem is that the space was never occupied, making the rent payments look like a different kind of payoff.

That’s just one of Lago’s questionable side gigs. He has others.

The paperwork for the PAC was filed with the city clerk’s office on Wednesday afternoon, the stamp shows, just hours before the mass text went out. So it has money already. We have to wait until April 10 or 11 to find out how much and where it came from.

Cruz did not return calls and texts to her cellphone. But she told Roberto Rodriguez Tejera and Juan Camilo Gomez on Actualidad Radio Thursday that she just wants her city back.

“I want Coral Gables to be what it was,” she said, adding that Lago’s really bad behavior started at last year’s election, when he went door-to-door “insulting seniors” and demanding that they remove yard signs for the candidates Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez, who ended up getting elected.

L’Ego has been on a crazy downward spiral since — stopping at a table where a Miami Herald reporter was working and laying into him for their government coverage, suing a radio station, calling people on the phone and threatening them when he thinks they spoke to Ladra. It’s a strange transformation from a once-promising, well-spoken, environmentally-conscious, business savvy Republican.

“Vince Lago isn’t who he was. Vince Lago doesn’t want the best for Coral Gables. Vince Lago wants the best for himself,” Cruz said.

She will need to collect 1,600 signatures in the first 30 days and then many more within 60 days from then in order to get the recall on the ballot.

Read related: Political retaliation in Coral Gables as Mayor Vince Lago loses his cool again

And that isn’t easy. Or cheap. So there will have to be some financial backing. Maybe the firefighters union, which has been at war with the mayor for a while, will help fund the effort. Maybe the people of Little Gables who don’t want to be annexed into the City Beautiful will support it, too. And Coral Gables United. And the guy who owns that sports bar on Giralda.

So many people would give to that, like it was a charitable cause.

But there is no way that Cruz is bought. She can’t be bought. She’s retired and she owns her home and she loves the city. Lago might say so, but he’s lying — again. It’s become a nasty habit with him (more on that later).

Attorney and government’s worst nightmare David Winker is the registered agent and deputy treasurer for the recall PAC. Winker has represented several people in the city, including a former assistant director of public works in a dispute over her termination.

Winker also helped on the recall effort against Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo in 2020.

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36 Responses to "Coral Gables activist forms PAC to recall former friend, Mayor Vince Lago"

  15. I would like to join the list of signatures to recall Vince Lagos the most corrupt mayor of the city has ever seen!

    Reply

  23. Lago is a developer owned parasito and only due to media and public out cry did he back down fom his abuse on a real man ,the type of man we need here in politics.

    ”A Florida man who refused to sell his home to a developer now lives in the shadows”

    For months, he’s been negotiating with the city over a series of code violations, involving everything from overgrown grass to feral cats. At one point, he says, the fines totaled nearly $30,000.

    Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago says that’s no longer the case. When it was mistakenly reported that the city had placed a lien on Capote’s property, he says city offices were overwhelmed by a flood of emails and phone calls. “We were very clear at the last commission meeting to state that we had not continued to move forward in regards to any citations or any liens in regards to code enforcement,” the mayor says.

    Capote is 68 years old, a professional engineer who’s become well-versed in planning and zoning law. For two decades, he’s been engaged in a struggle against developers, the city and what used to be called “progress.” He came to Miami from Cuba with his parents as a teenager, and in 1989, they bought the home in Coral Gables.

    https://www.npr.org/2024/03/16/1236266122/florida-man-refused-sell-home-developer-coral-gables?ft=nprml&f=191676894

    Reply

  24. Lago is a corrupt thug, a chameleon, a nasty man and has to go, and probably go to jail for underhanded deals and conflicts of interest. I’m okay with waiting for next elections, but the ongoing power struggle at City Hall hurts residents and wastes resources.

    Reply

  25. Dearest Alberto, I would love nothing more than to have Mayor Lago tell me his side. I have called him and texted him multiple times. He refuses to speak to me. When I call him, what he does instead is call someone else — whoever spoke to me or whoever he THINKS spoke to me — and reams them out.

    You were right about one thing: It’s politics at its worst.

    Love, Ladra

    Reply

  26. L’Ego has always been shady but on the DL as they say. His many missteps personally and politically are going to be his downfall.

    Reply

  28. The City Beautiful is in turmoil right now. The head of the city, Mayor Vince Lago, abuses his position to benefit himself.

    The Coral Gables Police Chief abuses his position to benefit himself and his relationship to the University of Miami.

    The worst part is nothing happens to either one of them. Abuse of power at its finest. Unethical behavior with no repercussions will destroy a city.

    Lago Must Go.
    Hudak Must Go.
    https://odysee.com/Unethical:0

    Time to turn the page.

    Reply

  29. This is politics at its worse. A trusted newsletter, Political Cortadito, has turned into a nasty pamphlet, re-publishing material that resembles big time the junk mail we receive during election season.

    Journalists give ALWAYS the people covered in an article, the opportunity to comment and to offer a personal perspective. Today, Lago’s comments and perspectives are missing in action.

    Today, Ladra has forgotten her journalist roots, and she has turned into jury, judge and executioner. Truly deplorable.

    Reply

  30. L’Ego and Chief Hudak both need to go! It’s time for positive and progressive change in the City and police department.

    Reply

  31. This is absolutely rubbish. The citizenry stands in full support of the Mayor. It is KFC who should be removed. Shameful what’s been happening in this city recently. A complete disgrace.

    Reply

  32. Lago is a piece of garbage, from the back door dealings to him cheating on his wife {with someone on his staff} he needs to go. All his decisions can be quantified by how much he personally stands to gain.

    From Golden Boy to Loser Lago in about a year, which is just about how long it took to piece everything together. I realize a lot of people believe this is a new Vince lago, but it really is just a newly discovered reality that shows who he really is and who he was the entire time.

    Vince, maybe while you’re incarcerated for one of the many crimes you’ve committed, a dedicated City employee can go to your house and take care of things for you, show a certain woman what a real man can do. Will your mistress need the same attention?

    Reply

  33. following this very closely. I voted for Lago the first time, but I agree he has completely changed and shown his true colors. He has looked and sounded shady for a while now and I am very interested in hearing more about these developments. If indeed he is guilty of some of this, he has to go. He had no competing candidate this last election which is a shame on all of Coral Gables. We need to start finding and promoting good candidates to replace these highly questionable politicians asap. We cannot have a power vacuum without good candidates to take their place. The Gables needs a good clean sweep and this might be just the right step forward.

    Reply

  34. Much as a crook as Vince Lago may be, recall elections are kind of stupid. Expensive and reactionary. That PAC should be used to support a challenger instead.

    Reply

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