Francis Suarez is finally gone.
After 16 years in city government — eight as a commissioner and eight as mayor — Miami’s self-appointed global brand ambassador, crypto whisperer and aspiring Silicon Valley mascot packed his bags one last time and left City Hall. On Thursday, he handed over the keys (hopefully not honorary ones) to former Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor and the first Democrat to hold the job in nearly three decades.
Suarez leaves behind two very different legacies — depending on who’s telling the story.
In his farewell op-ed in The Miami Herald, Suarez — the Miami-born son of the city’s first Cuban-born mayor — paints himself as the architect of “Miami for everyone,” a visionary who lowered taxes, raised wages, cut unemployment, tamed homelessness, modernized city government, expanded opportunity, fixed housing, boosted education, welcomed the world and somehow still made it home for dinner.
It’s a beautiful story. Polished. Aspirational. Almost influencer-ready.
It just leaves out a few things.
Like the part where being mayor increasingly seemed like a side hustle to Suarez’s real passion: being anywhere else.
Few Miami mayors have logged as many frequent flyer miles as Suarez. Qatar. Japan. South Korea. Saudi Arabia. The Texas border. Washington. A celebrity wedding in Egypt. New York. California. Campaign stops for a presidential run so short and uneventful, most voters never knew it happened.
Read related: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is all over the place — except leading the city
And wherever Suarez went, city taxpayers followed — footing the bill for “dignitary protection,” luxury hotels and police travel while residents wondered why their mayor kept governing from 35,000 feet.
New Times lovingly dubbed him “The Wanderer.” Miami residents just wondered who was actually minding the city.
Suarez stood by and did nothing as the commissioner carved up their fiefdoms during the 2022 redistricting madness. He did nada as the commission humiliated and fired the police chief that he brought from Texas. He did absolutely nothing while former Commissioner Joe Carollo weaponized the city government against Little Havana property owners for political retaliation, costing the city millions in legal fees and settlements. And he did nothing as former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla raided the Omni CRA and got city salaries for his personal campaign operatives who were no-show employees.
And, lest we forget, this is the guy who is single-handedly responsible for handing over the last public golf course in Miami, Melreese, to developers to build a mega retail/office complex disguised as a soccer stadium.
He became a national darling when he became Miami’s patient zero during the COVID pandemic, providing daily updates on national news about his symptoms and how he felt from his homebound quarantine. You could tell he liked being he national COVID commentator.
But Suarez will forever be remembered as the man who tried to turn Miami into the Crypto Capital of the World — and briefly convinced tech bros that a meme coin could replace city taxes.
MiamiCoin, we were told, would generate tens of millions, fund public services, fight homelessness, and maybe cure potholes while it was at it. Businesses were encouraged to accept it. Residents were promised Bitcoin dividends. He posed with a shiny robot bull — that sort of symbolizes his entire term in office — to show Miami was tech central.
By 2023, the only exchange supporting MiamiCoin pulled the plug. The coin became worthless. And Miami was left with a lesson it didn’t ask for: cities should not be run like speculative startups.
Read related: Miami Bull is exactly what absentee Mayor Francis Suarez has been selling
Then there was the speculative presidential campaign. Remember that? No? That’s okay — hardly anyone does.
Suarez entered the 2024 GOP primary, polled at 0.2%, failed to qualify for the debate he insisted he’d be on, and dropped out after two weeks. It was one of the shortest non-fringe presidential campaigns in modern American history. Highlights included offering $20 Visa gift cards to donors and publicly asking, on conservative radio, “What’s a Uyghur?” — later referring to them as “Weebles.”
Global leadership, indeed.
Suarez also managed to court controversy closer to home.
There was the Formula 1 ethics complaint after he attended pricy VIP events — with his campaign fundraiser Brian Goldmeier — courtesy of billionaire Ken Griffin while Citadel was exploring a move to Miami. The complaint was dismissed — he reimbursed the tickets — but the optics lingered.
There were the Saudi appearances, including a front-row seat near Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at an esports event in Riyadh — spotted not by city disclosure, but by livestream — just a day after Suarez posted an Instagram story suggesting he was enjoying “Miami afternoons.”
