The first Coral Gables commission meeting Tuesday after the required recall petitions for Mayor Vince Lago were submitted last week was long and a bit awkward for everybody. Ladra cringed a few times.
Lago said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement was investigating the recall effort and accused the new three amigos — Commissioners Melissa Castro, Ariel Fernandez and Kirk Menendez — of plotting against him to help the recall, which is being led by his old friend and the trio’s ally, activist Maria Cruz. He crowed about the internal purchace-card audit that, he said, showed no real inappropriate purchases, as Fernandez had asserted. And he said he wanted a forensic audit to finally lay rest to the claims of widespread corruption.
“And they can start with my office,” Lago said, grandstanding just a little.
Not to be outdone, Fernandez disagreed about the p-card audit, scolded the mayor for his recent smears on the three who currently have the majority bloc, and asked the city attorney to schedule a special commission meeting just to discuss Lago’s possible violation of the civility code that Lago himself sponsored and passed in 2021.
Read related: Round one petitions submitted for recall of Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago
And Cruz — who sported a KFC T-shirt to mock the disparaging nickname given to the three amigos by an anonymous blogger — made some colorful comments about Lago’s business dealings and his envy of BFF, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a one-time presidential candidate whose $10K a month “consulting” payments by a developer with investments in both cities have led to an FBI investigation.
“Now, that you made national news, you know what? Maybe you could run for president,” Cruz said coyly, before leaving the podium.
After she spoke, Lago and Fernandez got into it over the letter the mayor sent to residents earlier this month, blaming the recall on out-of-town developers and “attacking and disrespecting the members of this commission,” Fernandez said, calling on the city’s planning director to confirm that there were no plans to upzone Miracle Mile, as the mayor claimed the three commissioners were trying to do. She did.
So that means Lago lied again, just like when he said he always supported the city’s first responders.
“I personally took offense to the letter that you sent out, which is another violation of the city’s civility code,” Fernandez told the mayor, reminding him that he passed the civility code “that you brought forward four years ago and presented to the commission to ensure that there was respect in this community and that residents were not lied to.”
“And yet, over the last two weeks, you sent out a letter attacking and disparaging members of this commission,” Fernandez said, also bringing up a text messages sent to Gables voters over the weekend that blamed the three commissioners for mounting the recall.
Read related: Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago gets shut down, censured by 3 he disparaged
“You are making assertions, baseless assertions, about your colleagues,” Fernandez said. “You’ve been censured for this before,” Fernandez said, referring to a meeting last November, when Menendez led a vote to censure Lago last November after the mayor made multiple disparaging remarks about his colleagues.
The mayor apparently hasn’t learned anything.
“I don’t understand. What can we do as a commission to help you stop yourself, because obviously you no longer have control of yourself,” Fernandez said.
The two went back and forth for a while and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson chimed in to say Fernandez was creating a circus.
“This will not take over the meeting,” Lago said. “I’m not going to allow it.” But it did. And he did.
Later, Lago blamed Fernandez for the low morale after the commissioner exposed a list of questionable Amazon purchases. An internal city audit did not find widespread corruption in the use of p-cards. But the mayor said that he wanted a forensic audit to help employee morale and clear the city of the stench caused when Menendez said, at a public meeting in February, that the city was “adrift in a cesspool of public corruption,” and the Gables establishment clutched their pearls.
In his public comments, which were interrupted by the long exchange, Jay Spieler said what many people watching were thinking — or have been thinking for weeks.
Read related: Letter from Gables Mayor Vince Lago means desperation about recall effort
“What a show,” Spieler said. He doesn’t support the corruption of the “gang of supposed reformers” who “rammed through” the new city manager selection and gave themselves “self-enriching pay hikes.”
The word “toxicity” would “accurately describe our commission today,” Spieler said.
But by the end of the meeting, there was a second item that the two foes agreed on (the first was the forensic audit). Lago, whose uncle was a Bay of Pigs veteran and former political prisoner in Cuba, wanted to honor the group on Wednesday, the 63rd anniversary of the exile invasion.
Fernandez suggested making it Bay of Pigs Day in Coral Gables.
“Let’s do it,” Lago said. And it was unanimous.
Would’t it be nice if we had more of that?
There was a lot more that happened at the meeting Tuesday. Political Cortadito will keep reporting in different posts about the actions taken by the commissioners on the Ponce Park Residences and other matters. Come back soon.
