Mayor’s PAC raises $389,000, spends $328,000 so far this year

In the final three months leading up to his re-election, Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago raised over $389,000 for his political action committee, Coral Gables First, spending nearly $330,000 on a wide range of campaign activities. These included direct mail, email and text messaging, digital advertising, political consulting, canvassing, polls and fundraising.

The contributions and expenditures were disclosed in the first quarter 2025 campaign finance report, filed on April 10, two days after the April 8 election. The report covers financial activity through March 31, leaving out the final week before the election.

Among the significant donors were prominent figures in real estate and business. They include:

• $50,000 from Stuart Miller, executive chairman and co-CEO of Lennar Corporation, a major national real estate developer.
• $25,000 from Dagrosa Capital Partners, a real estate firm where Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is a senior partner.
• $20,000, broken into 20 separate $1,000 checks, from Tomas Cabrerizo, a real estate investor.
• $15,000 from Rafael Villoldo, an investor known for his work with Donald Trump on a fragrance project in 2012.
• $12,000 from attorney Gonzalo Dorta, who is representing Lago in his ongoing lawsuit against Actualidad Radio.
• $10,000 from The Calta Group, which is developing the Via Veneto luxury townhome project on Palermo Avenue in Coral Gables, where prices start at $5.7 million.
• $10,000 from Boston Capital, which owns a mini storage facility in Kendall.
• $10,000 from Max Alvarez, a Republican super donor and owner of Sunshine Gasoline Distributors.
• $7,500 from Andres Rodriguez, owner of The Salty Donut with 12 locations across the country and none in Coral Gables.
• $5,000 from real estate investor Pablo Cejas.
• $5,000 from Proven Leadership for Miami-Dade County PC, the PAC associated with former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who was arrested in 2023 on bribery and money laundering charges—charges that were later dropped. In a related development, Lago’s PAC had donated $5,000 to Diaz de la Portilla’s PAC in 2023, shortly before the former commissioner’s arrest.

Lago’s campaign expenses also reflect the scope of his efforts. Notable in the reported $328,309.55 of expenditures: $22,575 was paid to Emiliano Antuñez, a campaign consultant who also worked on the campaign for Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson. Most of Antuñez’s work involved door-knocking. However, the largest expense was $110,000 paid to Lago’s head campaign consultant Jesse Manzano since January alone.

Other expenses include $45,000 worth of TV and cable advertising, more than $35,000 in direct mail, more than $33,200 in phone banks, more than $15,000 in photo and video production, and $27,740 on his digital footprint and social media, excluding $16,250 in media consulting paid to Daniel Bustamante.

Mayor Lago inherited Coral Gables First from his predecessor Raul Valdes-Fauli who had inherited the PAC from his predecessor Jim Carson who created it in 2016.

Author: Coral Gables Gazette News Staff

Originally established in 1996 and relaunched as a digital publication in February 2025, the Coral Gables Gazette is an independent local news organization dedicated to factual, objective and accountable community journalism. Our newsroom reports on the people, policies, institutions and events shaping Coral Gables, Florida, providing residents with timely, informative coverage of the issues affecting their community. Our reporting includes City Hall, local government, municipal elections, public spending, real estate development, business, education, arts and culture, and neighborhood affairs throughout the City Beautiful. We follow City Commission decisions, examine public records and report on the businesses, organizations and individuals contributing to Coral Gables. We believe informed residents are essential to a healthy, engaged community. Stories published under the Coral Gables Gazette News Staff byline are prepared or compiled by the publication's editorial team. We strive for accuracy, fairness, transparency and clear distinctions between news reporting, opinion and advertising. Readers are encouraged to submit news tips, corrections, editorial inquiries and story suggestions through our Contact page and learn more about our standards through our Editorial Policy.