Newly-elected Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia, who beat JC Planas 56% to 44% in November’s historic race, was sworn in last week as the county’s first elected person to that new constitutional office. The ceremony in Hialeah was also a swearing in of two other constitutional officers, Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez and Property Appraiser Tomas Regalado, who really should know better.
Previous election supervisors were appointed by the county mayor and usually rose up the ranks in the department, like professional civil servants.
Read related: Alina Garcia leaves FL House to face Dem for Miami Dade elections chief
Garcia, who left a state representative post to run for elections supervisor, rose up the ranks in politics working with a number of politicians who are most notable because of their troublesome relationship with ethics. They include:
David Rivera — The one-term congressman was accused of secretly bankrolling the primary campaign of a Democrat candidate against Joe Garcia (no relation) who would ultimately beat him in November 2012 (as he expected, which is why his people found the dummy plantidate), spending more than $75,000 on the campaign for Justin Lamar Sternad, who confessed to his part in the scheme and was sentenced to 30 days in jail Last week, the same day Alina Garcia was sworn in, the Federal Election Commission dropped its case against Rivera, who has always claimed it was politically motivated. But he still has some legal troubles. He was re-indicted in December on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent as he lobbied for the Venezuelan government-owned oil company, Citgo, whose profits have been sanctions in the U.S. since 2019. Rivera, who was first charged with this in 2022, was recharged last month in relation to a $5.5 million payment between 2019 and 2020 from a specific wealthy Venezuelan businessman to try to get the sanctions lifted.
Esteban “Steve” Bovo — The Hialeah mayor, former county commissioner and former state rep was ensnared in an absentee ballot case in 2012, when an aide in his Hialeah county office was arrested with 164 absentee ballots in her possession. She said she was told to take them to the post office. At first, Bovo denied any knowledge of Anamary Pedrosa‘s AB collection activities. But later, he admitted that he had been told at least a month earlier that she was working to collect ballots for several judicial and state legislative candidates. Her mother later turned up in the campaign finance reports of three judges who were elected and two state reps, earning more than $5,000 for campaign work.
Frank Artiles — The former Republican state senator forced to resign in 2017 after a racist and sexist drunken rant against two black legislators at a Tallahassee restaurant, was found guilty in November of three charges of election conspiracy — for his role in another sham candidate scheme — and sentenced to a piddly 60 days in jail and five years probation. Prosecutors wanted three years. Artiles was accused of funding his own ghost plantidate in the 2020 race against former State Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez to help Sen. Ileana Garcia win. He was also caught by Political Cortadito living outside his district when he was a state rep in 2011.
Read related: Alina Garcia goes from Steve Bovo to Joe Carollo as senior political advisor
Joe Carollo — The longtime politico and sitting Miami commissioner has been accused of abuse of power and violating the first amendment rights of two Little Havana businessmen, who supported his opponent in the election, by weaponizing the city’s legal and code enforcement departments against them. A jury found Carollo liable for violating their Freedom of Speech and awarded the two men $63.5 million, which they are going to have difficulty collecting. He also somehow got the city attorney’s office to interpret the date for a recall petition and create a self-described “cheat sheet” in a way that would help him thwart the effort.
These are the people Alina Garcia has worked with and helped. Shudder.
But, wait. There’s more.

She was sworn in by Sen. Rick Scott, who pleaded the Fifth Amendment 75 times in the Medicaid and Medicare fraud case against Columbia/Hospital Corporation of America, where he was the CEO until he was forced to resign with a $10 million settlement and $350 million worth of stock. In settlements reached in 2000 and 2002, Columbia/HCA pleaded guilty to 14 felonies and agreed to a $600+ million fine in what was at the time the largest health care fraud settlement in U.S. history.
Endorsed by Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as president again today, Garcia is also a defacto election denier because she has refused to say that the 2020 election was won fair and square by Joe Biden. She hedges the question and says that the election in Miami-Dade was fair. But she gives credence to the argument that the election in Georgia and Arizona and other parts of the country were robbed. That’s troublesome.