But that’s not the worst part, him being a liar. He’s also an apologist to murderers and thugs.
Suarez organized and promoted the 2023 Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit, a Miami Beach event sponsored by the government of Saudi Arabia, which was under investigation by the US. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs for using American assets to boost efforts to clean up the regime’s image. This is the same government that stands accused of arbitrary arrests, torture and political assassinations, like the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi operatives. His body was dismembered and disposed of in some way that was never publicly revealed. People suspect it was in suitcases.
And still, he hoped to get Trump’s appointment to be ambassador there. He even gave him a key to the city last month. Before gave the real ones to Higgins.
Read related: What corruption probe? Mayor Francis Suarez enjoys Egypt wedding, Miami F1
Perhaps the most striking contrast comes not from policy, but from personal finance.
Suarez entered office with a modest net worth of about $400,000. He leaves with more than $5 million. This is fueled, in part, by his side gigs, including the $10,000 a month he was getting as a “consultant” for developer Rishi Kapoor while Kapoor secured permits for his projects. This “commitment as a public official” became part of the FBI investigation into Kapoor’s business.
That doesn’t make Baby X corrupt. But it does raise an eyebrow — especially for a mayor who insisted his focus was always local, always neighborhood-based, always for everyone.
He’s not only gotten richer, Suarez has gotten buffer, posting work-out videos often. In fact, he loves the TV so much he might do a fitness show for cable next.
There are a lot of possibilities — and speculations. Will he run for higher office? Congress? Governor? Will he go to work for some huge development firm? Or Griffith? Whatever he does next is worth watching. But at least he won’t do it on the taxpayer dime.
Read related: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez gave Trump a key to city; gave us the finger
Now he can hang out with Javier Milei, who represses freedom of press and clamps down on protests and dissent in Argentina, or Jeff Bezos, who also spoke at his America Business Forum last month, where the postalita mayor gave Donald Trump a key to the city. Or Richard Branson on his island like he did on Election Day.
Francis Suarez wanted to make Miami global. And in many ways, he did — as a brand, a buzzword, a backdrop for conferences, crypto schemes, and international photo ops.
But while Miami went global, many residents stayed stuck: priced out of housing, stuck in traffic, watching rents soar and wages chase inflation.
Suarez leaves behind a city more famous than ever — and more divided about who that fame actually served.
Now Miami turns the page.
No more MiamiCoin promises. No more presidential auditions. No more mayors spotted abroad by accident.
Just the hard work of governing a city — on the ground, at home, and in full view of the people who live here.
Goodbye, Francis. And good riddance.
Safe travels.

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A ‘new’ review initiative smells like the old ‘report card’
Gather ‘round, pups, because Miami-Dade County is putting on a big show — and this one stars our ever-growing, ever-hungry nonprofit industrial complex, also known as Community Based Organizations (CBOs). You’ve seen them at County Hall: matching T-shirts, matching talking points, matching publicists… all singing from the same hymn sheet about “the children” or “the services” or “the vulnerable populations,” right on cue.
But this year, for the first time in ages, regular taxpayers — the ones actually footing the bill — finally started to notice something: these nonprofits are loaded. And some may be questionable.
Read related: Shady charity with political ties gets $450K from Miami-Dade Commission
The scandal that The Miami Herald’s Doug Hanks broke on the millions of taxpayer dollars that went to fund the A3 Foundation — a seemingly sham charity run by a politically-connected Miami insider — for the horse and pony show at Tropical Park every year, put a focus on just how easy it is for these non-profits to get serious money for nothing.
And they have pull. Serious pull. Enough that even Mayor Daniella Levine Cava — who loves nonprofits the way a pastor loves a microphone — proudly reminds everyone she founded or served on the boards of Kristi House, Voices For Children, and a few others that always seem to find their way to the county trough. She said she was heartbroken to have to cut their budgets.
“Many of the organizations that have presented today are organizations that I either founded or served on the board or collaborated with for decades,” she said at the Sept. 4 budget meeting. “It is personally painful to me to be in a situation where I had to choose between running buses, filling potholes or providing for our nonprofit partners.”
