It took 51 minutes for the June 11 Coral Gables commission capital workshop to get underway—almost an hour before city staff could present a single item. Instead, what played out during that opening stretch was a familiar civic ritual: elected officials’ grandstanding, blame games and performative politics that have become all too routine in commission chambers.

We believe in democracy. We believe in debate, discourse, and disagreement. But what unfolded again this week—and what has repeated at every commission meeting since May 6—isn’t solely governance as it should be. It’s posturing. It’s politicking. And frankly, it’s wearing thin.

We say this because we care deeply about good governance. And we’re not alone. Besides a handful of residents and what’s left of the local press, the only people consistently attending or watching these drawn-out meetings are city staff—professionals paid to be a captive audience, not unwilling extras in a rolling political drama.

It’s like parents arguing over who ruined the family vacation in front of the kids—not that we’re calling staff children. But the dynamic is the same: a public breakdown playing out in front of people who didn’t ask for it, can’t fix it and deserve better.

Everyone, it seems, is already thinking ahead to the next election—and how to keep their job when it comes. That’s politics. But there’s a time and place to settle scores or polish narratives. The dais shouldn’t be it.

Unfortunately, what we’re witnessing increasingly resembles a perpetual campaign. The same talking points. The same grievances. The same backward-looking finger-pointing and subtle groundwork for the next contest. With every meeting, Coral Gables feels more like a municipal remake of Groundhog Day—except instead of Sonny and Cher, we get another round of “whose fault was that?”

We’re not asking for kumbaya. But we are asking for focus.

There’s serious work to be done. Decisions that will shape life in Coral Gables for years to come. Big questions about traffic, parks, public safety and development that demand attention and thoughtful debate. These are not problems that lend themselves to slogans or one-liners.

And if city staff are expected to bring their A-game, shouldn’t commissioners do the same?

We don’t question that all five commissioners care deeply about Coral Gables. That’s evident. But care without focus breeds confusion. We need our elected officials to govern, not campaign—at least not during city business. That means resisting the urge to relitigate the past and turning instead toward the work at hand. It means fewer speeches and more solutions. Less performance, more policy.

We know the national mood doesn’t help. The political climate—local, state, and federal—encourages division over unity, brand over substance. But Coral Gables has always prided itself on being different. More civil. More thoughtful. More focused. The City Beautiful, after all, was built on intention and vision.

So here’s a modest proposal: Let’s end the politicking at commission meetings. Declare a demilitarized zone and return the spotlight to where it belongs: on residents, issues, and the actual work of governing.

We’re not naïve. Tensions will remain. Next year’s elections will loom. Politics is war. There will be temptations to score points. But what if commissioners surprised us? What if they used their platforms not to recall April or rehearse for November 2026, but solely to collaborate, compromise and craft solutions? What if the table of the dais became less of a soapbox and more of a workbench?

The commission chamber should be a forum for local ideas, not a theater for rivalries. The people of Coral Gables deserve leadership not dramaturgy. And city staff? They deserve meetings that move things forward, not time that drifts sideways.

To our elected leaders: We see your passion. We hear your voices. Now let’s see that energy channeled into collaboration. Park the politicking at the door and let the focus shift toward progress.