The Next Election: The Candidates
Elections for Coral Gables City Commission will be held next month on April 8. This election will see the possibility of three-fifths of the Commission replaced, as Mayor Vince Lago and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson campaign for re-election and Commissioner Kirk Menendez vies against Lago for the mayorship, leaving his seat open. The last election two years ago saw only 20 percent of registered voters in the City of Coral Gables actually show up to the polls — a staggeringly low number for elections that can affect everything from Gableites’ taxes, to community services like police and fire, to the rise of major developments in the City Beautiful. As the City Commission has become increasingly divided (see story on page 66), this election has much riding upon it. Regardless of who you are voting for, we urge all Gables residents to do their civic duty and VOTE!
In order to give you a better idea of who the candidates are and what their positions are, we invited all nine to answer a few basic questions about why they were running, what they saw as the greatest challenges facing the city, and what they proposed as solutions. Of the nine candidates, only Felix Pardo and Kirk Menendez did not answer the questions asked of all candidates in the following pages, despite numerous requests for answers. Here, therefore, are responses from the seven candidates running for the Coral Gables City Commission that did respond. We’ll see you at the polls!
Why are you running for re-election?
I am running for Mayor because I am deeply committed to the future of Coral Gables and the wellbeing of its residents. Serving as mayor since 2021, and previously as a city commissioner and vice mayor, I have worked tirelessly to preserve the character of our great city while ensuring smart growth, sustainability, and a high quality of life for all who call Coral Gables home. Our city deserves leadership that listens, leadership that takes action, and leadership that puts our residents first. Over the past two years, that hasn’t always been the case. I am running because our residents tell me that we need to get back to basics to continue building on the progress we have made over the past 100 years, ensuring Coral Gables remains a vibrant, safe, and sustainable community.
What about your background qualifies you?
My background is rooted in a lifelong commitment to public service, community engagement, and responsible leadership. My experience as mayor, vice mayor and commissioner has given me a deep understanding of our city’s needs and policies. As a former member of the Coral Gables Planning and Zoning Board, I worked to ensure thoughtful and balanced development that prioritizes residents’ interests. My service on the Coral Gables Community Foundation’s board allowed me to support initiatives for the elderly, youth, and individuals with disabilities. I hold a master’s in construction management from Florida International University’s School of Engineering, along with a bachelor’s in business administration from the same university. Through years of leadership, legislative action, and civic engagement, I have built a track record of delivering results.
What do you think are the most important issues facing the city?
The most important issues facing Coral Gables revolve around maintaining the beauty, safety, and character of our city while ensuring smart growth and responsible leadership. Preserving the character of Coral Gables and preventing overdevelopment is a top priority. I have consistently stood against high-density projects that don’t fit our community. Another key issue is expanding parks and green spaces. I’m proud to have secured five new parks in our downtown without costing taxpayers a dime, and I will add five more. Public safety is another top priority. Under my leadership, we have invested over $100 million in public safety, added 15 new police officers and 15 new firefighters, and launched innovative programs like Public Safety Aides. As a result, Coral Gables has achieved its lowest crime rate in history. Finally, transparency and accessibility in government are critical. For over a decade, I’ve prioritized being available to residents – holding open office hours every Friday, hosting town halls, and advocating to move elections to November to increase voter participation.
What are your solutions for those issues?
The solutions to these issues are straightforward when we ground them in principles like fiscal responsibility, transparency, innovation, and a steadfast commitment to preserving the character of our city while putting residents first. We cannot claim to be fiscally responsible if elected officials give themselves excessive salary increases. We cannot claim to be transparent if major decisions are made without proper public notice. And we are not putting residents first if we refuse to let them vote on key issues like moving elections to November.
Why are you running for Mayor?
I am running for mayor of the City Beautiful to save the Gables! I plan on bringing back civility, honor, and honesty to the City Commission; getting control of the budget and knocking out wasteful spending; putting the “service” in customer service in government; promoting an inclusive and respectful culture across governmental, commercial, and residential living activities to bring back the Gables; and protecting the civil rights and safety of our citizenry.
