Richard Lara emerged victorious over Tom Wells in the April 22 runoff for the Coral Gables Commission Group III seat, claiming more than 55 percent of the 7,856 total votes cast which was a record turnout for a runoff in the city. This victory marks the culmination of a hard-fought campaign, securing Lara a pivotal role in Coral Gables’ political future.
Speaking to supporters at Wolfe’s Wine Shoppe on Miracle Mile, Lara declared, “We did what we had to do to take back the city. This is a win for each and every one of you, and for Coral Gables.” His win is a testament to the significant community engagement that fueled his campaign.
A jubilant Lara promised to serve as a voice for the residents, vowing to restore civility and prioritize the needs of the community.
Victory with strong support
Lara conceded his victory was made possible by significant campaign support from Mayor Vince Lago, who was at Lara’s side throughout the campaign. Lara acknowledged Lago’s contributions, saying, “Mayor, I want to point to you, you definitely pushed and pulled and lifted your weight.” In a lighthearted moment, Lago redirected praise to Claudia Miro, who ran for the seat in the April 8 general election and endorsed Lara in the runoff. The mayor led a chant of “Claudia, Claudia” in recognition of her role.
Final count
The final vote tally showed Lara claimed a decisive victory with 4,352 votes (55.40 percent) of the total votes cast. Lara’s victory margin grew from the April 8 general election, as voters returned to the polls in greater numbers than typical for Coral Gables’ runoff elections. A total of 23.1 percent of registered voters participated in the runoff, marking an increase in turnout over all previous Coral Gables runoffs.
Lara won 13 of the city’s 16 precincts. Wells won Precinct 604 (American Legion Post No. 98)—Miro’s home precinct—and Precinct 613 (Ponce Middle School). The two candidates tied in Precinct 646 (Pinecrest Branch Library) with 23 votes each.
Fundraising edge
The fundraising disparity between the candidates was a decisive factor. Lara raised an impressive $271,950, while Wells reported just $19,420, largely from his own contributions. Lara’s superior fundraising allowed for an influx of ads, mailers, and political outreach, dominating the final stretch of the campaign.
Despite Wells’ experience in local politics and his visibility at commission meetings, he was unable to overcome the financial momentum behind Lara’s campaign. Lara’s fundraising edge helped him tap into a broader voter base, giving him the upper hand in the race.
Political alliances, Lara’s independence
Lara’s victory also represents a win for Mayor Lago, who strongly supported Lara throughout the campaign. Although Lara has tried to position himself as independent, his ties to Lago and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson have led to questions about his political neutrality. Both Lago and Anderson were present at Lara’s victory celebration, signaling that the three now form a dominant political bloc on the commission.
Lara, however, has rejected claims that his election serves merely to consolidate Lago’s political power. He has emphasized that his platform is about serving the people of Coral Gables first. Still, his alignment with Lago’s agenda, such as supporting the move of city elections to November and openness to revisiting Little Gables annexation, suggests Lara may vote in line with the mayor on key issues.
Shift in the city’s political landscape
Lara’s win represents a significant shift in Coral Gables’ political landscape. The victory is especially important given the previous two years, during which Lago’s power had been held in check following the 2023 election of Commissioners Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez, who often opposed Lago on key issues.
With Lara now heading to the dais, Lago gains the crucial third vote on the commission, effectively ensuring a majority for his political agenda. Lara’s win could mark a turning of the tables, positioning Lago, Lara, and Anderson as the dominant force on the Coral Gables City Commission moving forward.
This Post Has 21 Comments
A sad day for Coral Gables.
The obscene disparity in money spent on the two campaigns should have given Lara a much wider margin…but it didn’t! Tom Wells ran a self-funded campaign, and an absolutely classy and clean one. My hat is off to Tom Wells. The best man didn’t win, but he’s still the best man. Congrats Tom!
It was a day where the residents voted and the result is clear. It was not the money spent, it was residents casting votes. It was an election with a record turnaround. And when residents vote, the activists lose. An activist depends on low turnaround, so that with a few votes can secure an election. I hope that the residents take this great learning lesson: we need to vote in every election, big or small. This is the only way can can protect the city from extremists dominating the government.
