Castro wins Coral Gables runoff election. Voters again rebuff an establishment candidate
Melissa Castro won the runoff race for Coral Gables City Commission Group IV, preliminary election night results show, becoming the second candidate this month to win against a rival backed by the mayor and city commissioners.
Castro won about 59% of the vote compared with about 41% for Ivette Arango O’Doski, according to unofficial results.
Castro’s victory was a reversal from the general biennial election earlier this month, when she lagged O’Doski by 8 percentage points in a four-way race. Neither candidate at that time received over 50%, leading to the runoff.
Castro, 38, owns a permitting firm called M.E.D. Expeditors. She took over the business in 2020 after the death of her mother. O’Doski, 48, is a lawyer and registered lobbyist who runs an independent government relations firm and an interior design company.
Castro will join the five-member City Commission along with recently elected Ariel Fernandez, who earlier this month won the City Commission Group V seat. Fernandez, publisher of the popular “Gables Insider” website, won 58% to 42% against lawyer Alex Bucelo, who had the endorsement of Mayor Vince Lago.
Castro and Fernandez are set to be sworn in on Friday alongside Lago, who was reelected without opposition to a second term in February.
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Castro and Fernandez had both positioned themselves as grassroots candidates at a time when many residents said they were growing increasingly wary of the current City Commission’s ability to protect the city from overdevelopment. The two candidates had raised a fraction in campaign contributions compared to their opponents.
Both candidates had the support of the Gables Neighbors United PAC, which is the political arm of the Coral Gables Neighbors Association.
Similar to Bucelo, O’Doski had endorsements from Lago, several former mayors and Commissioners Kirk Menendez and Rhonda Anderson, who are halfway through their four-year terms, as well as outgoing Vice Mayor Mike Mena. Former Mayor Jim Cason, who has been filling Commissioner Jorge Fors’ vacancy since December, also endorsed Bucelo and O’Doski.
O’Doski greatly outraised Castro, with $223,600 in campaign contributions, according to the most recently available campaign finance report. Of that money, she has spent about $32,000, the report says. Many of her contributions come from real estate and development, the legal profession and government affairs. She has also accepted money from at least 17 PACs, which represented over $16,000 in campaign contributions.
Castro raised $19,160 in campaign contributions, primarily from individuals. She has spent about $12,200.
Castro is replacing Cason. Fernandez is replacing Mena.
Elections officials have tallied about 5,700 ballots — a small decrease from the general election, where just over 6,000 voters cast ballots.