What about your background qualifies you?
I have over three decades of leadership experience in general accounting, finance, and auditing, as well as working in a wide array of industry sectors, including several CPA firms and several large, private, worldwide, and publicly owned and traded companies. I have been a federal Auditor In-Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an inspector general, the interim CFO for Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, and am currently a founding member and CFO of SXG Holding Company, a logistics transportation company. I have extensive experience in planning and conducting comprehensive audits for a wide array of industry sectors to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations.
What do you think are the most important issues facing the city?
Elected officials not performing civilly, honorably, and beyond reproach; a bloated budget and wasteful spending; a cross-sectional breakdown of “government of the people, by the people, for the people”; being pioneers of emerging growth; and protecting civil rights and safety for our citizenry.
What are your solutions for those issues?
I will service you with honor by being beyond reproach. We will seek a rigorous cost analysis road map for cutting wasteful spending. Taxes are too high! The Coral Gables taxpayers are not the city’s piggy bank. We will implement a budgetary process that protects taxpayers. We will bring back “service” to customer service by streamlining the city’s various services, such as the building permitting process. We will seek to pioneer South Florida’s emerging growth initiative: Silicon South – a global center for high technology and innovation, convening established and emerging leaders across business, government, academia, labor, and the broader community to take up emerging visions and challenges. I am fighting back. I have an active civil rights violation lawsuit for criminal behavior demonstrated by the Coral Gables Police Department.
What would you like to add?
I moved to Coral Gables in July 2002, which is when I met my wife, Zascha. I married Zascha in December 2004 and held our wedding reception at the Venetian Pool. She is an attorney with degrees from Florida International University and Nova Southeastern University. I am active in the City Beautiful, but in the background. I fought against the truck ordinance that once prohibited pick-ups in residential driveways. I fought against misapplication of the Fire Fee and influenced the city to repair uneven sidewalks. I am a founding member of a nonprofit called Coral Gables Action Committee, formed in 2021, that tried to save Burger Bob’s (www. cgactioncomm.org). I am running for mayor of this beautiful city to affect change. Together, in all ways measured, make Coral Gables more beautiful!
Why are you running for re-election?
I am running for re-election to complete significant projects that I started and to further improve the quality of life in our city.
During the past four years, I increased public safety by adding 15 more police officers and 15 more firefighters, plus a new fire station on Sunset Drive to ensure faster response times. Further, I supported competitive wage increases for our first responders, mechanics, and other employees.
Development, traffic, and pedestrian safety issues are some of the main reasons I ran for office. Four years ago, developers were rapidly rezoning single-family home areas to commercial and building significantly larger projects than the Zoning Code previously allowed. Plus, the Mediterranean Code was abused to allow modern architecture to receive bonus height and zero setbacks. During my term, I corrected many errors in the Zoning Code and I voted to limit commercial development to the existing commercially zoned areas. The Mediterranean Code revisions I sponsored in January will make it more difficult for future developments to receive approval for additional height and smaller setbacks, and will provide residents an early opportunity to comment on projects during a “conceptual review” process that makes it more likely that residents’ requests will be heard and honored.
Whenever possible, I request less density (living units) and more tree canopy and parks than the Zoning Code requires, and require healthy, non-invasive trees to be saved or moved to preserve these irreplaceable resources. Some examples of these items are available at rhondaforcoralgables.com/issues and rhondaforcoralgables.com/increased-greenspace-decreased-density.
In addition, I required developers to pay for or install traffic calming in impacted neighborhoods, improve drainage, extend and replace sidewalks, extend sewer lines, repave roads, and provide other public benefits that substantially improve the quality of life.
What about your background qualifies you?
