Divided Coral Gables Commission votes against moving elections from April to November

The Coral Gables City Commission on Wednesday voted down a proposal to move elections from April in odd-numbered years to November in even-numbered years following a heated debate that devolved into a spat between political factions, with accusations of ulterior motives fueled by lingering tensions from this year’s spring election.

The proposal, which commissioners shot down by a 3 to 2 vote, was sponsored by Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson, who had strong support from Mayor Vince Lago.

Anderson said her goal was to increase voter turnout, which hovered around 20% during the city’s most recent election — and that opposing the move was tantamount to voter suppression.

“When something is not working, you don’t keep doing it,” said Anderson. Turning toward her fellow commissioners, she later added: “Why on Earth would you want to suppress voter turnout?”

Newly elected commissioners Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez joined Kirk Menendez in voting against the move, which if adopted would have also reduced the terms of the mayor and commissioners by four months.

“It’s a sad day in Coral Gables,” Anderson said after the vote.

Castro and Fernandez countered that local campaigns would be drowned out by national partisan elections, leaving under-funded local candidates unable to compete. But the pair of new commissioners also alleged that ulterior motives were at play.

In April, Castro and Fernandez beat candidates Ivette Arango O’Doski and Alex Bucelo — both of whom had endorsements from the the current and former mayors, as well as the entire City Commission at the time. Castro and Fernandez had support from a vocal grassroots group called the Coral Gables Neighbors Association, and just a fraction in campaign contributions compared to their opponents.

“This has nothing to do with higher turnout, and everything to do with the establishment seeking ways to cancel the results of the last election,” Fernandez said.

Lago said that in a November election, “you’ll see less engagement from special interest groups, because they can’t control the elections.”

Like Fernandez, Castro said the measure was a political move. She pointed out that Lago — who ran unopposed this year — filed paperwork less than three weeks ago to run for a third mayoral term.

“Mr. Mayor, did you not say that you were not going to run for mayor here?” Castro asked Lago.

Lago responded that he had been “considering it,” but that he was influenced by conversations with residents.

“We went out to breakfast, we went out to lunch, and we had a nice conversation about whether I should run again or not,” Lago said, “and I felt motivated to continue representing this great city which has done so much for me, and which I’m blessed to serve.”

Castro then held up a paper copy of campaign finance records for the mayor’s PAC, Coral Gables First, which currently has over $600,000 in its coffers.

“I think point proven, right here, what’s happening,” Castro said.

Menendez, who has historically been allied with Anderson and Lago on the dais, did not tip his hand on his stance toward moving the election. Instead, he took issue with the process by which the commission sought to change the date, noting that he had previously been promised that the commission would decide the issue in October, which would have allowed time for more resident input.

“The stipulation that garnered my initial support was completely disregarded when the item was placed on this agenda,” he said. “This rush to action denies our residents the right and the opportunity to be truly heard on a matter of great historic significance.”