Alberto Santos, Activists are not extremists. A group of neighbors supporting candidates on a shoestring who vow to protect our city against overdevelopment are proud activists. We are small fish swimming against the overwhelming tide of developer big money.
Once again we see our City Beautiful becoming another municipality. A well funded political machinery won the election! Does it bring to mind any cities? Some neighboring some not? Is that why money comes into their pacs from out of town?
The activists lose because they run a grass root campaign and do not play quid pro quo with the heavy duty contributors, also known as developers, attorneys for developers, lobbyists, etc, etc.. All that the residents should do is follow the money and then keep an eye on what happens at Commission Meetings after closed door meetings, off site meetings with developers, and or their lobbyists and attorneys. Put forth some effort and listen carefully to key words like negotiating, discussing, etc. Attorneys are very good at cutting deals by offering small “public benefit” items. Why don’t we usually hear what they are getting in exchange for it? Perhaps a lane of traffic, some street parking, extra height, etc?
Our City is for sale, some would say it has already been bought and soon will be delivered one development project at a time!
George Merrick must be turning over in his grave.
Here is the lesson for politicians, let the taxpayers determine your salary and whether you deserve a car allowance. Commissioners are.not full-time employees and need to have other income outside the City; many of us would have voted for a pay increase if given the opportunity. Huge mistake to cut out the folks that pay the taxes in the City Beautiful.
Lara won because he promised to rescind the outrageous pay raise and car allowance that the Castro and hes 2 buddies on the Commission voted themselves!
Lara won because he promised to vote to claw back the outrageous doubling of Commissioners’ pay!
even thou your publication and others tried to promote the other guy ….Lara overcame that … and now you and other try to define it by claiming money did it ….not so Fernandez and the other one are the reason we voted for Lara…………..
Those of you who think the biggest problem in this city is an increase in salaries, are so out of touch it’s ridiculous!
Open your eyes and watch the commission meetings, don’t just regurgitate what you hear others say.
And “outrageous” when referring to a $36,000 to $65,000 salary increase after 40 years is a waste of the word “outrageous”.
The “activists” you are referring to are longtime residents who are concerned enough about the future of Coral Gables to give of their time and talents to try to make a positive difference.
Your preaching to the residents about coming out to vote is ironic, given that a man who hadn’t voted in Coral Gables elections in 25 years was elected yesterday. How hypocritical to say it’s not about the money spent…of course it is. Money spent to buy votes equals favors being repaid for that money being provided.
If you wanted to protect the city against extremists dominating the government, you voted for the three wrong candidates.
Just to be clear, I’ve lived in this city for 35 years and I’ve voted in every single election, large and small.
It’s a sad day for Coral Gables and for those of us who are paying attention.
Imagine thinking that a part- time job, which is what all City commissioners are, should receive a $65K salary a year and a car allowance (that is out of touch). I watch the commission meetings, I am well aware of the embarrassing and unprofessional disaster that was the firings and appointing of city managers without proper search and vetting, the negating of moving elections to November to save money and promote voter turnout, the unfounded accusations of assault, the consistent 3 to 2 vote even on measures clear cut for the betterment of the city. I assure you I am not out of touch, have my eyes opened, and gleefully voted for Lara and expect a return of progress at the commission level and a retraction from the inefficiency that Menendez led. The voters have spoken.
WE, the people of Coral Gables spoke not the developers! We voted for civility, transparency, and accountability. We voted against hidden agenda items, pay raises, firing and hiring city managers at will without input from the community and without searching for the best candidate. We voted for elections to be moved from April to November, not only to save money, but to increase the number of participants. We voted for a reduction in taxes. And WE won. So, now let’s move forward and let’s find more constructive ways to spend our time and energy. I’ve lived in Coral Gables for almost 40 years and we’ve never had a turn out like we had this year. The people spoke and now it’s time to turn the page and move forward.
Let’s see whether the Lago-Anderson-Lara faction vote to reduce the pay back to the prior amounts. My guess is they won’t. I haven’t heard they turned down the increase. They quietly accepted it. Furthermore L-A-L don’t need that pay increase because they are accepting thousands under the table from developers. Civility? You bet we will see that as L-A-L will all hold hands and vote together to turn our city over to the developers.
