We already know that Miami-Dade Commission Vice Chairman Kionne L. McGhee is not happy about the mayor’s proposed $12.9 billion 2025-26 budget of service cuts and fee hikes — especially not when the county’s most vulnerable residents are going to pay the price. Especially when the nonprofits brace for extinction while the county still has $46 million earmarked for FIFA World Cup subsidies.
McGhee has already called for the county to claw back the $46 million committed to FIFA World Cup related activities in light of a $402 million budget shortfall that could cause a slash in spending that includes $40 in grants for non-profits.
On Tuesday, McGhee announced an urgent community meeting on the purposed cuts to community organizations, which are a lifeline that fills the gaps the county services can’t get to. What we can call a crisis roundtable will begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 8 at Kristi House, 1265 NW 12th Ave., where McGhee aims to bring together leaders from some of the nonprofits whose funding was cut in Mayor Daniella Levine Cava’s austerity plan.
Read related: Facing $400M budget shortfall, Miami-Dade cuts senior meals, lifeguards, more
That budget, as Ladra has already told you, tries to plug a $402 million hole with a nasty combo of service cuts and fee hikes meant to keep property tax rates flat (which still means a small increase due to rising property values). It slashes funding to arts groups, park programs, senior meals and services — and about $40 million in grants for community-based organizations that provide everything from mental health treatment to trauma care for abused children.
And McGhee has had enough.
“Miami-Dade’s nonprofit organizations provide life-saving, transformational services to thousands of residents every single day,” McGhee said in a statement. “I intend to ensure their voices are heard and that we work together to preserve the critical support systems that hold our community together.”
Read related: Buyer’s remorse: Kionne McGhee wants refund on $46M to FIFA World Cup
The commissioner chose Kristi House, a nonprofit that has become a municipal darling in the fight against child abuse and sexual violence, because he wants to emphasize how deep the cuts will hurt. The organization will nearly half a million dollars short because of the county’s budget cuts. Kristi House CEO Amanda Altman didn’t mince words at the public budget town hall Wednesday in Arcola Lakes.
“What am I supposed to tell the 354 children Kristi House will have to turn away this year because the county decided they weren’t worth fighting for,” she asked Levine Cava, according to to a story by the Miami Herald (Doug Hanks has been to all the town halls).
Kristi House
“These proposed cuts threaten to dismantle services that children and families depend on,” Altman said in a statement released by McGhee’s office, which then included, “We’re incredibly grateful to Vice Chairman McGhee for shining a spotlight on this urgent crisis.”
There it is. McGhee isn’t termed out until 2028, but he has been making a lot of public statements lately and it seems he is trying to position himself as a Democrat candidate for Congress or state senate.
But, also, he’s not wrong. This is a crisis that will have untold consequences. And while the mayor defends her cuts and fee hikes at her budget town halls, this week, those meetings have focused more on blaming the constitutional offices than finding a solution.
Like maybe not giving FIFA boosters $46 million.
And while Chairman Anthony Rodriguez is busy fluffing pillows for the DOGE squad and touting “efficiency” and “transparency,” McGhee is fighting for the people who actually need government support. Rodriguez wants to cut budget fat — McGhee wants to stop cutting flesh and bone.
Read related: Anthony Rodriguez rolls out red carpet for state DOGE, calls it ‘collaboration’
If the county can find $46 million for FIFA, it can find $3 million to keep families in their homes. If it can fund fan zones and broadcast infrastructure, it can fund trauma counseling and summer lunches.
This isn’t just a budget crisis. It’s a moral one.
Help Ladra stay on top of the Miami-Dade budget issues, as we head into the public hearings in September, with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Thank you for your support.
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Miami-Dade Commissioner Roberto J. Gonzalez is throwing a party Thursday in West Kendall — but the guest of honor won’t be there. That’s because former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, the man getting a brand-new road named after him, is currently under house arrest in Colombia after getting a 12-year sentence for his alleged role in witness tampering and ties to right-wing paramilitary groups.
But hey, why should that stop a good old-fashioned photo op? The street-naming ceremony will likely be full of waving flags, nostalgic speeches, and the production of carefully cropped photos that don’t include any references to international indictments.
Read related: Gov. Ron DeSantis sends Florida DOGE squad to sniff out Miami-Dade budget
In a press release that conveniently ignores Uribe’s present legal situation, Gonzalez invites the public and the press to the unveiling of “Avenida Colombia” at SW 69th Street and 152nd Avenue, a freshly renamed stretch of asphalt in a heavily Colombian-American part of West Kendall. The ceremony starts at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 7, and promises special guests including Uribe’s son, Tomás Uribe Moreno, and Francisco “Pacho” Santos, a former Colombian VP and close Uribe ally.
