Does a mayor’s endorsement help or hurt? Coral Gables voters will decide in runoff election
An endorsement by Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago, who was reelected without opposition to a second term, did not help the candidate in the election earlier this month. His political clout will be tested again in a runoff race next week.
Residents will cast their votes for Tuesday’s election, which could act as a bellwether for public confidence in the current establishment and its ability to address concerns about overdevelopment.
Earlier this month, blogger Ariel Fernandez beat lawyer Alex Bucelo 58% to 42% in the race for an open City Commission seat. Bucelo had Lago’s endorsement, as well as those of the current city commissioners and several former mayors.
Lago’s other endorsed candidate, Ivette Arango O’Doski, is headed to a runoff on Tuesday against Melissa Castro. O’Doski led in the four-way race for a second open City Commission seat during the April 11 general biennial election, but with 47% of the vote, she fell short of the over 50% threshold needed to win. Castro followed with 39%. About 530 votes separated them.
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O’Doski, 48, is a lawyer and registered lobbyist who runs an independent government relations firm and an interior design company. She has raised $166,500, according to campaign finance records. That’s over 10 times as much as Castro, who owns a company that expedites permits. Castro has reported about $13,500 in monetary contributions and about $1,100 in in-kind contributions to her campaign.
“A lot of people have donated to my campaign,” O’Doski said. “I think it speaks to the fact that I’ve been living in Coral Gables for over 30 years and involved in my community my whole life. I’m grateful for all of the support. I, not for a moment, believe that it equates to buying my vote on the dais. That’s not what I stand for.”
Besides Lago, she also has endorsements from the current city commissioners, and former Mayors Don Slesnick, Jim Cason and Dorothy Thomson.
O’Doski said the city is at a “crossroads” and one of her biggest concerns is overdevelopment, particularly with large-scale projects bleeding into residential neighborhoods. “I think it’s upon us,” she said about overdevelopment in the Gables. “I think it’s actively going on.”
Castro has the endorsement of the Gables Neighbors United PAC, which is the political arm of the Coral Gables Neighbors Association. The group has approximately 16,000 members, said Sue Kawalerski, president of the association.
Castro, 38, took over her family’s permitting firm after her mother’s death in 2020. In that new role, she said, “I started seeing all the wrong things that are going on in this city.”
She also cited overdevelopment as a major concern. “I don’t think people are opposed to development,” she said. “They’re just opposed to monster construction going on in residential areas.”
One of her main goals, she said, is to streamline the city’s convoluted permitting process, and to make it more accessible for older residents.
“I’m not an attorney. I’m not a lobbyist,” she said. “The only reason I’m really doing this is for Coral Gables.”
Castro first registered to vote in January, according to Miami-Dade voter records. She told Florida Politics that not voting until now is one of her “highest regrets.”
“I’m totally here for the residents and I don’t have a hidden agenda,” she said. “I’ve never been a politician, never been into politics at all.”
Race parallels
The Group IV race between Castro and O’Doski has some similarities to the Group V City Commission race between Fernandez and Bucelo in terms of endorsements and the amount of money raised.
Castro, like Fernandez, has the endorsement of the Gables Neighbors United PAC.
O’Doski, like Bucelo, received endorsements from Lago, city commissioners and several former mayors. Bucelo raised more than five times as much money as Fernandez, with over $170,000 in his campaign account. Fernandez reported just under $32,000.
Some of O’Doski’s contributors include development group Agave Holdings LLC and architectural firm BF Holdings LLC, both of which also gave money to Bucelo.
Several political committees contributed to her campaign, including the Conservatives for a Better Florida PAC and the Miami Realtors PAC.
Castro’s campaign contributions are mostly from individuals. She has also accepted money from Terra Property Investors LLC, Intracoastal Builders LLC and a private wealth management group.
Early voting for the runoff race will be held Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the War Memorial Youth Center.