It is obvious to anyone who has consistently watched the Commission Meetings that having the gigantic amount of money to send out untruthful messages, even commercials on television, mailings, etc. affected the outcome. Frankly I am very surprised with the actual difference in the number of votes between Lara and Wells. The amount of money used by Lara should have produced a bigger gap between the two. I guess there were a lot of residents who didn’t drink the Kool Aid! As to bringing up the Commissioners’ salaries, that was certainly a good strategy because it worked! Perhaps it is good to pay them less so they have to either devote less time to the residents, and let some crooked employees handle the issues behind closed doors, or get paid under the table, given presents, discounts, etc. from those who want to make our City another Brickell. By the way, how come the two elected officials that harped so much about the salaries didn’t return the money? Oh, donated to charity, but unable to provide proof?
As to the City Manager, the professional engineer who failed to supervise several projects under his watch? What happened to the water tower? City Hall? The new Police and Fire Building? The Development Services Building? Miracle Mile project? Why did the administration have to come back and ask for more funds to fix the problems? Perhaps someone should have filed complaints against his license! It may not be too late.
One last comment, why do people use fake names when making comments? Are they part of those who have benefitted from all the wrong doing? Getting paid perhaps? Those who have gotten away with all the deals?
As to me, I do not hide. Nothing to fear when you are telling the truth!
Developer backed candidates won. If you don’t think money matters, why do the developers give so much? Of course it matters. The pay raise was so minimal. The high priced spin doctors paid by the developer candidates were very successful in convincing residents who don’t know the details that $65k with a $0.7K car allowance is somehow draining the city coffers. The pay increase allows people who are not paid by monied interests or who are not independently wealthy to serve. Be prepared to see massive luxury construction projects requesting zoning changes sail through commission approval. These projects do nothing to increase needed middle class housing in this city. Rather they are vacation homes for the global wealthy. The character of our green oasis will be changed to a Brickell-like congested heat island.
Mr. Santos – WE AGREE! We need more voters to participate in all elections as it is our civil duty. Although 30% and 23% of registered voters voted in the general election and runoff election, respectively, 70% and 77% did not. And that is despite residents receiving daily mail outs and multiple robotexts and calls from Mr. Lara’s campaign that were much more than the Presidential election! It takes lots of money to create this one-sided voter contact. I had many donation offers that I turned down because I do not want Coral Gables to become controlled by money. In retrospect, that probably was a mistake!!!
I never voted for any salary raise – and my cost to run was increased by the salary raise. I hope (and want) the residents (as the employers) to vote on the salary of elected officials and whether we should have a Chief of Staff making $101k and a Mayor’s assistant making $56k for service to the Mayor’s part time job. That was the original complaint about the increase – the residents did not get a voice. I hope that new Commission allows the residents to decide this issue rather than the employees (elected officials) determining their own salary, benefits and assistants.
Although I was not a fan of Vince, I could not get over the ridiculous pay increase his opponents “bestowed” upon themselves.
I hope that this new commission rescinds this.
Those of us Coral Gables residents who were looking for an independent thinker to add to the City Commission lost last night along with Tom Wells. People may not agree with certain actions made over the past few years by both sides of this commission (Lago/Anderson vs Fernandez/Castro/Menendez). But regardless of who they sided with, Tom Wells was the person who could have brought balance and civility back to our City (not so Beautiful) government. It’s a shame that so many chose to use their vote to punish Ariel Fernandez and Melissa Castro rather than using it for the best candidate (as evidenced by many comments above).
PS
23% voter turnout is definitely not a “record” worth bragging about. It’s a shameful turnout of residents who claim to invest in and care so much about our community. I’m betting that more than that complain about one thing or another re: Coral Gables on NextDoor or some other forum.
Concerned Resident:
You are absolutely correct on all points!
With Tom Wells losing, Coral Gables lost, and we, the residents, lost.
Tom is to be congratulated on being a longtime active, honest, involved citizen who truly cares about our city, and tried to make it a better place for all of us.
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