By Coral Gables Gazette staff
The continuous acrimony between Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago and his frequent critic and resident Maria Cruz finally boiled over to the point where the mayor asked for and succeeded in passing a motion to prevent her from talking for the rest of the Coral Gables Commission meeting about half way through it on May 5.
The motion passed 3-2, with Lago, Anderson and Lara voting in favor. Anderson and Lara are both attorneys. Castro and Fernandez voted no. The vote came despite three separate warnings from City Attorney Cristina Suarez that city code required a formal caution before a speaker could be barred — warnings the commission’s two attorney members heard and chose to set aside.
For years now, the mayor and Cruz, once friends, have been going after one another during one commission meeting after another, but Lago apparently could bear it no longer after his frequent critic referred to him as a “king” during a relatively innocuous moment in what was another contentious commission meeting.
During the portion of the meeting devoted to Granada Golf Course’s new fees – which itself became convoluted with a series of motions, countermotions and agenda items being taken out of order – Cruz remarked that the commission meeting was being run inconsistently and that the mayor chose to follow Robert’s Rules of Order when it was convenient for him while ignoring it at other points.
A procedural dispute becomes personal
“So this business that we have to do in order doesn’t exist,” Cruz told commissioners during public comment. “It’s okay when our king in residence decides that it’s okay, but it’s not okay when somebody else presents a motion according to Robert’s Rules.”
The mayor immediately responded by asking City Attorney Cristina Suarez how he should handle the situation.
“You have seen me be referred to as the king here,” Lago said. “How would you like to address it? Would you like for me to make a motion to have somebody not allowed to speak the rest of the commission? Because I will not allow any name calling in the room.”
Lago added that in his 13 years on the commission he had “never felt that type of disrespect on a commission floor.”
City attorney urges caution before sanctions
At that point, Suarez made the first of several recommendations advising the mayor to issue Cruz a warning rather than immediately silence her.
“Mayor, if you want to, if there’s a determination that the public speaker was out of order because they’re not following our rules of decorum … you can give a warning,” Suarez said. “Please remind the speaker not to make statements that are irrelevant to the topic at hand.”
Undeterred, Lago moved forward with his proposal, arguing that Cruz had repeatedly crossed the line at previous meetings and that warnings had already proven ineffective.
“I have done that on multiple occasions over the last few months,” Lago said. “The level of disrespect is not warranted, and I will not accept it. I will make a motion to have that individual not be able to speak the rest of the meeting until they learn the rules of the City of Coral Gables.”
Commissioners split over free speech concerns
Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson quickly seconded the motion, but not before Commissioner Melissa Castro raised concerns that the commission could be violating Cruz’s constitutional rights.
“I would caution this commission,” Castro said. “This would be a violation of the First Amendment. People do have freedom of speech.”
Before the commission could vote, Commissioner Ariel Fernandez raised a point of order asking for clarification on exactly what motion was being considered, prompting Suarez to call for a brief recess to organize the proceedings.
Despite repeated warnings, the motion moves forward
Following the break, however, Suarez again emphasized that the city code required a warning before a speaker could be barred from further participation. “Our code does provide that someone who becomes disorderly or fails to confine remarks to the identified subject or business at hand shall be cautioned by the chairperson and given the opportunity to conclude remarks in a decorous manner,” Suarez explained. “The caution is required as a first step.”
Lago maintained that repeated warnings issued over multiple meetings satisfied that requirement.
“It constantly happens and there’s a caution,” the mayor said. “They use that one caution to get away with it, to make an insult, to make a disrespectful comment, and then at the end of the day it continues to happen,” So my motion and the second still stands.”
A divided commission takes sides
Commissioner Richard Lara sided with the mayor, arguing that Cruz’s comments represented a pattern of personal attacks rather than legitimate criticism of city business.
“It’s abundantly clear to me that a caution has been provided time and time again,” Lara said. “When it crosses the line and becomes a personal attack on a repeat basis, I don’t believe another caution would be anything other than a waste of time.”