My efforts to improve the quality of life in Coral Gables began 20 years ago, before I was elected, advocating against certain development projects and seeking traffic calming. As a member of a neighborhood association, I required developers to pay for traffic calming and install shade trees and a bike lane on Segovia between Bird Road and Valencia, converting it into the lush tree-lined street that it is today. I also served on the following city boards: Public Safety, Sustainability, and Planning and Zoning. During the past 38 years, I have engaged in a wide variety of criminal and civil litigation, including ADA accessibility issues. My practice currently focuses on representing small businesses in contracts, regulatory and litigation matters, and mediation. Other than providing advice on ADA accessibility issues, I have never represented businesses seeking approval of a development project in Coral Gables.
What do you think are the most important issues facing the city?
Future density/population growth, traffic speed and volume, infrastructure projects (septic to sewer conversions and drainage), increases in property insurance, taxes and fees that increase the cost of living and gentrify the city, assisting residents with septic to sewer conversions, permit streamlining, saltwater intrusion, freshwater quality, maintaining the tree canopy, and careful management of the budget to maintain quality of life in the city without rendering it unaffordable for many.
Why are you running for City Commissioner?
I find that Coral Gables, like our republic, is completely polarized. Many of our residents feel that there is no possible compromise to the social divide that is tearing us apart. We seem to be in the middle of hostilities between family members and friends over the future of our community. Unfortunately, I find that it is quite troubling when all you hear, repeatedly, are references to the two commissioners who are not even on the ballot. I decided to enter the race because there are important issues that have yet to be addressed in earnest by the candidates. For example, no one is talking about our moral obligation to support the arts.
We have five cultural organizations in our downtown area that should receive more financial support from the city. I am talking about Coral Gables Art Cinema, Actors’ Playhouse, GableStage, Coral Gables Museum, and Sanctuary of the Arts. I also feel that the City of Coral Gables should begin immediate negotiations with the Miami-Dade County Board of Education to guarantee that all our residents can secure placement in a school that is within the city boundaries. Key Biscayne was able to secure such an arrangement, and our residents deserve nothing less.
What about your background qualifies you?
I have a B.A. in Spanish literature from Wayne State University, an M.B.A. in marketing from Manhattan University, and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. In addition, I have 10 years’ experience working as director of HR at the New York Botanical Garden, employee relations associate at Columbia University, HR manager at Wise/Old London, assistant human resources manager at Eagle Electric, unemployment claims examiner at the New York Department of Labor, and eligibility examiner at the Wayne County Department of Social Services. As an attorney, I have worked for over 40 years as a partner in a firm that provides legal services in the states of New York, New Jersey, and Florida. My community involvement includes being elected for five consecutive terms as president of the Hispanic Business & Professional Association of Bergen County, New Jersey, and appointed a member of the Board of Trustees of Ramapo College of New Jersey.
What do you think are the most important issues facing the city?
There is no doubt that the construction boom in Coral Gables has upset many of our citizens. There is a feeling that the character of our city is under assault and that more restrictions should be imposed. We are not talking about banning construction, but about making sure that the historical past and the aesthetic beauty of our community are protected. Contractors are too often given waivers from our building codes, while long-term residents are not treated in a similar fashion. The net result is that our city is growing by leaps and bounds, and we are not able to provide our new neighbors the appropriate benefits they rightly expect. Our public and private school systems are suffering from these changes, as well as our very hard-working fire and police departments.
What would you like to add?
We need new leadership to help us resolve the stalemate that is tearing us apart. As a labor attorney and a former HR Director, I have a lifetime of experience finding viable solutions to difficult human resources problems. I would be greatly honored if I was selected as the person given the responsibility of addressing the madness that is presently engulfing our community.
Why are you running for City Commissioner?
I have lived for over 30 years and worked for over 17 years in Coral Gables. I bought my first home and raised my family in Coral Gables. We have participated in every aspect of Coral Gables life, including school functions at St. Philip’s Episcopal School, sports activities at the Youth Center and Salvadore Park, Girl Scouts events, Junior Orange Bowl parades, and Fourth of July celebrations at the Biltmore. I attend St. Philip’s Episcopal Church and am a former senior warden and member of its vestry. I am the vice-chair of the Coral Gables Charter Review Committee and have frequently advocated for resident issues before the Commission and at Town Hall meetings. I passionately love this city.
