An effort by Coral Gables Commissioner Melissa Castro to revisit the city’s recent election timing change led instead to a formal censure at the July 1 commission meeting, as her colleagues rebuked her for independently seeking a legal opinion from the Florida attorney general.
Citing a recent advisory opinion from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and public comments by Governor Ron DeSantis, Castro called on the commission to allow voters to decide whether municipal elections should be moved from April to November. The April change, approved in a 3–2 vote in May, shortened current terms by about five months.
Calling her motion “a lifeline,” Castro urged the commission to put the matter to a referendum. “I want to make it extremely clear: I will not stand here while this commission tries to take away residents’ rights,” she said. “Whether this commission agreed to whatever they agreed to — I am not going to agree. I will fight.”
Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson led the censure effort, saying Castro had acted unilaterally and undermined the will of the body.
Vice mayor initiates censure motion
Instead of reconsidering the election decision, the commission—without Commissioner Ariel Fernandez, who was absent due to illness—voted 3–1 to censure Castro for sending a letter to Uthmeier without informing her colleagues.
Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson led the effort, saying Castro had acted unilaterally and undermined the will of the body. “Sending a letter to the attorney general without calling a special meeting of this commission to get our input… is a censurable item,” Anderson said. “No member of this commission, on the downside of a vote, should try and overturn it without the advice and consent of the rest of the commission.”
Anderson described a timeline in which Castro first asked the city attorney to review the Miami advisory opinion, which concluded that commissioners there could not legally extend their own terms without voter input. Before receiving a response, Castro submitted her own request to the attorney general, asking for clarification on the legality of Coral Gables’ election shift.
“You went ahead and sent a letter… without consulting with any member on this commission,” Anderson said. “Asking for an attorney general opinion to take an action that contravened what the voters voted for, what this commission voted for. This is a censurable item.”
Castro defends decision to seek clarity
Castro said her letter did not call for any specific action but simply requested a legal opinion. That distinction, however, did little to reduce the backlash.
“If I had to reach out to the attorney general again, I would do it a thousand times,” Castro said. “Trying to undo a wrong this commission made.”
She added, “If you want to vote with the vice mayor to censure me for standing up for my people, my residents — go ahead and do it.”
The censure motion passed 3–1, with Castro in dissent.
Mayor proposes city support for legal challenge
Following the vote, Mayor Vince Lago proposed a separate motion suggesting the city might support other municipalities facing legal action for moving their elections without a referendum.
“If we have another city that moves forward… [we should] consider supporting any of these cities that move forward,” Lago said. “I am hearing about multiple cities potentially enjoining themselves if there is a lawsuit in the state regarding the November election.”
That motion also passed 3–1, again with Castro voting no.
Fallout continues as November election remains
With the November election date still in place, the commission appears unlikely to revisit its earlier decision. But legal questions raised by the attorney general’s opinion—and political tensions on the dais—suggest the issue is not yet settled.
This Post Has 13 Comments
The notion that “voters voted for this”, according to Rhonda Anderson, is absurd. Talk about stretching the truth. Voters have not voted on this issue, but we should be given the opportunity to do so.
It only makes sense to keep elections away from November to a motley crew of individuals
there is clearly more voter engagement in general elections and this should be the standard
and indeed I believe that in order to be a coral gables commissioner you should reside in coral gables
The new commission is looking more and more like KFC in reverse. It was bad when KFC voted 3-2 as a block and it is just as bad with the new commission voting 3-2 as a block. Our representatives are becoming an embarrassment to us with their absurd bickering. Shame on them. We should vote all of them out when the opportunity comes and elect new commissioners that really care about the interests of the residents of Coral Gables.
👍👍👍👍
The new commission is looking more and more like KFC in reverse. It was bad when KFC voted 3-2 as a block and it is just as bad with the new commission voting 3-2 as a block. Our representatives are becoming an embarrassment to us with their absurd bickering. Shame on them. We should vote all of them out when the opportunity comes and elect new commissioners that really care about the interests of the residents of Coral Gables.
great move . November election decision was correct…..the losers want to get back in power after all the damage they did . lived here since 1984 and agree with the Nov.. vote….and i feel bad that Mr Ariel Fernandez lied to us ….and instead acted like a NYC politician
Excellent.
Exactly.
Surprise again.
Melissa Castro should NOT serve as a Commissioner – she does NOT own property in Coral Gables! Any registered resident[owner or rental] should have the right to vote but ONLY property owners should be allowed to serve on City Commission!
She has NO skin in the game so she should not serve on City’s Governing Board! No one that owns shares in a company would vote for a Board member that owns NO shares in the company!
Perhaps her lack of skin in the game is why she violated rules and asked Uthmeier, a questionable AG given the Hope Foundation fiasco, for his opinion!!
Wow, Quien…you can’t just change the rules to suit your opinion. Commissioner Melissa Castro was legally elected. Nowhere in our city’s charter does it say a resident has to own property in order to serve on the commission.
And the Hope Foundation fiasco is a De Santis scam. Put the blame where it belongs.
I have never been so disappointed in people I voted for as I have been in Mayor Lago and Vice Mayor Anderson. They don’t speak or act for their constituents; only for themselves. The Coral Gables Commission voting to move up an election is no better than City of Miami voting to postpone theirs for a year. When we the people place our votes, it is for particular people for the particular amount of time – not to be shortened or lengthened in any way. If the Commission truly thought that this was what the people wanted, then they should’ve put it on the ballot in April and actually let the residents decide. I’ve said it before, people who used their vote to punish Fernandez and Castro by electing Lara, only accomplished flipping the majority on the commission. We lost our chance at a more civil and balanced commission by not electing Tom Wells, who was a more qualified, unbiased, independent thinking candidate. Our city and the residents will only suffer as a result
Article VIII, Section 6(e) of the Florida Constitution is the Miami-Dade Home Rule Amendment. It keeps Article VIII, Section 11(g) of the Florida Constitution in full force and effect which provides that . . . “each municipal corporation in Dade County shall have the power to . . . amend . . . its own charter. Upon adoption of this home rule charter by the electors this method shall be exclusive and the Legislature shall have no power to amend or repeal the charter of any municipal corporation in Dade County.” Section 5.03 The Miami-Dade County Charter provides that any municipality in the county may amend its charter by vote of the electors. This rule of law is clearly set forth in City of Miami v. Miami Ass’n of Firefighters, Local 587. Florida Attorney General Opinion 2025-01 and his letter to the City of Miami explains this. Governor DeSantis issued the same warning.
This is not a close issue – the City Commission’s ordinance is illegal and violates the oath taken by Mayor Lago, Vice-Mayor Anderson and Commission Lara (“LAL”) per City Code Section 2-247 (I do solemnly swear that I will support, protect and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, the State of Florida, the Charter). There is no right to amend the Coral Gables Charter without a resident vote. The issue is not when or how you will vote but why your vote was stolen. Governor DeSantis can suspend LAL per Fla. Stat. Section 112.51(1) for taking illegal actions. For LAL to censure Commission Castro for complying with her oath of office and seeking advice from the Florida Attorney General Opinion while LAL violate their oath is unimaginable. It was never this bad during the prior 2 years. This is not the civility and independence that these politicians promised. Hopefully, Governor DeSantis will provide assistance to stop this conduct and tell LAL that VOTE SUPPRESSION IS OFFICE SUSPENSION!