And now, Garcia is the keeper of voting records. She not only administers all local, state and federal elections. She is in charge of updating voter rolls — adding new registrations and purging or removing voters who are dead or have moved. She will be in charge of sending out mail-in or absentee ballots and making sure they are counted.
It’s not a job for someone as partisan as Garcia. It’s not just partisan. She’s hyper partisan.
Read related: Alina Garcia joins ‘angry mob’ to heckle Democrat candidate at early voting
During the elections, she was one of the people who heckled and harassed former Congresswoman Debbie Mucarsel-Powell at a polling site, calling her a socialist. Just doesn’t seem like the type of behavior one wants from a supervisor of elections.
And this weekend, she posted photos on her Instagram account of events in Washington D.C. for the inauguration.
“Thank you Ambassador Carlos and Mrs. Trujillo for inviting us to your Pre Inauguration Reception. It was great to see Susie Wiles and Brian Huges, soon to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his beautiful wife Jeanette. Bernie & Claudia Navarro. Our soon to me ambassadors Kevin Cabrera and Benjamin Leon,” she posted. “It was packed with great patriots. You could feel the excitement for our incoming President Donald J Trump.”
And she’s a shameless self promoter. The new homepage for the Miami-Dade Elections Department has her photo in the banner. And there’s a new logo with her name in it.

There is one good thing to report. Garcia has kept former supervisor Christina White, a true public servant who rose through the ranks in the department since July 2006, as her chief executive officer, “managing the day-to-day operations and ensuring that elections in Miami-Dade continue to be accurate and secure,” according to an Instagram video post on Garcia’s feed. White’s words, not Ladra’s.
But does that mean that the new constitutional office is a no-show job? Or a political favor dispenser in waiting? Probably.
The post Meet our new Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia and her storied past appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Campaign finance reports filed last week by the candidates for Coral Gables mayor and commissioner show that nobody did very well in the final quarter of 2024. Donations slowed down big time.
Mayor Vince Lago actually gave money back instead of raising any. His campaign report shows zero contributions, but that he returned two $1,000 checks from Pumayana, a residential developer and investor with projects in the city, and C2S Construction Solutions, an interior renovations firm based in Sunny Isles Beach. We don’t know why those checks, given in June, were returned on Nov. 19. But it’s not because they were duplicates. Political Cortadito checked.
Lago’s political action committee, Coral Gables First, also reported zero contributions and also returned a $2,500 check to Pumayana, as well as two $1,000 checks to Bahama Sunrise Development, which, according to the Florida Department of Corporations, is partially owned by Pumayana. Those contributions were also refunded on Nov. 19.
Commissioner Kirk Menendez, who decided in December to challenge the mayor instead of running for reelection, isn’t doing much better. Menendez, who raised almost $15,000 last year as a commission candidate, only raised $2,550 more in the last quarter.
But Menendez is also spending less, hundreds compared to $40,700 spent so far by Lago, more than half of which ($28K) went to his campaign manager, Jesse Manzano.
Read related: Kirk Menendez runs for Coral Gables mayor against city bully Vince Lago
Still Coach Kirk has raised a total only $17,550 compared to $167,000 raised by Lago just in his campaign account, not including the PAC. Of course, that’s thanks to many maximum contributions of $1,000. Of the 201 contributors listed on Lago’s campaign report, a whopping 151 have given the most that they can. Those include checks from Benjamin Leon, who Donald Trump has named as ambassador to Spain, and a whole football team of lobbyists, including former Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla and South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez.

In comparison, of Menendez’s 40 contributors, only eight gave the maximum $1,000 donation.
Lago also has a bunch of bundles, like $15K in 15 maximum checks from real estate investor Tomas Cabrerizo‘s multiple companies, and $11,000 from developer Allen Morris, who got a his 10-story Ponce Park Residences project approved unanimously by the commission in May. Lago praised the project, and the developer, who reduced the size and density of the luxury condominium, which was originally planned for 16 stories. The $11K came in 11 separate checks on June 12, less than a month after the approval.
