By Coral Gables Gazette staff
Just over half a day before the City Commission was scheduled to meet in the same conference room and only a few weeks before ballots are mailed to all Coral Gables voters for the citywide referendum, about 70 residents gathered at the Public Safety Building for the Town Hall meeting with Mayor Lago.
The scheduled topic of discussion was the eight ballot questions that will appear in the April referendum. City Attorney Cristina Suarez, seated at the front of the room alongside Mayor Vince Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and late arriving Miami-Dade County Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis, walked attendees through the language of each proposal and provided context for what changes they would make to the city charter.
Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia, who had been scheduled to attend in person, did not appear. Instead, the city played two informational videos from Garcia explaining the mechanics of the vote-by-mail election — the first citywide mail ballot election in Coral Gables history.
In the videos, Garcia explained that every registered voter in the city will automatically receive a ballot by mail. There will be no in-person voting or early voting for the referendum. Voters must sign the voter certificate on the return envelope and include their residential address for the ballot to count. Ballots can be returned by mail or delivered in person to the Supervisor of Elections office in Doral, but must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, April 21.
The meeting initially stayed focused on the referendum questions. But before long it began to resemble recent commission meetings, with audience members and elected officials trading barbs while revisiting familiar grievances and highlighting accomplishments.
After the overview of the ballot items, the mayor opened the floor for questions and comments.
Ballot questions questioned; city officials respond
The first speaker was former commission candidate and frequent city critic Tom Wells, who questioned the wisdom of changing the city’s election calendar and challenged the projected savings cited by city officials.
Wells argued that shifting the city’s election cycle and eliminating runoffs could reduce voter participation and asked whether the financial benefits justified the change.
Mayor Lago pushed back, saying the city had worked extensively to provide residents with information about the referendum and emphasizing that voters themselves would make the final decision.
Lago said the city had distributed information through newsletters, its website and other outreach efforts so residents could make informed choices. “We’re trying to inundate you with as much information as possible so you can make a decision,” he said.
Several residents spoke both in favor of and against the proposed changes.
Vice Mayor Anderson raised concerns about the low turnout typically seen in runoff elections, noting that the city has sometimes spent significant sums to hold a second round of voting that only a small portion of residents participate in making the case for the ballot that would eliminate runoffs.
“Voter turnout is so extremely dismal,” Anderson said. “We’re spending six figures for a runoff at an odd time.”
Supporters of the ballot questions also pointed to cost savings and alignment with election practices in other municipalities.
Resident Claudia Miro thanked city officials for holding the meeting and encouraged residents to review the proposals closely.
“Well over 25 cities do this already,” she said, referring to proposal to move elections from April to November.
Nicolas Cabrera also spoke, urging residents to focus on the substance of the proposals and “clear the record” about the city’s intentions to bring the election date change to voters eventually. Last year, the commission initially voted to make the election change by ordinance and only relented to the referendum when the City of Miami lost a court case and appeal trying to change elections dates without a referendum.
Regarding the ballot to allow for an Inspector General, the mayor said: “If there is corruption in this city, we stamp it out immediately.”
Later in the meeting, a resident asked what turnout city officials expected in the mail ballot election. “I don’t have a crystal ball,” Lago replied. “I hope for 80 percent. If we get 50 percent that would be more than double what we sometimes see.”
Familiar accusations, boasts surface
About 45 minutes into the meeting, Lago shifted from discussing the referendum questions to criticizing local blogs and media outlets, including the Coral Gables Gazette.
The mayor repeated accusations he has made in past commission meetings, describing some outlets as engaging in “pay-to-play” practices and calling them “extortionists,” though he did not provide evidence for the claims during the meeting.
On a more positive note, the mayor boasted about his and the vice mayor’s transparency and availability. “We’ve been doing town halls for 13 years,” Lago said. “You may not always agree with us, but you’re going to have a seat at the table. I don’t think there’s another elected official who offers open office hours and town halls at least twice a year. I take great pride in that.”
Lago and Anderson also lauded their fiscal conservatism and the city’s general fund reserves, which are also included in the referendum – a move that would require a vote of the electors prior to changes to the fund balance and reserve policy, except during certain emergencies Anderson added that Coral Gables’ relatively strong financial reserves have helped the city maintain services while keeping its millage rate stable compared with some other municipalities.