But here’s what nobody inside County Hall likes to say out loud: Nonprofits are not an essential function of government.
They don’t run elections. They don’t fix roads or buy buses. They don’t guard inmates or treat sewage or keep our water drinkable. They are optional partners who, sometimes, on paper, serve as a safety net for insufficient resources that the county allocates to the most needy. Key word: Optional. Yet, in 2025 they collected more than $70 million in taxpayer money as if it were some sort of constitutional mandate. Many of them act like that cash is automatic. Owed. Guaranteed. God-given.
And nobody has embraced this cozy arrangement more than Commissioner Kionne McGhee, Miami-Dade’s self-appointed Patron Saint of Nonprofits, who reports in his financial disclosure that he is paid $99,416.18 every year by Children of Inmates, a CBO that gets funding from the county and the state. Down to the penny. That’s not “consulting.” That’s a salary — a tidy little side hustle from an organization that (surprise!) shows up during county budget season to lobby for funding.
Recently, McGhee proposed a new vendor-fee trust fund — a permanent money machine for nonprofits, skimmed off the top of county vendor contracts, which would probably end up passed along to the county anyway. It was punted after county budget staff estimated it would generate only $4 to $5 million. Pocket change compared to the $70 million nonprofits already gobbled up in this year’s budet.
Read related: Miami-Dade committee punts hard on Kionee McGhee’s non-profit slush fund
Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins called it what it was — not even a band-aid. A Post-It note, maybe.
Still, McGhee may not give up. He has suggested putting the whole thing on the ballot. Just like that. No math to support it. No justification. No logic. Just vibes.
Maybe he should wait until the county mayor’s office comes back in March with a report and analysis of how nonprofit organizations are funded, selected, and evaluated. This review measure, a hard look at the county’s CBO funding process — basically the Wild West with PowerPoints — was sponsored by Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis and approved unanimously earlier this month.
Milian Orbis wants a full accounting: who gets funded, how they get picked, what they actually do, and whether the “legacy” nonprofits — the ones grandfathered into money year after year without ever standing in line — are really delivering anything close to results.
“For too long this process has confused the public and frustrated the very groups trying to serve our families,” she said.Translation: For too long this process has been a hot mess and nobody wants to say it out loud.
“Residents deserve a process that is fair, transparent, and focused on real results,” she added. And somewhere in the back, Ladra swears she could hear a few legacy CBO directors shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
Because legacy does not equal legitimacy.
The report, due 120 days from when it was approved, will examine this year’s competitive grant process, review the sacred cows of the CBO world, and compare them to other nonprofits and even county-run programs. In other words: show us the receipts or get out of the line.
Milian Orbis added: “We owe it to our residents to make sure these dollars are reaching people in need and supporting programs that work.” Which is adorable, because it assumes the system has ever been designed around “what works” instead of who knows who.
Once the mayor’s office delivers the report, it will come back to the board for public review and action. And that, pups, is where things get interesting — because once the disinfecting sunlight hits these numbers, somebody’s gravy boat is going to run aground.
Read related: Miami-Dade budget restores 100% funds to non-profits = self preservation
Or is it? Because Milian Orbis, very proud of herself, says this will be the first public countywide analysis of the performance, reach, and results of non-profits. Shows how green she is. Because  there have been issued “report cards” on CBOs for years. CBOs are managed by the Office of Management Budget and funded annually as part of the budget process. That everybody knows. But what everyone might not know is that the OMB already conducts performance reviews to evaluate (1) deliverables and program achievement and (2) administration and contract compliance. These reviews serve as the basis for report cards, which use a green, yellow and red stoplight scale as follows:

Green: Less than five instances of non compliance. You know, because three or four instances is no big deal.
Yellow: More than five instances of non-compliance. Stuff that can be fixed so the county gives you time.
Red: “any number of instances of non compliance that merit contract or payment suspension.”

In the report card for 2023-2024, 116 CBOs were evaluated and only two were in the red, according to a memo from the mayor to commissions in May. Their contracts were terminated and remaining unspent grant monies were returned to the general fund, she said. Thirteen other organizations received a yellow rating. “However, 10 of the 13 yellow rated organizations were previously rated red and were changed to yellow upon acceptance of a Corrective Action Plan,” the memo says.