Leon gave another $5,000 from his companies and Lago also got $5,000 from JustWell Health, which is a healthcare and a real estate holdings firm.
Vice Mayor Rhonda Anne Anderson has reported raising only $$11,550 from 14 donors — 11 of those contributed the maximum $1,000, including herself. She also got two $1,000 checks from former Commissioner Wayne Withers, but only $250 from former Mayor Don Slesnick. Anderson’s campaign account shows she has spent $1,600 so far.
Attorney Richard Lara, Lago’s pick to run for commission against Menendez (now an open seat) has raised more than Anderson, an incumbent, with a reported total of $63,350.70 from 139 donors. Of those, 32 gave the maximum $1,000. Lara’s support has also waned since he announced at a commission meeting last February. He reported only $1,750 raised in the final quarter of 2024, after reporting $3,080 in the third quarter.
But he’s spending like the campaign was a shopping spree, with almost $23,700 spent so far, including $1,500 monthly consulting fees to Nicolas Cabrera, son of former Commissioner Ralph Cabrera and lackey of Lago. He’s also paid Alex Miranda, the former chief of staff and campaign spokesman for former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine (a Democrat who ran for governor), $3,000.
Running against Lara is attorney Thomas “Tom” Wells, a Menendez ally who has, so far, paid for everything himself. A total of $2,878 on signs, door hangers, a website, business cards and campaign buttons. Wells, who is the vice chair of the charter review committee, is a regular at Birdie’s Bistro, formerly Burger Bob’s, and is a well known entity in the City Beautiful. Unlike Lara. So maybe he doesn’t need so much money. It also appears, from the 2023 election, where both of Lago’s well-funded candidates lost, that money doesn’t matter as much in the Gables as in other cities.

Laureano Cancio, who is running against Anderson, is also counting on that. Cancio, like Michael Anthony Abbot — a fat chance candidate for mayor — has raised $100 to pay bank fees.
“The last election was won by people who didn’t have the most money. You can win without money,” Cancio told Political Cortadito, adding that he’s counting on the Lago backlash to hurt his sidekick, the vice mayor. “The mayor is pretty much hated by everybody,” he said.
“I’m spending the least amount of money I can and I’m not beholden to anybody,” Cancio added.
But he is concerned about the Lago/Anderson/Lara slate. “These three candidates seem to be running as a team and, if the trend is not reversed by Election Day, it is very possible that they might take the majority control of the commission, to the delight of Lago who lost that control two years ago.”
Cancio is counting on forums and other public speaking engagements to reach voters and while he is the only candidate, so far, to bring up education needs and the idea of the city running it’s own school system — in light of all the development — he recognizes that the biggest issue will be that very development.
“Overdevelopment seems to be the issue most likely to prevent the troika of Lago, Lara, and Anderson from walking away with victory,” he told Political Cortadito this week. “Coral Gables voters have identified this issue as being of critical concern for the community. Lago’s critics have even predicted that the issue could become the mayor’s Waterloo.”
Ladra love how he talks.
Two new candidates who announced last week, Felix Pardo and Claudia Miro, don’t have any financial reports yet.
The post Fundraising for Coral Gables election slows, incumbents count on max gifts appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Two more people have said they will run for office in Coral Gables’ April election. Both have been candidates before: Architect Felix Pardo, who lost a commission race in 2005, and Freebee lobbyist Claudia Miro, who lost one in 2021.
In what’s become a new tradition, Pardo — a longtime Coral Gables activist and architect — announced at Tuesday’s commission meeting that he was running for office. He didn’t say which office and hasn’t filed any paperwork available on the city’s website as of Friday, but sources told Political Cortadito that he is going to run against Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson.
Pardo, who lost a 2005 commission race 56% to 44% to former commissioner Maria Anderson (no relation that we know of), spoke during public comments about the City Hall renovations after he toured the building and saw the cracks and shoring himself. “I am here out a a sense of great urgency,” he said, adding that he “personally observed structural issues throughout the building from the ground floor to the third floor.
