As Coral Gables voters head to the polls on Tuesday, April 22, or participate in early voting over the Easter weekend, they will choose between two candidates, each with different backgrounds, bases, and approaches to the future of the city. The runoff election for the Commission, Group III seat features Richard Lara, a lawyer Mayor Vince Lago supports, and Tom Wells, also an attorney, who has positioned himself as a challenger to the political establishment. They will likely take the Group III Commission seat in markedly different directions. Of all the issues, it is their stance on the prospect for Little Gables annexation that clearly differentiates them.
Richard Lara: The mayor’s candidate
Richard Lara, 56, serves as the executive vice president and General Counsel at Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS). He has little political experience but strong ties with incumbent Mayor Vince Lago, who took time out of his victory speech during the April 8 election to single out the importance of his ally winning the runoff.
“We have a lot of work to do in the next couple of weeks. We have to do everything possible to support Richard Lara in the next two weeks,” Lago said, underscoring the political alliance between the two.
Lara’s campaign has raised more than $145,000, significantly outpacing his competitor. His fundraising efforts nearly tripled the combined total of both other candidates for the seat and are more than nine times the amount Wells has self-funded.
However, Lara’s policy platform remains somewhat vague. His campaign website focuses on a general promise to “get back to work and make life better for residents,” while emphasizing the importance of reducing taxes and combating overdevelopment.
Lara’s website also lists cutting taxes and fighting against overdevelopment as among his priorities.
Despite repeated efforts to reach Lara via email, phone calls and texts, the candidate has not responded to Gazette inquiries. That’s in stark contrast to the version of the candidate who was gracious and open when a Gazette reporter approached him at the Coral Gables Library during early voting on April 5.
Tom Wells: The self-funded independent
Tom Wells, 62, presents himself as a stark contrast to Lara, positioning his candidacy as a challenge to the political machine led by Lago. Wells, a private practice attorney, has been more vocal about his opposition to the annexation of Little Gables and other development-related issues. He has also been more available to the media, discussing both his track record and the challenge of running against a well-funded incumbent.
“What I’m up against is Lago’s machine. (The mayor) said I am the person who is stopping him from controlling the commission – Lara is his proxy,” Wells explained. “It’s not just my fight. It’s everyone’s fight. If you want to stop overdevelopment, traffic (incursions), and the annexation of Little Gables – for me, that’s what it’s about.”
Wells admitted that he had initially been disappointed with the election results, particularly with 55 percent of the vote garnered by Lago; upon further reflection, Wells said he realized that his opponent was unable to get a majority of the vote for his commission race spoke to the lack of confidence voters had in his ability to serve the city.
“It’s not a fair comparison,” Wells said about his and his opponent’s experience. “He’s an empty suit. If it was me running against his wife, I would have a much harder time,” as he clarified that it was because she was much more involved in local politics than he was.
Wells has served on numerous city boards – currently he is the Charter Review Committee – and has been a fixture at commission meetings over the last year.
“I’ve done stuff my city and country. What has he done?” Wells asked, also pointing to his military service.
Wells also pointed to his position on the annexation of Little Gables as one of the key policy differences between himself and Lara.
The Little Gables Factor
The future of Little Gables is emerging as a significant point of contention in the runoff. The annexation of Little Gables into the city remains a divisive issue, with Lara expressing a willingness to revisit the issue while Wells has consistently opposed it. This issue is particularly important to voters in the area, who view the outcome of this election as pivotal for the neighborhood’s future.
As for the policy differences between Wells and Lara, the former highlighted the future of Little Gables as one of the stark differences between the two challengers. He pointed to the fact that he told residents at an election forum that he voted against the annexation, while his opponent was willing to revisit the cause, likely because Lago was for the annexation.
Despite being grouped with the commission’s opposition to Lago, Wells denied any formal alliance with Commissioners Ariel Fernandez and Melissa Castro, and laughed off rumors of his collaboration.
“I’m independent. I am for residents and will look at what is good for residents. If I need their input, I’ll have a Town Hall,” Wells said. He also pointed to his opposition to issues favored by his alleged allies on the commission, such as the hiring of a city manager without a proper search process and proposed pay raises for commissioners.
This Post Has 11 Comments
Good reporting.
Thank you.
Developers want to make money on Little Gables, at the expense of democracy, and at the expense of the Coral Gables taxpayers.
Sincerely,
Jackson Rip Holmes
Lara is not Mayor Lagos candidate. STOP spreading mis-information. Lara came in , asked by someone else looking for a candidate that could help make things go right
on the commission.
These past 2 years have been a disgrace for the City, lack of PROFESSIONALISM, lack of respect to the rule of how the commission should be. These past 2 years have been a circus, thanks to Ariel Fernandez, Melissa Castro and Kirk Menendez.
If TOM Wells has Kirk Menendez backing, we are back to a commission run by Ariel Fernandez. TOM WELLS is ARIEL FERNANDEZ pick to keep running the City .
VOTE smart…Richard Lara is in no one’s pocket, he runs a clean campaign, Runs for the Residents, cares and loves this City. ALL of you who say otherwise, please stop with the lies. RICHARD LARA is his own person. No ones puppet….TOM WELLS is and will be run by KIRK Menendez and ARIEL FERNANDEZ…..We need to get back to a civilized commission that Cares and loves the City, versus a Commission that all they care about is who screams the loudest, does NOT follow procedures set by the City. 3 Commissioners that fill their pockets on TAX PAYERs money, with no regards to residents needs and wants..