The report cards for fiscal years 2018-19 is much worse, with more red lines than one would think there should be.

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Now comes the hard part
Miami loves a moment. And Thursday’s swearing-in of Eileen Higgins — Miami’s first female mayor — was a moment.
Standing-room-only at the Wolfson Campus auditorium. A packed house of supporters. The full political cast of characters. Beaming parents front and center. Giddiness spilling out of every photo and video pushed by legacy media like it was a quinceañera for City Hall itself.
And honestly? It was sweet. Disarmingly so.
Higgins practically built the ceremony around her parents, who stood beside her as she took the oath — administered by Miami-Dade Clerk of Courts Juan Fernandez-Barquin — and looked like they might burst from pride at any second. You don’t fake that kind of joy. It was earned. And it was lovely.
But this is Miami. And Ladra is allergic to fairy tales.
Front row sightings included outgoing Mayor Francis Suarez, seated next to Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava — a pairing Ladra hopes did not result in any lingering political cooties.
Also in attendance: Miami commissioners past and present, Higgins’ former county commission colleagues, and a long list of Miami’s political who’s who.
Read related: La Gringa Eileen Higgins makes history with Miami mayoral election victory
And yes, Miami Dade College President Madeleine Pumariega was there too — smiling, applauding, celebrating — fresh off standing quietly by while the MDC Board of Trustees handed over 2.6 acres of prime Biscayne Boulevard land originally meant for students to the Donald Trump Presidential Library people, a decision made pretty much in secrecy and being challenged in court.
Ladra sincerely hopes Higgins made it crystal clear she is not on board with that particular giveaway.
In her remarks, Higgins didn’t waste time signaling what kind of mayor she intends to be, basically announcing competence over chaos.
“You chose competence over corruption, direction over distraction, public service over political gridlock,” she told the crowd.
A line that landed hard — because everyone in that room knows exactly what she was contrasting herself against.
She promised unity. She promised service to everyone — including those who didn’t vote for her.
“Everyone deserves a city that works for them,” Higgins said.
Not because of politics. Not because of language. Not because of zip code. But because Miami is a shared home.
It was aspirational. It was inclusive. And it was very clearly a reset.
Higgins made history as the first woman to lead Miami and the first Democrat elected mayor in decades. That matters. Representation matters. Symbolism matters.
But symbolism doesn’t fix permitting backlogs. It doesn’t lower rents. It doesn’t restore public trust.
And Higgins seems to know that.
Read related: Rolando Escalona sworn in as Miami’s newest city commissioner = D3 reset
She’s already said she wants to “act like the government of one of the most famous cities in the world” — which, frankly, is a subtle jab at how unserious City Hall has become. But she is stepping into office with a very green city commission:

Rolando Escalona, fresh off his stunning upset of former Commissioner Frank Carollo, bringing new energy, a new name to District 3 in 16 years — and no margin for error.
Ralph Rosado, an urban planner with zero elected experience who won a special election after the death of of Commissioner Manolo Reyes, with a lot of help from former Commissioner Joe Carollo and former Mayor Francis Suarez. A lot of good it did them.
Miguel Angel Gabela , who is in the middle of his first term and still learning to navigate the political landscape.
Damian Pardo, also in the middle of his first term, a reform candidate who has all but abandoned that vision and already pissing people of so much that there has been talk of a recall.

Christine King is now the most tenured commissioner — which tells you everything you need to know about the reset voters demanded.
This is not a body steeped in institutional memory. It is a body hungry to prove itself. That can be powerful — or chaotic — depending on leadership.
The mood Thursday was joyful. The moment? Serious. But now? The stakes are painfully clear.
County Commissioner Raquel Regalado plants a kiss on Eileen Higgins’ cheek while her dad, former Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, pats her shoulder. Bienvenido!
Thursday felt like relief. Like a comfortable exhale. Like Miami saying, “Okay, let’s try this.”
But the applause will fade. The hugs and kisses will diminish. The photos will stop circulating. And the work will begin.