Read related: Two more candidates file for Coral Gables commission race in April
“The most troubling factor is that over these many years, we have been prioritizing things like the mobility hub and a building that shouldn’t have been purchased by the city,” said Pardo, who is Commissioner Ariel Fernandez‘s appointment to the charter review board and the planning and zoning board.
“I am very concerned what the next 40 years are going to look like and I have no choice but to say that I’m going to run for public office,” he ended.
Miro, lost in a crowded race for an open commission seat in 2021 that also included candidates like Tania Cruz Gimenez, daughter-in-law of the congressman, and Jose Valdes-Fauli, brother of the former Gables mayor. Rhonda Anderson eventually won the race in a runoff against Valdes-Fauli.
This time, the 20-year Gables resident is running in the open seat left vacant by Commissioner Kirk Menendez‘s move to challenge Mayor Vince Lago. Attorneys Richard Lara and Tom Wells have also filed to run for that seat.

“Miro brings decades of experience, a steadfast commitment to residents, and a vision to preserve and enhance the unique character of the City Beautiful,” reads a press release sent Saturday morning. 
She has remained engaged in city issues, serving on the planning and zoning board until she was booted for voting on an item against the wishes of Lago, who blasted her in a series of text messages for her vote.
Read related: Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago blasted Claudia Miro via text after P&Z vote
Miro is vice president of business development and government affairs for Freebee, a micro-transit company providing free, on-demand door-to-door service in some cities paid for by government funding. She previously has worked for Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, for the Florida Attorney General (2012-2014), for the city of Sweetwater, for the county and for the Republican Party of Florida. Her press release says she is a “passionate advocate for sustainable public transportation” and that her campaign will emphasize “preserving Coral Gables’ green spaces and waterways while ensuring thoughtful planning for the city’s future.” 
“I know many residents know me through my 30 years of steadfast public service and my role on Planning and Zoning,” Miro said in the statement. “I will continue to advocate for what is fair and listen to all sides with care and respect.
“I believe in statesmanship, protocol, and decorum, and I am committed to working collaboratively with my colleagues to always do what is best for the city and its residents.” 
The post Two more candidates say they will run for Coral Gables commission in April appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla just keeps on winning.
After getting 11 felony charges, including bribery and money laundering, dropped in November, Diaz de la Portilla won another court ruling Thursday when a judge dismissed a civil lawsuit from a lobbyist who says he was shaken down for a vote on a city contract. The judge ruled that the former commissioner has “legislative immunity” for his actions.
“This legal barrier prevents this Court from speculating as to Portilla’s ill motive and intent. Without that ability, the Court is left with a blanket analysis of actions only,” wrote Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz. “If Portilla’s actions were legislative, the Court is forbidden from delving into his ultimate intent. It goes without saying that this limitation does not extend to his cohorts. Their intent – unprotected by legislative immunity – can be speculated about and considered.
“Voting is the quintessential legislative act of an elected official.”
So, it’s not that he didn’t do it. The judge didn’t say that Diaz de la Portilla didn’t extort the lobbyist or, more precisely, his client. It’s just that it was part of his job to shake these people down.
Ruiz cited caselaw that “holds that legislative immunity is very broad.” Indeed.
“Based on legislative immunity, courts have dismissed claims even where the defendant has admitted taking bribes where legislative activity formed a critical element – the causal element – of the plaintiff’s claim,” Ruiz wrote.
It’s the second time Ruiz dismisses this civil case, brought by former State Rep. Manuel “Manny” Prieguez, a former Diaz de la Portilla inside circle pal who helped fund his election in 2019, for the same reason of “legislative immunity.” The first time she allowed Prieguez to file an amended complaint. Not this time. This time it was dismissed with prejudice, because there were no major differences between the first and second complaint. That means Prieguez can only appeal. He has 30 days to decide.