Anderson echoed those remarks, comparing the commission chambers to a courtroom where repeated disruptions could lead to sanctions. “These cautions have been ignored and will continue to be ignored unless enforced,” Anderson said.
But Castro again warned her colleagues that the city was entering dangerous constitutional territory. “You don’t have to take it as derogatory or insulting,” Castro said of Cruz’s “king” remark. “People have the right to express themselves.”
Fernandez also opposed the motion, invoking his own past disputes with the city over free speech issues. “As someone who personally has had the city violate his First Amendment rights before, I have always stood by the First Amendment,” Fernandez said. “Many people have come up here and said disparaging things about me, defamatory things, and I’ve never made motions to silence anybody.”
Despite the objections, Lago pressed ahead.
“I’m a yes,” the mayor said before the motion ultimately passed 3-2, with Lago, Anderson and Lara voting in favor and Castro and Fernandez opposed.
The move effectively barred Cruz from speaking for the remainder of the marathon commission meeting, marking a dramatic escalation in one of City Hall’s longest-running political feuds.
This Post Has 14 Comments
If karma exists, it’s on full cyclical display between Vince Lago and Maria Cruz. That aside, if Cruz was doing to Lagos opposition what she’s accused of doing to him, he’d probably support legislation to encourage it- wait! He did when he updated rules of civility when they were friends to allow more speech.
By listening to this resident, portrayed by the Gazette as a victim of a powerful Mayor, it seems to me that this particular resident needs to spend more time in Anger Management therapy than attending the Coral Gables City Hall meetings.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (ratified in 1791) protects individuals’ right to express themselves without government interference, including via the press. This protects unpopular or opinion-based speech.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment does not protect certain types of speech, including obscenity, defamation, and “fighting words” that cause a breach of peace or violence.
Dictionary: A king is a male sovereign or monarch who rules a country. He acts as the head of state and chief authority over a nation or territory.
It is difficult to imagine that any court—or any reasonable person—would find the word “king” to be obscene, defamatory, or an incitement to violence akin to the events of January 6.
I do not care for any partisan politics, and I agree that the Cruz–Lago dynamic distracts from the real issues facing our community. However, as a combat veteran who risked my life and saw friends die defending the principles enshrined in our Constitution, I am deeply troubled by any government official who infringes upon constitutional rights—regardless of whether I agree with the individual affected.
Public service requires the ability to tolerate criticism. If an elected official cannot do so, they may not be suited for the role. I urge the commissioners and my fellow residents to reflect carefully and consider the broader implications of this action from a fair and neutral perspective.
I hope that Maria Cruz will file a lawsuit to protect her, and everyone’s, Constitutional First Amendment right, to express her perception of the truth.
I totally agree that Mayor Vince Lago thinks he is the King of Coral Gables.
It is clear to me that Vince Lago thinks he is Above the Law.
Sincerely,
Jackson Rip Holmes
If the law can prevent someone from saying something that the Mayor does not like, then the law itself violates the First Amendment and must be challenged.
Lago’s claim that he’s never disrespected anyone in all his years on the dais is ludicrous. He’s done it time and time again, escalated it when Commissioner Castro and Commissioner Fernandez were elected, raised the level of disrespect when City Manager Amos Rojas was hired, and it was blatantly and embarrassingly apparent during the commission meeting this week. He randomly makes disrespectful comments on the dais about other residents with no basis in fact, but as a demonstration of his perceived “power”, because if he says it enough times, it must be true.
It’s a case of “do as I say, not as I do”.
Not only is Lago disrespectful, his continual
ridiculing of Commissioner Castro and his aggressive badgering of Commissioner Fernandez are shameful and have no place at a public hearing.
The residents of Coral Gables deserve better representation from a mayor, but regrettably, very few residents actually watch or attend the commission meetings, and have no idea of the negative impact the mayor has on the community.
And the show goes on. Another S…Show, followed and voted by the gang of 3. No surprise.
What a shame, but that’s whom the residents voted for.