Higgins promised to calm the chaos. To focus on affordability. To fix the city’s broken permitting system. To restore professionalism to a City Hall better known lately for lawsuits, vendettas, and drama on the dais.
But what about Watson Island? Will she veto one of the biggest giveaways the city has ever approved? She only has three days to do it, after Commissoner approved the sale for $29 of 3.2 acres of waterfront property to developers, land that is worth at least 10 times more.
And then there is the Bayfront Park Management Trust, and the prior manager’s efforts to fold it into the city’s park system. Will she reverse that? What will she do with the alleged investigation into abuse of the Trust funds by former commissioner Joe Carollo?
Read related: Ka-ching! Miami DDA is doling out more checks to billionaire companies
How will Higgins deal with the criticism around the corporate welfare checks the Miami Downtown Development Authority gives to billionaire entities? Higgins sat as vice chair of the DDA while it gave $450,000 to FC Barcelona, $100,000 to the UFC and $175,000 to the 2026 College Football Playoff National Championship — and said nada. Will she continue to ignore the allegations of budget abuse?
Thursday’s swearing-in was a celebratory beginning — no doubt. The question now is: Can Eileen Higgins turn good vibes into good governance?
Because Miami didn’t just elect a mayor. It elected an expectation.

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If anyone thought Rolando Escalona would ease into the job, smile for the cameras, and wait politely for the dust to settle, they clearly haven’t been paying attention. Even before Miami’s newest city commissioner was sworn in Wednesday — officially, publicly, and with all the ceremonial trimmings — he had already gone to work.
And the first message out the gate was crystal clear: The Carollo era is over. Full stop.
Last week, Escalona — just days after beating former Commissoner Frank Carollo 53% to 47% — sent a memo to the mayor and the city manager, as commissioner elect, requesting a freeze on all District 3 activities launched under former Commissioner Joe Carollo (Frank’s big bro). Every disbursement. Every project. Every initiative. Paused.
Not canceled. Paused. As in pending review.
Read related: Carollo dynasty crumbles in Miami as newbie Rolando Escalona takes D3 seat
“As I prepare to be sworn-in and assume the responsibilities of District 3 Commissioner, I am writing to respectfully request that all actions, approvals, modifications, or disbursements related to District 3 legislative items, funding allocations, programs, and projects be temporarily paused until I take office,” Escalona wrote the day after Carollo resigned six days early.
“Given the former District 3 commissioner resigned effective yesterday, and the District 3 seat is now vacant, taking any action would be concerning for our residents,” Escalona wrote.
Roar.
“This request is made in the interest of ensuring a smooth and transparent transition, as well as safeguarding continuity and accountability for the residents of District 3. Delaying further action will allow my office to properly review pending matters, meet with the relevant departments, and ensure that all district initiatives align with community priorities and long-term goals,” Escalona said, adding that he may undo some of the last things Carollo did.
“If any concerns arise through our review process, I intend to ask my colleagues to support a motion to reconsider actions taken at yesterday’s commission meeting. Therefore, pausing any action would send a clear message to our community that we are embracing a new day for our city and transparency to guide our way.”
In Miami political terms, that’s not subtle. That’s a message to City Hall, staff, lobbyists, contractors, and anyone who ever whispered “Joe wants this done” and expected magic to happen: The days of governing by vendetta, pressure, and volume are over. Now comes the audit.
Read related: Goodbye, Joe: Miami’s Carollo slinks away early and at midnight, but why?
A City Hall insider told Ladra that this is really about three specific land giveaways for affordable housing that Carollo had brought to the board last week (more on that later).
The ceremony was attended by all four of the commissioners as well as former Commissioner Ken Russell, who came in third in the Nov. 4 mayoral election, and Mayor Elect Eileen Higgins, who will be sworn in Thursday afternoon.
Escalona, a Republican, took the oath of office (from Miai-Dade Clerk and Comptroller Juan Fernandez-Barquin) with Democrat Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and outgoing Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, a onetime Republican POTUS wannabe, on hand to offer remarks — a symbolic, bipartisan moment in a city still shaking off years of political chaos and an election cycle that became increasingly about keeping Miami red or turning it blue.