Property tax concerns raised
The discussion also turned briefly to a broader issue being debated in Tallahassee: potential property tax reforms that could affect local governments across Florida.
Resident Nestor Menendez asked whether the city had a plan in place if major property tax reductions were enacted by the state.
Lago said the city did not yet have a specific plan because no changes had been approved, though he acknowledged that significant reductions could have serious consequences for municipal budgets.
“I favor tax help for certain, limited sections of the population,” he said. “But if the cuts are massive, the repercussions could be severe.”
This Post Has 10 Comments
This was a display of missed opportunities to address the ballot questions.
Instead, residents were subjected to the mayor beating a dead horse…same old, same old. Son of immigrants (as if that were a novelty in South Florida), salary raises, Amos Rojas, and his usual self-laudatory comments, bolstered by the pro-whatever Lago is pushing plants in the audience.
But his brash accusation of the Gazette reporter and the Gazette being “extortionists” is a new low, even for him. How low can he go?
I was unimpressed by this so called town hall meeting. First of all the room was packed by city employees, not necessarily residents. By my count, since there were no sign in sheets, at least half of the attendees were on the city payroll: public works was very well represented, finance, ……and most directors and their assistants as well as all the charter officials: City Clerk, Attorney, City Manager. even several others from their offices. Only the police, fire chief, manager and attorney were called upon to speak. The others were just there in case, I think, they were needed. After a few, very few, questions from the audience the Mayor had to “almost beg” for questions.
As far as I am concerned the complete informational part, if Lago’s self recap of “his accomplishments” and the rehash of past complaints, whether true or not, were taken out, was extremely short considering the topic which was expected to be addressed. Even the Miami-Dade Commissioner’s remarks were not impressive.
At the end of the day, this meeting looked more as the usual commission meeting and yes, as a political rally. Perhaps the Mayor needed this to take off all the other news and public comments floating in the local media in the last few days!!!
When Mayor Lago does not want to address a question, he either creates his own question to answer, rehashes past personal grievances or lies. I asked him why the City was holding a restricted vote-by-mail referendum in April at a cost of $150,000 when we could vote on the referendum in November for $20,000 with early voting, election day voting, drop-off ballots at the library and mail-in ballots. He attacked me and spoke about the cost of general elections!?! When considering the 2016 referendum on April 12, 2016, Commissioner Keon said the vote-by-mail referendum costs $120,000, and City Clerk Foeman said it costs $121,000 (page 89 of the Verbatim Transcript linked to Item F-4 of the 4/12/2016 Commission meeting). Lago agreed that “the mail in ballot, you’re talking about $120,000” (page 92). Postage has increased in the last 10 years raising the 2026 cost above the 2016 cost of $121,000. The 2016 Commission (which Lago praised) unanimously approved a November referendum vote to save money and increase voting. We had almost 23,000 vote on the 2016 referendum. But now the Lago-majority wants to have a limited vote-by-mail referendum in April that costs more money and has less voters. Vice-Mayor Anderson alleged that voting in April was voter suppression – per her allegation, she is now suppressing referendum votes. Lago explained that the April referendum was to avoid extending his term by 16 months. With a November referendum considering a general election date change, we could save lots of money, have more votes and shorten terms by having an election in April, 2027 and then (if it passes) in November, 2028, simultaneous with the Presidential election. Nobody (except Lago) has suggested extending his term by 16 months.
As to the poor attendance by residents, Commissioners Lara, Fernandez and Castro also missed the meeting. Commissioner Lara likely has more important issues – the $310 million loan of his employer (Spanish Broadcasting System) matured on March 1, 2026, with default interest at 25% per annum (much higher than the pre-default interest rate of 9.75%). Auditors expressed substantial doubt as to SBS’s continued viability due to this debt.
Let the residents vote on the referendum. I do not anticipate any less response than what we get on our current election turnout. Therefore, let the democratic process take its course. Why are we so against letting the residents speak with their vote?
Well, among other things, we don’t have the option to vote in person. Did Vince forget which party he belongs to?
It’s the S. Show. Just with a smaller circus and a county commission installed commissioner. Vote for clowns and the show goes on. Ballot fraud exists somewhat due to mail in ballots. Ask the political lobbyists. Oops consultants.
I will speak with a NO vote. Reason being, Lago wants it and that means there are evil intentions at play.
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