Mark A. Trowbridge

Editor’s Note

What Leadership is all about

As we were preparing to go to press with this issue, a beloved member of our community – Mark A. Trowbridge, CEO and president of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce – suddenly passed due to complications following a bout with blood cancer. It is an immense loss to this city. Trowbridge was a vibrant, energetic, and creative leader for what is routinely touted as the best chamber of commerce in the State of Florida, let alone South Florida

What distinguished Trowbridge’s leadership was his forward-looking, positive attitude that embraced the residents of this community, especially the small businesses that provide most of the jobs and most of the commercial tax base. He was constantly pushing new ideas and new ways to engage the members of the chamber and to help advance their interests. He was also an immensely affable person who believed in civility and decorum, and, above all, inclusion, where everyone was welcome under the big tent.

How much of a contrast then, to our present political situation, where the players at City Hall have become divided and antagonistic. For anyone who has read my editorials over the last few months, I have made no secret of how disturbed I am with the shenanigans at City Hall. There, the troika of City Commissioners Ariel Fernandez, Melissa Castro, and Kirk Menendez have made a travesty of not only civil engagement, but of good government.

I will be the first to admit that our current mayor, Vince Lago, is a forceful personality who wants to see his agenda move forward. The point here, however, is that he actually has an agenda, which we whole heartedly endorse– fiscal responsibility, environmental stewardship, the greening of the city with new parks, responsible development, smart city infrastructure, and so on. He has, over the last few years, put forward initiatives that include everything from keeping our downtown streets clean and well-landscaped to paying down the city’s liabilities for pensions that will come due. How much of a contrast, then, are the rantings of the troika, whose principal agenda seems to be to simply attack everything the mayor suggests.

And with a 3-2 vote they can do so. Several of these contests are highlighted in our feature “A Tale of Two Cities,” by Managing Editor Kylie Wang. Others were simply too numerous to include, such as the 3-2 vote to stop Mayor Lago from reducing the taxes for city residences to compensate for increases based on soaring property values. The troika’s reasoning: that because a lower tax rate would also be applied to businesses, then the mayor’s agenda must certainly be in favor of developers. Another was their (still possible) effort to put the city in $60 million of debt to fund pet projects, or to strip the funds going toward pensions to do so.

The election coming up in April is therefore extremely important for the future of the city. We urge you to vote, whichever candidate you choose.