Levine Cava praised the importance of steady leadership and public service. “Today is all about renewal. It’s about new beginnings, and it’s about turning the page. This is a new era of city government in Miami,” the original La Alcaldesa said.
Suarez, in one of his final cameos as mayor, did what Suarez does best: smiled, congratulated, and made sure he was in the room. “Governance should be about solutions, not shouting. Collaboration, not combat,” he said, and Ladra thinks there was some giggling in the audience.
Read related: Miami Bull is exactly what absentee Mayor Francis Suarez has been selling
Even Congressional candidate Richard Lamondin, who is running for the chance to go against Maria Elvira Salazar in District 27, was there to wish the new commissioner well. “Rolando Escalona is a good man whose story reflects the very best of Miami. From arriving here from Cuba to working as a busboy to now an elected City commissioner,” Lamondin posted on his social media.
Escalona stayed true to his roots in his comments. “I will fight every day for safe streets, for neighborhoods where families feel proud and secure and to keep families secure and workers will be protected,” he said, and it seemed as if he wiped a tear from his eye. “As a commissioner, I promise you this: I will never forget my promises to you and where I came from and who I work for.”
Escalona beat a residency challenge in court from another candidate, Denise Galvez Turros, who came in an embarrassing sixth place of eight. His home was drawn out of District 3 and he moved to an apartment so he could qualify. Months ago, he moved to a larger apartment to away the twins his wife gave birth to weeks ago.
Read related: Judge: Rolando Escalona belongs on Miami ballot for D3 commissioner
He promised more unity and less drama at City Hall and thanked his mother and his wife. “Your love and sacrifices made this moment possible. You are my rock and my support.”
But if you want to understand how a new commissioner might plan to govern, don’t listen to the speeches and the applause — look at the staffing. Escalona, a restaurant manager, real estate agent and political newbie, didn’t waste time in surrounding himself with some insiders.
Steven Ferreiro, the respected former chief of staff to the late Commissioner Manolo Reyes, will now serve as Escalona’s chief of staff, after a brief stint working for Hialeah’s interim mayor Jackie Garcia-Roves, who lost her election in November.  Ferreiro is known inside City Hall as serious, steady, and deeply familiar with how to actually get things done without setting the building on fire. This is especially sweet because the new District 4 commissioner, Ralph Rosado, won’t like it.
Steven Miro, formerly an aide to Carollo — until he was fired after blowing the whistle on abuse of office — is also joining the District 3 team. He will be leaving the District 1 office, but he told Ladra that his heart has always been in D3.
Ariel Trueba, who worked in the city for two years (2023-24) as a consultant in the department of human services and economic initiatives, will be the director of constituent services. An FIU graduate (class of ’22), he also served two terms as chairman of the Miami-Dade County LGBTQ+ Advisory Board, possibly becoming the youngest person to chair a county board in Florida.
Read related: ‘Winners & Losers’ from the Miami, Miami Beach and Hialeah elections
Let’s be real: District 3 hasn’t had a “normal” commissioner in a long time. It’s been lawsuits, subpoenas, headlines, vendettas, and a City Hall civility crisis that could be summed up in two words: Crazy Joe.
Escalona ran against Carollo’s baby brother — and won — as the calm alternative. The quiet contrast. The guy whose campaign wasn’t fueled by fear or fury, but by discipline, timing and hard work. And now that he’s sworn in, the follow-through is unmistakable.
Freeze the projects. Rebuild the staff. Lower the temperature.
For a city still recovering from years of five-alarm political fires, that’s not boring — it’s revolutionary.
Because let’s be honest: Rolando Escalona didn’t just win an election. He inherited a mess.
And on Day One, he showed Miami exactly how he plans to handle it: No shouting. No theatrics. No revenge tours.
Just a hard stop, a deep breath, and a methodical reset.
For District 3 — and maybe for Miami City Hall — that might be the most radical move of all.

You can help bring your community more independent, watchdog government reporting of our local government and campaigns with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.

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Just because there’s isn’t a date called yet for the special election in House District 113, the seat vacated by former State Rep. Vicki Lopez — who left when she was appointed to the county commission — doesn’t mean there isn’t any campaign mail.
