Will he or won’t he? Senate 40 race waits on Jose Felix Diaz

Will he or won’t he? Senate 40 race waits on Jose Felix Diaz

And we’re off. Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Monday set the date for a special election to replace disgraced former Sen. Frank Artiles, who resigned hastily last month after he was caught making racial and sexist remarks to black colleagues. The primary will be July 25 with the general election September 26. Now, if we […]

Mark Samuelian runs for Miami Beach commission,part II

Mark Samuelian runs for Miami Beach commission,part II

Mark Samuelian, a Miami Beach activist who ran for commission in 2015 and lost by 77 votes, filed Monday to run again, joining the clusterbunch of candidates in the Group 2 open seat. Apparently, nobody wants to run against former Commissioner Michael Góngora in the Group 3 race. There are four first timers running already in that Group […]

Raquel Regalado vs Bruno Barreiro for Congress?

Raquel Regalado vs Bruno Barreiro for Congress?

Republican primary battle shapes up for District 27 It looks like Raquel Regalado has decided what she wants to do next: Congress. After briefly entertaining a state Senate run to replace Frank Artiles — because, really, who hasn’t? — the former Miami-Dade School Board member and recent county mayoral candidate has set her sights on […]

Two new ‘open’ seats spur political piñata question: 40 or 27?

Two new ‘open’ seats spur political piñata question: 40 or 27?

It’s not if or when these days in the 305 political world, it’s where. Folks are lining up like ducks to become the next Florida Senator in District 40, after former Sen. Frank Artiles was forced to resign over racist remarks, or maybe the next Congress member from District 27, after longtime veteran U.S. Rep. […]

The Cortadito Calendar is back for month of May

The Cortadito Calendar is back for month of May

The Cortadito calendar is back in time for May. Yes, we missed the last couple of weeks in April but, other than the Gables runoff, nothing important was happening. Ladra needed some time off. This week, we resume with a few meetings and candidate events. But there must be more going on. Please make it […]

Mike Mena (read: developers) win Gables race, as expected

Mike Mena (read: developers) win Gables race, as expected

In their first run-off ever, Coral Gables voters on last week picked Mike Mena, a land use attorney who has never served on any city board or committee, over longtime activist Marlin Ebbert, a retired schoolteacher who was backed by the a group of residents irate about recent development decisions. It was 54 to 46 percent. […]

Frank Artiles resigns and an old rival, Juan Zapata, could run

Frank Artiles resigns and an old rival, Juan Zapata, could run

Could El Zorro come to the rescue again? One of the names being batted around for a special election to replace disgraced former Sen. Frank Artiles — who resigned Friday after making inappropriate and racist comments earlier in the week when speaking to a few colleagues — is his all-time rival and nemesis, former Miami-Dade […]

Frank Artiles resigns, but still needs to apologize to Hialeah

Frank Artiles resigns, but still needs to apologize to Hialeah

State Sen. Frank Artiles resigned Friday for having a racist rant earlier in the week, but only after it became increasingly clear that he had no other choice. Nothing was getting done in the final weeks of session was the capitol turned on Artiles’ words to his colleagues, including calling Senate President Joe Negron a […]

Frank Artiles must resign despite sorry-not-sorry apology

Frank Artiles must resign despite sorry-not-sorry apology

It didn’t take long for newly-minted Sen. Frank Artiles to misbehave now, did it? It shouldn’t take this long for him to resign. A known bully and hothead who punched a college kid in the face at a bar and who wants to kill a Florida black bear, Artiles was in the news again Tuesday […]

Michael Gongora raises $70K — but not from Club Madonna

Michael Gongora raises $70K — but not from Club Madonna

Former Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Góngora is getting a good head start on his bid to get his seat back, raising $70,000 (including a $20,000 loan to himself) for the Group 3 race in his first month. By comparison, the two others bidding for the open seat — because Commissioner Joy Malakoff doesn’t want to be […]