VOTE…RICHARD LARA for Commissioner and a better future for out CITY.
Sounds like Paid For By Lara
It absolutely does!
Tom Wells stopped at our house during the campaign. When confronted about the self approved 101% compensation by Ariel, Kirk and Melissa, he could not condemned it.
Therefore, I have to vote for Richard Lara, The use of the commissioner role for personal gain has to stop.
Have you verified the math yourself? Isn’t this more like a full-time job? Would you yourself want to be on the CG commission and earn the amount paid before the increase or even after the increase? Give these commissioners a better salary so that they are not selling their souls to developers. All I have seen in the last couple of years is more and more development and less resident friendly services. I also read that Lara favors affordable housing— which translates to granting favorable variances to developers in the name of affordability!
My household happily supports Tom Wells because he is the better candidate. He will be independent and a better commissioner than Mr. Lara. Further, he has a real shot at winning. In 2023 Melissa Castro finished second to Ivette O’Doski in a 4-candidate race. She then handily beat Ms. O’Doski in the runoff. There is a very similar situation in the Wells/Lara race. As Ms. Castro’s 2023 runoff victory shows, it is very, very possible for Mr. Wells to easily overtake Mr. Lara.
Aside from some of the ditto heads and other unhinged commentators on the various blogs concerning Coral Gables, we Gables voters are neither stupid nor ignorant of the issues. Annexation has been decided; neither Little Gables nor Coral Gables residents want it. The mayor may still be interested in it, but residents are not. This is not a winning issue, and Mr. Lara would be a fool to publicly support revisiting it.
Mr. Wells has more substance and experience. Unlike Mr. Lara, he is engaged in the public arena, votes in local elections and has greater ties to and investment in Coral Gables, given his status as a long-time resident of and business owner in the city. He will be civil as a commissioner and a good face for us. He is the better candidate. Hopefully the majority of voters in the runoff election will agree.
Per the internet Tom wells is a democrat.
As for Lara there were many negative comments about his actions or lack of. Decisions, Decisions.
Tom Wells is picked by Kirk Menendez. Everyone knows this. Kirk, Melissa and Ariel have been probably the most detrimental commission the city has seen in 30 years. The whole fiasco with the City Managers was quite the embarrassing display. I think Lara will bring balance to the commission- much needed balance and force transparency and professionalism.
MM Alhambra,
The complete lack of respect which Vince Lago has exhibited toward Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez since their first day on the dais, is the reason for the “detrimental commission” you describe. You’ve got it backwards, all the way around. If you expect transparency from Lara, check the facts on his campaign website (half-truths), and listen to him hem and haw when asked for clarification…not my definition of transparency.
I’ve lived and voted in the city of Coral Gables for 35 years. I’ve also never seen the commission in such a disgraceful state, but I know who to blame. Look at the two top dogs there…not the three commissioners they’ve shifted the blame onto, by twisting facts and repeating false information over and over hoping it will be believed.
It’s a sad fact that most of our residents don’t watch commission meetings which are televised and recorded and later accessible at any time. The truth is there.
So many “misrepresentations” of the facts in these comments.
-No one “picked” Tom Wells. He made the decision to run because of the sorry state of our city commission, the lack of civility and the worrisome direction the city “leaders” (Lago and Anderson) are taking our city. .
-Richard Lara IS most definitely Vince Lago’s candidate and Lago’s pocket vote if he should (God forbid) get elected. He will be Lago’s “yes man”, no doubt about it.
-Lara has not voted in Coral Gables elections in 25 years! 25 YEARS…last in 1999 (although one would assume he voted for himself last week). What interest does he have in our city when he doesn’t care enough to vote in our elections??? None.
-Lago should be ashamed to be backing Lara’s campaign, but Lago isn’t capable of shame. That’s been obvious for years. Watch the commission meetings for proof of that.
-Lara lists participation in the Anti-Crime Committee, a committee which doesn’t exist.
-Lara says he’s made Coral Gables his home since the age of 14, but conveniently leaves out the 18 years he lived in Westchester. It’s not the years he didn’t live here that matter, it’s the lies he has told to try to make himself look like a concerned, involved resident.
-That leads us back to the lack of a voting record. Even after he moved back to Coral Gables in 2021, he still didn’t vote in our 2021 and 2023 elections or runoffs! How can he claim to be concerned about our city?
-How can any self-respecting resident vote for Richard Lara??? Well, those that don’t know the truth would. Or those who are disciples of Lago could. But the real informed voters with real concern about our city, with real integrity (not the Lara kind, which is a joke), who really want civility to return to the commission, won’t be voting for Lara.
The truth: Tom Wells is the only self-funded independent candidate with the welfare of our residents and the well-being of our City Beautiful foremost in his campaign. An active, involved resident who has spoken up at commission meetings (not just to launch a campaign), Tom Wells serves on the Charter Review Committee and knows what truth, civility, respect and integrity REALLY mean.
Please go out and vote. And please VOTE for TOM WELLS. He has earned our votes and our respect.