Read related: Judge dismisses civil shakedown case vs Miami’s Alex Diaz de la Portilla
Background: In and around October of 2020, Diaz de la Portilla and two of his associates met with the longtime operator of the Rickenbacker Marina, Aabad Melwani, to talk about the renewal of his contract and redevelopment of the marina and, allegedly, insisted that one of his lackeys, Anibal Viera-Duarte, become a silent partner in the deal. Prieguez was Melwani’s lobbyist and his lawsuit claims that Diaz de la Portilla would only vote for him to keep the operating and redevelopment contract if Viera-Duarte (read: ADLP) got a piece of the pie.
Former Miami Commissioner Humberto “Bert” Hernandez — who was removed from office twice amid accusations of absentee ballot fraud, mortgage fraud and federal bank fraud, for which he was sentenced to four years in prison — was one of the ADLP associates who were involved in these meetings, some of which took place at his family’s mattress warehouse in Allapattah and others at the East Hotel in Brickell where Diaz de la Portilla stayed for weeks on another lobbyist’s dime, which was part of the criminal case against him that the Broward State Attorney’s office bungled.
Diaz de la Portilla should really play the lottery. Or just buy a scratch off ticket.
Instead, he’s thinking about countersuing Prieguez for damages.
“I won. The lying scumbag lost. More justice is on the way,” he texted Ladra this week. “Once again, the justice system has exonerated me from the baseless lawsuit filed against me for political purposes by lying lowlife lobbyist Manuel Prieguez.
“Lowlife Prieguez has for too long polluted the court record with his fictitious and malicious narrative serving no purpose other than to interfere with my election and defraud the court. Lying Prieguez will soon find out that his lies have consequences as his day of full reckoning fast approaches,” Diaz de la Portilla said.
He has long claimed that this was a political hatchet job. The lawsuit was filed in September of 2023, less than two months before the election he lost to Commissioner Miguel Gabela, who Prieguez also helped financially.
Read related: Miami’s Alex Diaz de la Portilla loses re-election bid to Miguel Gabela on 4th try
Diaz de la Portilla says he is owed $50 million and threatens “a number of lawsuits based on reputational harm election interference, malicious intent, etc,” he texted, threatening Ladra, for the gazillionth time, that she will be sued also. “We have them where we want them and you will not be left behind… have a good 2025.
“And a good lawyer,” Diaz de la Portilla added, with a laughing emoji.
There are a few problems with that. One is reputational harm, which might have been the better reason for the laughing emoji. It sure made Ladra laugh. Because ADLP has a long standing reputation as a Republican bad boy and pay-to-play crook who abuses his power. Remember, this is an elected who gave $175,000 in Miami’s anti-poverty funds to the former chair of his political action committee for some “legal aid operation” for which Political Cortadito has asked but gotten no work product from the city.
Read related: ADLP gave $175K in Miami anti-poverty funds to political pal in Doral
The other is that Prieguez — now a “lying lowlife” but once ADLP’s close friend — was, probably, not lying. Melwani, who was not a party in the lawsuit — and, of course, he is still operating the marina so he can’t be — could have confirmed everything if he had been subpoenaed.
Which is why this should be a criminal case. The only reason it’s not, sources say, is because Melwani won’t cooperate.
Why is it that private citizens like Prieguez and and Little Havana businessman Bill Fuller — the owner of the Ball and Chain Lounge who won a first amendment lawsuit against Commissioner Joe Carollo for his abuse of power targeting the business for political reasons — the ones taking these bad politicos to court?
Where is the cavalry?
Meanwhile, this winning streak of ADLP’s may continue. He has threatened to run for Miami mayor.
The post Judge dismisses amended corruption complaint against Miami’s ADLP appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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In what turned out to be yet another show of political division in the city of Coral Gables, Deputy City Manager Alberto Parjus was named city manager to replace Amos Rojas, who resigned earlier this month. The appointment will be effective at the next commission meeting Jan. 28, at which the salary and benefits package will be discussed and approved.
The vote was 3-2, of course, with the same dissenting folks as always: Mayor Vince Lago and Vice Mayor Lackey Rhonda Anderson, who now makes all his arguments for him.
