Candidate experience and qualifications led a Coral Gables Gazette reader poll on what matters most in the city’s Nov. 3 elections, with about one in three respondents naming it the single most important factor in their vote.
Development and growth placed second, followed by property taxes and city spending. The top two answers together drew 55 of 107 responses, or 51 percent.
The non-scientific poll was conducted Sept. 21-28 in partnership with Crowdsignal. It asked: “What one factor is most important in deciding your vote in the Nov. 3 Coral Gables Commission races?”
The results in detail
Of 107 total responses, 35, or 33 percent, chose candidate experience and qualifications. Development and growth drew 20 responses, or 19 percent, while property taxes and city spending drew 13, or 12 percent.
Government transparency and ethics and civility and conduct at City Hall tied at 10 responses each, or 9 percent apiece. Seven respondents, 7 percent, picked a candidate’s relationship with the mayor and other commissioners, and five, 5 percent, chose Other.
Traffic and parking drew four responses, or 4 percent; public safety drew two, or 2 percent; and flooding and resilience drew one, or 1 percent. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
If the three governance-related choices — transparency and ethics, civility and conduct, and relationships among elected officials — are grouped together, they account for 27 responses, or 25 percent. The three choices centered on traffic and parking, public safety and flooding drew seven responses combined.
Because respondents could select only one factor, the results show what participants placed first. They do not capture everything those readers may care about. The poll also did not ask about individual candidates.
A first November election
This year’s vote will be Coral Gables’ first municipal election held in November. Voters approved a charter amendment earlier this year moving city elections from April of odd-numbered years to November of even-numbered years, putting the municipal contests on the same calendar as the general election.
The Gazette’s March reader poll on that question produced a different result from the election itself: 61 percent of 188 respondents said they opposed moving the election to November. Like the current survey, that poll was voluntary and non-scientific.
Three city races are on the Nov. 3 ballot. Mayor Vince Lago, who has held the office since 2021 after eight years as a commissioner, is seeking another term against Jackson “Rip” Holmes and Laureano Cancio. In Group IV, Commissioner Melissa Castro, first elected in 2023, faces Nestor Menendez. Group V is open because Commissioner Ariel Fernandez is not seeking reelection, with Gonzalo Sanabria and Dominique “Nikki” Whiting competing for the seat.
The current commission has divided frequently on high-profile issues, with Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara often voting together and Castro and Fernandez frequently forming the opposing bloc. Lago has endorsed Menendez in the Group IV race.
What experience means in these races
The candidates bring different kinds of experience to the ballot.
Menendez, an attorney, has served on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, Transportation Advisory Board and Charter Review Committee. Sanabria is a current member of the Planning and Zoning Board and has run for commission before. Whiting is a first-time Coral Gables candidate who serves as director of development for the Adam Smith Center at Florida International University. Her background includes work for Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez. Castro is seeking a second term.
Lago, meanwhile, has served in elected office since 2013, first as a commissioner and since 2021 as mayor.
Development, taxes and flooding
Development ranked second as commissioners work through a heavy docket.
They approved the Crystal Residences project at 110 Phoenetia Ave. on second reading Aug. 25 by a 3-1 vote and are weighing a proposed 30-year development agreement with the University of Miami. On Tuesday, Sept. 29, commissioners are scheduled to take up the UM agreement, a proposed nearly $40 million City Hall construction contract and the final fiscal 2027 budget.
The proposed 2026-27 budget totals $323.3 million and keeps the property-tax rate at 5.559 mills for a 12th consecutive year. Because property values have risen, that rate is 6.94 percent above the state-defined rolled-back rate of 5.1982 mills, the rate calculated to generate roughly the same property-tax revenue as the previous year excluding new construction.
Flooding and resilience drew just one response in the poll, even as the proposed budget includes $900,000 in new funding for Ponce Corridor waterway flood mitigation and more than $5 million in new fiscal 2027 funding for the city’s Sea Level Rise Mitigation Program.
Key dates for voters
Vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 3 election began going out Sept. 24. The voter registration deadline is Monday, Oct. 5.
Early voting runs Oct. 19 through Nov. 1, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily at Miami-Dade County early-voting sites. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22. Vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the Supervisor of Elections by 7 p.m. on Election Day; mailing a ballot by that date is not sufficient. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 3.
If a runoff is required, Coral Gables has scheduled it for Dec. 1.
Methodology
Participation was voluntary and duplicate voting was restricted by the polling system. Because the poll was open to readers who chose to participate and did not collect demographic information, it should be understood as a non-scientific reader survey reflecting the views of respondents rather than a representative sample of Coral Gables voters.