I am also very troubled by the lack of civility of some elected officials that violates our City Code, our Civility Code, and Robert’s Rules of Order. Some elected officials attack the person making a motion or speaking at a Commission meeting rather than addressing the issue being considered. There is no place for ad hominem attacks by elected officials. I am running for commissioner to ensure transparency and restore civility among Coral Gables elected officials.
What about your background qualifies you?
I have practiced corporate and business law for the past 36 years, giving me an understanding of how meetings operate in a civil manner. I also am a former Florida CPA and have an accounting background that will assist in providing accountability and transparency in the annual budget process. Serving as the vice-chair of the Charter Review Committee has provided me with knowledge of our constitution and how our government operates, as well as how to conduct Town Hall and Commission meetings.
What do you think are the most important issues facing the city?
The City Beautiful continues to face issues with over-development without necessary infrastructure, imposing additional burdens on our police, fire, emergency support, traffic, parking, trash, sewage and other services, as well as a burden on neighboring residents. I will continue to advocate to preserve the look, feel, and spirit of the City Beautiful and against inconsistent over-development. In addition, residents want an expedited permitting and review process to do certain limited work to repair and improve their homes. I want to make our permitting process more efficient for smaller residential projects.
What are your solutions for those issues?
As to over-development, I will not vote to approve construction projects that do not address increased infrastructure needs caused by the project. As to making the permit process more efficient, I will consider implementing an expedited program for residential work that does not include any historic review and does not exceed a certain dollar amount. As to the lack of civility, I will ensure that Commission meetings operate pursuant to our existing City Code, our Civility Code, and Robert’s Rules of Order. Most importantly, I will listen and respect resident input and independently vote in a manner that is in the best interest of residents. My website at www. VoteTomWells.com has my background, issues for which I have advocated, and the reasons why I am the best candidate for Group III Commissioner.
Correction: Claudia Miro’s title is Vice President of Business Development & Government Affairs at Freebee.
Why are you running for City Commissioner?
I am passionate about ensuring that Coral Gables remains the City Beautiful while also addressing the pressing challenges we face. I believe in a transparent government that listens to and serves its residents. Public safety, responsible development, and pedestrian and traffic safety are critical issues that need strong leadership and proactive solutions. I am passionate about community and have always wanted to serve at a higher level. That was true four years ago when I ran the first time, and it is still true today – especially given the tone reflected in our current Commission meetings. We must embody civility as the rule, rather than the exception.
What about your background qualifies you?
With nearly three decades of experience in the public sector, I have built a career advocating for communities and working closely with elected officials to implement meaningful change. My early career as a legislative aide in Tallahassee has given me a deep understanding of policymaking and government operations. My expertise in working with municipal governments makes me uniquely qualified to address Coral Gables’ needs effectively and efficiently. Today, I am a successful professional who, in my current role as vice president at Freebee, is passionate about connecting communities with sustainable transportation solutions across Florida.
What do you think are the most important issues facing the city?
Residents deserve a city government that is open, communicative, and accountable to their constituents. When construction projects that are out-of-scale with existing infrastructure are approved, or when the Commission votes to give themselves raises without public involvement, it erodes public confidence. We cannot continue to take actions as an elected body that will lead to the mistrust of our city government by the residents we are meant to serve and represent.
Public safety is another key concern. Our police and fire departments are currently short-staffed, which impacts response times and overall safety. As one of the most affluent cities in South Florida, we need to do better for our first responders and city staff as a whole, ensuring they have the resources necessary to protect and serve our community.
In addition, traffic and pedestrian safety have become growing concerns as congestion increases. We need to implement smart infrastructure solutions that prioritize the safety of drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians alike. A key example is we need to ensure all of our crosswalks have ADA-accessible pedestrian signals.