“Everybody should have the opportunity to put their name in the hat,” Anderson said, referring to other city employees and managers from other cities that could also want the job. She also reminded everyone that there is an election in three months. “The faces on this commission may be totally different,” she said. (Fingers crossed.)
To which Commissioner Ariel Fernandez asked if they should just take the next three months off and not make any decision.
Read related: Coral Gables City Manager Amos Rojas resigns, leaves next month after one year
Commissioner Melissa Castro, who made the motion, said Parjus “is the leader we need to ensure continued excellence and growth.” She had a powerpoint prepared with slides that show the city has appointed from within more than not.

In fact, activist Maria Cruz pointed out that former manager Peter Iglesias was appointed at a commission meeting on a non-agenda item with three minutes of discussion and no objections.
Iglesias was fired by the new commission majority almost a year after Castro and Fernandez were elected in 2023 (a prior attempt was thwarted) setting in motion a scramble for a new manager that had Miami International Airport Director Albert Cutié named for a day before the commission, at Fernandez’s suggestion, appointed Rojas, a former U.S. Marshal and special agent at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement who was supposed to root out corruption.
He didn’t talk about that during his brief comments about achievements in the year he’s been manager, which included planning the centennial year celebration, beginning the City Hall renovations, the Minorca parking garage office buildups, the purchase and installation of temporary speed tables for traffic calming, expansion of the citywide broadband and public Wi-Fi, improvements in the financial management and property management systems and lobbying efforts that secured $2.7 million in state and federal grant funding.
Rojas also mentioned the negotiations that resulted in new or renewed lease agreements for Birdie Bistro (the old Burger Bob’s), Le Parc Cafe at the Coral Gables Country Club and Fritz and Franz downtown. He also talked about bringing in “top tier talent” such as Assistant City Manager Joe Gomez and Parking and Mobility Director Monica Beltran.
He made no mention of the hostile work environment he’s had to deal with that included allegations of assault against Lago, which were investigated and ultimately found unable to be proven. Nobody could believe that Lago was actually going to hit him.
Read related: Coral Gables Internal Affairs check out mayor’s ‘assault’ incident at City Hall
There was no real talk about a national search, after the last one ended in disaster. The chosen candidate failed a criminal background check and last year — we know thanks to Castro’s research — he was sentenced to federal prison for public corruption. But both Anderson and Lago wanted to advertise the position and get a larger field to choose from. They also scolded Parjus for comments he allegedly made about resigning after Iglesias was fired.
“Clearly your mind was changed, and that’s your right,” Anderson said.
“Going out and testing the waters is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing,” Lago said, adding that Parjus could be let go after the election and get a five month severance. Apparently, he thinks he and his pocket vote candidates are going to win in April.
Said Fernandez: “You’re hoping to see if you can pick up a majority and bring back Peter Iglesias.”
Fernandez also reminded his colleagues that, two years ago, they appointed City Attorney Christina Suarez on the recommendation of the outgoing city attorney. “There was no application process. We trusted the recommendation of the person who was in that top job,” Fernandez said. “There was no objection from anybody.
“This is not a time for dirty political attacks,” Fernandez added. “This is a time for civility, stability and continuity and for our city to move forward.”
He thanked Rojas for his “leadership as City Manager with utmost integrity and for his tireless work to move our City in the right direction,” and said that Parjus had the experience necessary for the job. That includes 35 years at Miami-Dade County, ending as deputy director of the Department of Transportation and Public Works, and a stint as assistant city manager in Miami.
Read related: Ralph Cutié picks Miami-Dade over Coral Gables after PAC text attack
Commissioner Kirk Menendez said what he liked best about Parjus, who was hired by Iglesias, was that his work under both administrations was centered on responding to residents needs. “No matter who it is in the room with you, your focus is public service,” Menendez said.
In a separate 3-2 vote, Menendez was made the negotiator on the Parjus salary and benefits because Castro said she didn’t trust Lago to negotiate in good faith.
Menendez is running against Lago for mayor and this decision will likely become a flash point in the April elections.
The post Coral Gables names Alberto Parjus as new city manager in divided 3-2 vote appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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