Tony J. Diaz, a small business owner, dropped the first USPS missive this week and actually coined a name that Ladra will likely use forever: “Fishy” Frank Lago.
Fishy Frank is also running for the seat. He’s run for state house before — in Hialeah, where he also ran for a council seat once. That’s why it’s hard to believe him when he says on an Instagram video, from a Brickell balcony, that he’s lived in Miami all his life — unless he means Greater Miami.
Read related: Two more jump in: Bruno Barreiro, Gloria Romero Roses join HD 113 race
There is another Republican circling the drain on this one. Former Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, who was also once a state rep, who resigned in 2018 to run for Congress (he lost). Just because Diaz hasn’t hit him yet, doesn’t mean he won’t. There’s just too much information available But Lago is seen as the establishment choice and has already been endorsed by Lopez.
“I know and trust Frank Lago to carry the torch forward. Frank will bring the dedication, character, and work ethic that this district demands and deserves. He has a true servant’s heart and I’m proud to give him my full support as he launches his campaign,” Lopez is quoted as saying in Florida Politics.
Like it was planned. Wink, wink.
“Florida is NOT FOR SALE,” starts the mailer, quite likely the first in the race that’s not a race yet.”Don’t let my opponent sell Florida. Wherever Fishy Frank goes, bad news is right behind.”
Under the “naughty list,” Fishy Frank — depicted as a vampire — is remembered as chief of staff to former Sweetwater Mayor Manny “Maraña” Maroño, who was convicted on corruption charges and served 40 months in prison. Diaz’s mailer also mentions Lago lying in a sworn affidavit about his family’s benefits from a park annexation (more on that later).
It ends, “send him packing to one of his other houses,” a reference to carpetbagger allegations because Lago’s whole world has been in Hialeah. And Diaz — who also flirted with running for Miami commission and applied for the county D5 appointment that went to Lopez — asks voters to “text me your political wishlist.” Providing a phone number: 786-774-2125. And yeah, it’s his personal cellphone, not a campaign flack.
The front side of the mailer has a holiday message from the candidate: “Dear Neighbor, I’ve been really good this year,” he starts. “All I want for Christmas is your vote!” It also lists some of his priorities: Stopping corruption and developers influence, increasing the homestead exemption to $500,000, build climate resilient infrastructure and mandate special elections for every vacancy.

That’s una indirecta. Gov. Ron DeSantis still hasn’t called a special election and the district is likely to go unrepresented in next year’s legislative session. The Florida statute that gives him that authority does not seem to put a clock on it.
Diaz and others have been calling his office daily to urge him to make the call. But if the guv fears that the seat, like so many around the country, might turn blue (read: “¡comunista“) — and there are also two Democrats waiting in the wings to run for HD 113 — he might drag his feet for as long as he can. He already has a well-documented habit of sitting on vacancies until it suits him.
Read related: Ron DeSantis leaves HD 113 without a voice because he can — as always
But let’s refocus on the gold nugget here, “Fishy Frank.” Diaz has promised a rough and tumble campaign if the establishment pushes Lago. On the platform formerly known as Twitter, Diaz posted yet another message to the GOP: He could go so negative that the Republicans could lose the district.
“In my primary for FL House Dist 113, I am the only candidate without baggage,” Diaz posted, about 2 a.m., calling on the Florida GOP and Chairman Evan Power, specifically, “to get these jokers out of my way. “I will bring up everything they’ve ever voted on, every ally, every connection, and drag them through the mud. We will lose the seat.”
He followed up with a second post: “I will not let special interests get another puppet. Republicans need better cleaner nominees that call it how it is and Floridians need the same. You have been warned.”
Ladra got chills. The good kind. Smart campaign people will say he’s blowing cash too early on. But maybe that’s the point. He’s obviously trying to scare the competition in the Republican primary away.
But it doesn’t seem like an empty threat. It sounds honest. Bold. No holds barred.
And it might just be the kind of real talk Tallahassee needs.
You can help get more independent, watchdog government reporting of our local government and political campaigns to our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.
 
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