Anderson, Baños for Gables commission
In addition to the race for mayor, there are two seats in play for the Coral Gables City Commission. Here are the Herald Editorial Board’s recommendations.
GROUP TWO
The race for Coral Gables Commission Group Two is a crowded field with six candidates. They all want to curb development that’s not in keeping with the city’s smaller-scale and livable character and they all had ideas about revitalizing Miracle Mile and bringing new businesses to the stagnant corridor.
None of them has ever held public office, so the Herald’s Editorial Board looked closely at their involvement with the city as citizens as well as their vision for the future.
Rhonda Anderson, 61, an attorney and activist, is a 33-year resident with a long resume of service to preserve Coral Gables’ quality of life.
Jose Valdes-Fauli, 69, a retired banker, is the brother of Coral Gables’ outgoing mayor, Raul Valdes-Fauli. He said the city needs someone with his financial background to help the city navigate budget shortfalls created by the pandemic. He’s a former CEO and president of four local banks.
He would likely keep the city’s expenditures in check, but we disagree with his stance on reviving Miracle Mile. He said, “I don’t think the city should get involved” and that should be a matter that’s worked out between private property owners and tenants. We believe the city could risk further degradation by leaving this issue up to the free market.
Tania Cruz-Gimenez, 45, an attorney, is the daughter-in-law of former Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, now a congressman. She has lived in North Gables for 14 years and said she was inspired to run by the pandemic’s “crippling impact” on the city and its lack of a “holistic vision to revitalize our downtown corridor,” adding “it’s been a number of developers that have been driving it.” She talked about increasing modes of transportation and tree canopies.
Alexander Haq is the youngest of candidates at 24 and a University of Miami graduate. His platform focuses on sustainability. He said he would like Coral Gables to become “carbon neutral at some point in the future.” Haq has raised the least amount of money in the race.
Mayra Joli, 55, is an immigration attorney best known for going viral when she appeared on camera waving in support of former President Trump while sitting behind him during a town hall in Miami last year. Joli’s candidness was refreshing, but, at times, worrisome. When asked about civility on the commission dais, she responded, “I don’t promise that I’m going to be civilized.”
She’s also misinformed, at least about sea-level rise. She said the city should stop overdevelopment because, “Maybe that’s going to make the land heavier, and the sea levels are going to be going up.” (The cause of sea-level rise is climate change, not that buildings weigh a lot.).
Claudia Miro, 45, works for Miami-Dade Public Library system. She touts her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration and 20 years working in the public sector. She’s been a spokeswoman for four government agencies and worked for elected officials in the past, including former Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff.
Miro, a North Gables resident, is clearly passionate about connecting City Hall with residents. One of her flagship issues is transparency, because many citizens feel they are left out of the decision-making process. One example she cited was the WaWa gas station planned across the street from GW Carver Elementary School that caught many parents and teachers by surprise. She also wants to expand the city’s fire rescue to serve its growing population.
She said she would like to have alternative times for City Commission meetings so working residents can attend. She would like to get rid of the use of government acronyms during discussions for the dais that are confusing people.
Miro would likely be a strong voice for residents on the commission. We encourage her to stay engaged and dive deeper into city issues.
Rhonda Anderson is the Editorial Board’s choice in this race. She has been consistently engaged in civic affairs. She was one of the founders 16 years ago of the LeJeune Segovia Neighborhood Association, created to address increased traffic from construction in the surrounding area. She says that through her efforts, crosswalks and traffic circles were installed, as well as a tree-lined median along the section of Segovia between Bird Road and Valencia. Her list of accomplishments also includes successfully pushing for a decrease in the number of residential units at the Villa Valencia project under construction from 103 apartments to 39 luxury condominium units.
Anderson also understands how City Hall works, having served on the Coral Gables Public Safety Commission, Sustainability Advisory Board and Planning and Zoning Board.