While growth is inevitable, it must be managed responsibly to preserve the character of our neighborhoods. I envision continued collaboration where residents feel heard when projects that seek to transform their neighborhoods are proposed. Responsible development ensures that Coral Gables remains a desirable place to live while balancing modernization with preservation.
What would you like to add?
Coral Gables is a unique and extraordinary city that I have had the pleasure to call home for over 20 years. I am committed to preserving its beauty while implementing forward-thinking solutions, in a fiscally responsible manner, to improve the quality of life for all residents and future generations. My experience, dedication, and fresh perspective will allow me to serve our community with integrity and effectiveness. I am excited about the potential to bring more diverse leadership to the Commission and restore civility and decorum to ensure that all voices are heard respectfully. I humbly ask for your support in this important election so that together, we can keep Coral Gables the vibrant, safe, and beautiful city we all love. I’m ready to listen, ready to be your voice, and ready to protect and preserve your Gables – our Gables!
Why are you running for City Commissioner?
I’m Richard Lara, and I am honored to be running to serve as your Coral Gables Commissioner. Coral Gables has been my home since I was 14 years old, and it’s where I built the foundation for my future – graduating from Coral Gables Senior High, earning recognition as a Silver Knight for journalism, and later pursuing higher education at the University of Michigan and Boston College Law School. With years of experience as a legal professional and community advocate, I have dedicated my career to upholding integrity, accountability, and service. My wife, Bertha, and I have been blessed to raise our three daughters here, and I am committed to ensuring Coral Gables remains a place where families can thrive. I look forward to the opportunity to serve and work together to build a stronger future for our city.
What about your background qualifies you?
With over 30 years of experience as an attorney, I have built a career on advocacy, diplomacy, and consensus-building – skills essential for effective leadership in Coral Gables. I have successfully mediated disputes, negotiated complex agreements, and worked to bring people together, even in the most challenging situations. My service on the Florida Bar Professionalism Committee, as Chair of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee, and as a Judicial Nominating Commissioner has reinforced my commitment to integrity, fairness, and ethical decision- making – principles I will uphold as Commissioner.
Beyond my legal career, I have been deeply involved in our community, serving on the Coral Gables Anti-Crime Committee, mentoring students as a mock trial coach, and helping raise awareness for Alzheimer’s and autism care through Easterseals South Florida. As Commissioner, I will foster inclusive and transparent decision-making, ensuring that the voices of all residents and businesses are heard.
What do you think are the most important issues facing the city?
One of the most pressing issues facing Coral Gables is the lack of respect in City Hall. But of even greater concern is the budget and how uncontrolled spending will unreasonably and dangerously burden our residents now and for decades to come if we continue on this path. A $100 million bond is being pursued now by a majority of the Commission without justification – debt will be incurred with high interest payments for projects the city has already budgeted for without the need for a bond. A lack of transparency and accountability in City Hall closely tied to a pattern of repeated three-to-two votes over the last two years has shown that certain commissioners have disregarded due process, limited open discussion, and shut out opposing viewpoints. This kind of governance erodes public trust and prevents meaningful collaboration on the issues that matter most to residents.
I believe in restoring integrity to our city’s decision-making process. Every resident deserves a voice, and I will work to ensure that all perspectives are heard and considered. Coral Gables must move beyond divisive politics and focus on responsible governance that serves the best interests of our community, fostering a city government that is responsive, ethical, and truly representative of its people.
What are your solutions for those issues?
My commitment is to restore respect to the Commission and also ensure accountability and public input. Every decision will be made through proper due process, with residents’ voices at the center. I am committed to immediately reducing the current Commissioner compensation package by half. I will push for reforms to better hold officials accountable when they fail to act in the best interests of the community. And my focus will continue to be on eliminating overspending in the budget and putting a stop to development in our downtown.
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