I am at the end of tolerance for Lago. This KING KING KING is a disrespectful authoritarian narcissist that has hurt this city tremendously. Will someone start a recall on this rude self-serving Mayor. He should have been hit with ethics for the PAC donation he hid from the Chicago developer of the Lord Garden. I am so sick of KING Lago, Anderson and Lara. It is time to wipe this slate clean in the next election.
Are we surprised, really? Bully pulpit takes on a whole new meaning here. Such thin skin….or maybe fear of the truth, fear of dissent? If you cannot articulate a defense for your positions, and act only to silence critics, you must be doing something shady…. Just sayin’
MYOPIA? Perhaps Hearing Impairments? Or is it just plain one-sidedness???
It has to be one of those 3 because none of you, including the staff writers here have ever come to my defense when Ariel Fernandez committed a gross conduct violation by publicly threatening to sue me ( which he did) just because I strenuously objected to his hiring of unqualified Amos Rojas as City Manager bleeding our taxpayer funds at $1,000 per day after his move to fire our very qualified, honest and experienced City Manager Peter Iglesias who; because of his impeccable integrity refused to be manipulated by Ariel and his 2 accomplices to a certain ruin of Coral Gable’s financial standing
And yet ….. here you are attacking Mayor Lago, Vice Mayor Anderson and Commsr Lara because that game has ended
and Ariel’s plans have thankfully been checked and reversed
So go ahead and keep playing your same old tunes as most of all of the rest here in this Beautiful City still have the chance this November to mop up this mess
Mr. Sanabria: your description of our current City Manager is false because (a) he lied to residents and Commissioners about a purported “default” in rent with a City tenant and Mayor Lago repeated the lie (there was no default), (b) he refused a Commission directive to reopen Burger Bob’s (he delayed hiring a contractor to start renovations), (c) he withheld information from residents as to cost increases for his “legacy” Mobility Hub, (d) he selected incorrect underground pipes for the Miracle Mile renovation that delayed parking completion by 12 months, and (e) he lacked decorum at a Commission meeting by threatening Commissioners. Lago, Anderson and Lara all promised to have an independent search committee select a replacement City Manager. Like your description, that too was false. The City Manager makes over $450,000 in salary and benefits with 25% of his salary paid toward his retirement. And he already collected a $120,000 severance plan from the City. Why can’t the City get a new City Manager with fresh ideas who serves the City instead of just the Mayor? Does Mayor Lago really need a friendly over-paid City Manager who provides him cover? Complaints about former Commission salary raises that have been eliminated diverts attention from all of the financial waste that the current regime is imposing on Coral Gables – $1M art for an $80M parking garage that a majority of residents do not want and substantial money paid to law firms litigating against residents. This is Mayor Lago’s Coral Gables – loyalty to friends and political allies instead of residents!
rtj3lu
I have been a resident of Coral Gables for nearly forty years. Each administration over the last four decades has had its share of drama, conflict, incompetence, inconsistencies, and questionable decision making. It’s politics. What do you expect? But the most recent administration under the leadership
of Mayor Lago has set an even lower bar of incompetence and bad behavior on so many different levels. Here, the City Attorney advised the commission about the proper response to Ms. Cruz’ conduct at a hearing. However, Mayor Lago and two commissioners chose to ignore the City Attorney’s advice, believing they knew better. In light of the majority’s decision to ignore the City Attorney, where do we draw the line on “free speech,” which, last time I checked, was still a fundamentally protected right afforded to Americans? Are we to be intimidated by a mayor who is offended by certain words or phrases he doesn’t like? “King” for example? Please! Seems rather petty, juvenile, and thin-skinned to me. Haven’t we already had enough in-fighting, B.S., and wasted time under this administration? Let’s cut the crap. Be the group of ‘professionals’ who were elected and entrusted by Coral Gables voters to guide, protect, and enhance the “City Beautiful,” and stop these juvenile antics. This behavior is really getting old.
This situation raises serious concerns about public participation and respectful governance. Silencing a resident despite legal warnings sends the wrong message about transparency and accountability. Open dialogue matters in every community, just like honest communication matters in professional book publishing, where every voice and perspective deserves to be heard and respected.