She said the city needs to take better care of Miracle Mile because, not only are there so many empty storefronts, they are also dirty. She’s in favor of height limitations on the Mile and is against a requirement that development in other parts of the city must include a retail component, which she blames for empty storefronts. She added the city must adapt to a changing retail landscape that calls for smaller spaces.
One of her priorities is getting the city ready for sea-level rise.
“Why do we still allow underground parking to be put into new buildings?” she told the Editorial Board. “We’re not planning forward for what’s coming. And we need to be building these buildings, you know, for 50 years from now, not for the next five years.”
But, in the end, given her years of experience, her record of activism and knowledge about the city, the Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends RHONDA ANDERSON for Coral Gables Commission Group Two.
GROUP THREE
In this election cycle, it seems the worst thing a Coral Gables commission candidate can have are ties to developers or to anyone in city of Miami government — or anyone rich and powerful, for that matter.
In the Group Three race for the City Commission, those so-called ties loom large. They have significantly dominated the discourse — and right or wrong, are a deciding factor for many Gables voters.
The candidates vying for the seat being vacated by Commissioner Pat Keon, who is running for mayor, are Javier Baños, an attorney and CPA who has served on the city’s pension board; Alex Bucelo, an attorney on the city’s influential code enforcement board; Kirk Menendez, a long-time community activist, youth sports coach and former assistant city attorney in Miami; and Phillip “PJ” Mitchell, an attorney, businessman and City Hall watcher. If no one receives more than 50 percent of the votes cast, the top two finishers will oppose each other in a runoff.
Now, about those political ties. In the case of Bucelo, opponents say that his father, Armando, is casting a shadow over his campaign. They say the elder Bucelo and his friends, especially former Miami City Manager Joe Arriola and developer Sergio Pino, would benefit from his son’s presence on the commission.
One attack flier asks:
“Who’s is pulling 27year-old Alex’s strings?”
But Alex Bucelo says he’s his own man: “I was born and raised in Coral Gables. I promise to maintain our traditional values. And transparency in government is my top priority.”
Baños’ political ties — professional, but also familial — are to Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo. His mother-in-law is a relative of Carollo’s and he has worked as Carollo’s campaign CPA. “We don’t have dinner; we don’t go out,” Baños insists.
Trying to move away from the pack, Mitchell says he’s a free agent. “I don’t have any significant ties to special interests or developers. I just care about the residents.”
And Menendez touts being a Gables resident since 1962. He also has government experience as a Miami assistant city attorney who traveled to Tallahassee to make the case for funding. “I have a lifetime relationship with my community . . . and a wealth of knowledge in accessing state and federal dollars,” he said.
All of the candidates care about the path Coral Gables should take as it begins to exit a pandemic that has seriously impacted the city’s business district — and one of its economic engines — Miracle Mile.
Bucelo and Baños have hefty campaign war chests. Baños has the most donations with $145,000, as of the last campaign finance reports.
Some of it is money he has loaned his campaign; Bucelo follows in second place with $144,000. The funds have largely gone to campaign fliers, records show.
We’re giving Baños the edge — despite his concerning sleightof-hand in trying to align himself with Vince Lago, the popular mayoral candidate, with a campaign photo of the two together, when in fact others were cropped out.
Lago has not publicly supported any candidate.
“We need to taper down development ... and bring down the density,” Baños told the Editorial Board during his candidate interviews.
This is music to the ears of those Gables residents who say that the city is losing its historic charm — founder George Merrick’s vision.
Most of the candidates are proponents of more parks and green spaces in the city and they expressed concern for how sealevel rise and climate change are affecting the city’s waterfront area and sewer systems — and treating residents with respect.
“If elected it will be my promise to be quiet and listen,” Baños said.
Of all the candidates, Baños has the more focused vision of how to help the city emerge from the pandemic and the most governmental experience. He’s also a numbers man, used to going in front of the IRS to fight for his clients. Such experience will be beneficial as the city works through its pension challenges.
The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends JAVIER BAÑOS for Coral Gables Commission, Group Three.