By Rafael Hernandez

City Hall gadfly Maria Cruz and Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago sure can bicker.

Since few people attend commission meetings or watch them online, most outside of City Hall haven’t caught their act.

Without fail—meeting after meeting—Cruz rides the mayor’s donkey. Hard. For those who missed the latest episode of “The Maria and Vince Show,” here are a few highlights from the June 10 commission meeting.

Cruz took the mayor to task for being absent during public safety award presentations at the beginning of the meeting. “I’d like to apologize to both (Fire) Captain (Louie) Fajardo and Firefighter (Daniel) Mosqueira and and the (Police) Sergeant (Velier) Zaccheo because the mayor did not think it was important. The mayor missed all of the first presentation for the firefighters completely,” said Cruz. “I hate to say it but while the police officer was being recognized with the highest award in this city for the police officer, the mayor was on the phone and walking around.”

And the 79-year-old abuelita flusters the mayor like no one else—except, maybe, the sassy blog Political Cortadito.

“I hate to say it but while the police officer was being recognized with the highest award in this city for the police officer, the mayor was on the phone and walking around.”

maria cruz

Here’s Lago venting towards the end of the June 10 meeting. “Because (if) she would just follow the rules like everybody else does here instead of eating crackers in the back when you’re not supposed to be eating here and screaming and laughing and giggling the entire commission meeting — she does every commission meeting you know calling public records requests constantly the entire meeting — I already got like three of them from her,” explained a clearly exasperated Mayor Lago. He then told Cruz, “You can speak but be respectful. You want people to respect you but you’re not respectful of anybody else.”

But it hasn’t always been this way. In fact, just two years ago, they were not only good friends but the mayor counted on Cruz for counsel and she was a frequent invited guest in his home.

Since then, a blood feud has developed between the two including Cruz’s spearheading an effort to recall the mayor last year.

“Because (if) she would just follow the rules like everybody else does here instead of eating crackers in the back when you’re not supposed to be eating here and screaming and laughing and giggling the entire commission meeting — she does every commission meeting you know calling public records requests constantly the entire meeting — I already got like three of them from her.”

mayor vince lago speaking about maria cruz

Cruz, a retired school teacher and longtime Gables resident, first met a fresh-faced Lago during his 2013 campaign for city commissioner, when she helped form a neighborhood watch group opposing the University of Miami’s expansion into residential areas.

At the time, she decided to support Lago, whose in-laws were longtime church friends of hers.

“His father-in-law talked to me about his son-in-law running for office,” said Cruz. “They told me he was a good kid and he wanted to do things, so I got involved with him.”

In the years that followed, she and Lago would form a bond, with Cruz defending him publicly and serving as part of an unofficial advisory group.

She recalls regularly sitting at Lago’s dining room table before commission meetings, where they would discuss what he planned to say. She likened her role to an unofficial cabinet member—recalling times when he even called her “madam mayor.”

“If you ask people today, they would tell you that I defended him. He could do no wrong.” Cruz said. “I really, really, really trusted him. I thought he was doing the right thing.”

Their once-strong relationship soured during the 2023 election, when Cruz refused to support Lago’s preferred commission candidates Alex Bucelo and Ivette Arango O’Doski, citing their lack of civic experience. Instead, she rallied behind Ariel Fernandez and Melissa Castro.

Despite Lago’s opposition, both candidates won—deepening the rift.

Their once-daily conversations stopped. In their place came blog attacks—and at one point, Cruz even requested a police watch at her home, citing safety concerns tied to her fallout with the mayor.

“Vince has been extremely abusive to me, to the point that one day he whispered in my ear that his family was very disappointed with me and that I was not even a Catholic anymore,” Cruz said. “That’s the kind of message he gave me.”

The Gazette reached out to Mayor Lago for comment but did not receive a response.

What drives Cruz to stand and speak during the city commission meetings she attends is a desire to see Lago stripped of his mayoral title, hoping that her city can return to the way it used to be before Lago.

She recalls a time when Gables leaders could disagree on issues and still shake hands, and agree to disagree on city issues. 

That changed under Lago, whom she accuses of trying to consolidate control over the city commission along with Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara.

“You either believe what he says, you do what you want him to do, or you’re the enemy. That is not Coral Gables,” Cruz said. “It’s a shame that we got to this point.”

Yet despite their tumultuous past, Cruz is still willing to talk to Lago.

If Lago wanted to make things right and end the feud between them, she says all he needed to do was reach out. 

“You think I like this constant fight? The bullying? The disrespect he throws at me? But he’s not interested,” Cruz said. “I would do anything to move ahead of the mess that we’re in, but it’s not up to me.”