More commission conflict in Coral Gables on heels of mayoral recall effort added by Ladra on
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Another commission meeting where no corruption by Mayor Lago is proven, Castro and Kirk play pawns to Ariel Fernandez and his coverups and antics. People continue to listen to Maria Cruz who has no business discussing ethics and needs a hobby.
http://www.myfloridateacher.com/discipline/icmsorders/012-1377-FO-022916114916.pdf
The one breath of fresh air was Jay Spieler who called KFC corrupt to their faces (with proof and examples) and they could not contest it…..call out the way the city manager was fired and a new one was hired without a search or fiduciary oversight…KFC is not “so good” MARIA CRUZ. They’re the true corrupt ones and it is maddening to witness…
I felt this commission redeemed Mayor Lago in many ways and I am eager to see what comes of the investigation being done on the recall who has young adults going door to door stating lies and misinformation about Mayor Lago..
Link below to watch canvassers –
https://aesopsgables.substack.com/p/but-that-takes-due-process
https://aesopsgables.substack.com/p/its-paying-kinda-good
Mr Lago: Please, RESIGN!!
It is good to hear Mayor Lago ask for a forensic audit of the administration. The influence of
dark money raises itself every election cycle and it is a disheartening element to Coral Gables politics. This recall effort also had to be funded by dark money as the canvasser who came to my door was a paid employee.
But influence is not the same thing as corruption. Nor is rudeness, arrogance, or thin skinnedness.all of which Mayor Lago may or may not be guilty of. If we eliminated all the arrogant, rude and thin skinned political office holders in the United Stets we would be left with very few elected officials.
I did not vote for Mayor Lago in the last election. I have never met the man. My partner has spoken to him about various neighborhood issues and he has always been responsive. The city employees I have met have been in most instances highly professional and competent.
I voted for two of the three amigos and have been in general impressed with Ladra’s style of journalism. But unless any of these three can point to actual corruption not merely guilt by association or personal dislike of the Mayor…well its time to put up or shut up.
I have met and spoken to Rhonda Anderson and she seemed to me a thoughtful and humble person. The fact that she seems to have a good working relationship and votes with Mayor Lago is another reason why I think that Mayor Lago might in fact be a very good Mayor who has just been caught up in an ugly personality dispute. Maybe some of that is his own fault but in the end I want my elected officials to above all else be responsive and competent. He is that. And just maybe he is also not corrupt. Hopefully the audit will tell the story.
lago is as corrupt as they come – unfortunately it is in his DNA and everyone who breathes can recognize it from a mile away yet people like him continue to get elected by the rubes wh believe the BS peole like him spew…
Recall is a waste of time and a distraction when Mayor is up for re-election next year!! Why?
Perhaps it is to distract from the disappointment of those that helped elect 2 of the three Musketeers, who gave themselves raises/fancier cars/etc.
The City staff is suffering from the accusations from individuals who themselves would likely never qualify for employment at the City. When will this end?
When will these individuals ALL realize they were elected to govern not act like kids on the dais!
Gables Neighborhood Association brought this mess to our City government when will they help it end??
Jay Spieler is right. I did not watch the meeting, but this report shows both Fernandez and Lago acted like lead clowns in a three-ring circus. It is just shameful.
It is also not helpful for residents to use their time before the commission to add fuel to the fires burning between commission members.
It is good news that the internal audit revealed no improprieties with the P-Cards. Where can residents find the audit report so we can review it ourselves to confirm what has been reported, and judge whether the “spin” made by commission members is accurate.
A “forensic audit” as part of a further investigation into Fernandez’s and Menendez’s allegations about corruption is a good idea. I hope a report, regardless of findings, is available for resident review when completed. Nothing disinfects better than sunshine.
All Coral Gables residents and elected officials need to realize that how the city operates is important to protect our investments in the city, from our homes to our businesses. Even if things are well-run, a negative perception causes damage as well. If we all don’t improve things, then we are all just hurting ourselves.
WOW EVERY Day More and More The Corruption Triangle Betewen Miami , Hialeah and Miami CVome into Play ? We NEED a SHERIFF ! To Investigate or The Browrd County Attorney !
I support the efforts of Ariel Fernandez and Melissa Castro, to expose misuse of City funds, and City platforms, by Vince Lago.
https://youtu.be/hopP82Wg9WA?si=PgzXpIA5D8EjaEIT
https://youtu.be/lRh7eDOKulM?si=VfbKA4MkJ60GrAYY
Sincerely,
Jackson Rip Holmes