“President Uribe dedicated his life to defending Colombia,” the invitation from the District 11 office says, leaving out the messy bits about death squads, wiretaps, and obstruction charges.
Ladra is pretty sure that “defending Colombia” might mean different things to different people. Uribe, who was president of Colombia from 2002 to 2010, is either hailed as a hero who stood up to FARC rebels or condemned as the face of impunity and political violence in a country still reeling from decades of conflict. Maybe both are true.
But one thing is certain: Uribe won’t be cutting the ribbon himself.
Back in Colombia, Uribe, 73, is facing intense legal heat from allegations that he bribed witnesses to discredit accusations linking him to paramilitary groups during his presidency. He’s been a political lightning rod for years, and the case is one of the most high-profile legal sagas in Latin America. Uribe is the country’s first former president to be criminally convicted, but his attorneys have said they will appeal.
Many of Miami-Dade’s Uribe supporters say that the former president is a victim of political “lawfare,” carried out by the left-wing administration of President Gustavo Petro, a former guerrilla fighter, before elections next year in which several of Uribe’s allies are running for office. He is so popular here, that Uribe already has at least two streets named after him.
In 2020, after he was first charged, the county named a stretch of 117th Avenue between Southwest 24th and Southwest 40th streets “Alvaro Uribe Way.” Back then Commissioner Eileen Higgins and former Commissioner Xavier Suarez voted against it. In 2021, a stretch of West 16th Avenue in Hialeah, from 44th Place to 60th Street, was co-designated President Álvaro Uribe Vélez Way 16 del Oeste, desde la calle 44 Place Oeste hasta la calle 60
So while Miami-Dade might be slashing nonprofit funding and cutting park hours to plug a $402 million budget hole, Commissioner Gonzalez has found time to name a street after a controversial foreign president with an active legal file longer than the street itself. Because, priorities.
Ladra gets that this is a nod to the large and passionate Colombian-American population, which are concentrated in his District 11 and in the overlapping congressional District 28 that Gonzalez has been reportedly eyeing as his possible next step. Many of Miami-Dade’s Colombians do still see Uribe as a patriot who brought security and stability back to Colombia.
But maybe, just maybe, Gonzalez could wait until the guy isn’t wearing an ankle bracelet before etching his name into county signage?
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How do you say “Welcome, Big Brother” in budgetese?
Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez put out a press release Wednesday doing his best impression of a grateful hotel concierge, all but fluffing pillows for the DeSantis-appointed DOGE squad as they announce plans to parachute into County Hall with flashlights and subpoenas.
In a glowing statement titled something like “Yay, Oversight!”, Rodriguez offered “full support” to State CFO Blaise Ingoglia and his team as they poke around County books and programs — including, of course, the usual Republican punching bags: green initiatives and DEI efforts.
“We share the same goals — ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, improving operational transparency, and streamlining government functions,” said Rodriguez, sounding like a guy who’s already picked out a desk for the state auditors.
He’s calling it ‘collaboration. But Ladra — and just about every county staffer who rolled their eyes reading this — knows what this really is: a not-so-subtle political stunt dressed up as budgetary due diligence.
Read related: Gov. Ron DeSantis sends Florida DOGE squad to sniff out Miami-Dade budget
Rodriguez used the press release to pat himself on the back for a bunch of made-up committees like the STRIP Task Force (yes, seriously) and the Government Efficiency and Transparency Ad Hoc Committee. GETAC? Really? And what’s the difference between the two? He also took credit for scheduling a special “Committee of the Whole” meeting for Aug. 20 to go digging for “immediate budget cuts,” just in time to show Tallahassee how serious he is about jumping on the DOGE train.
He did not tell them to look into the allocation of millions of taxpayer dollars to a shady non-profit headed by a politically-connected Republican who is working as the chief of staff to the Miami city manager. But that’s probably something they should also look into.
In a brown-nosing letter to the CFO Tuesday, which the commissioner posted on social media, Rodriguez invited him and his team to “this meeting, as I believe the discussions will provide valuable insight relevant to your work.”

How much you wanna bet they get more than two minutes?
Also, by the way, this additional extra meeting was Commissioner Raquel Regalado‘s idea.
Is that why the chairman basically handed the assignment over, urging Ingoglia to meet with Regalado, Commissioner J.C. Bermudez and pretty much anyone wearing a red tie in the 111 building.
Because what better way to show fiscal responsibility than inviting the Governor’s guys to sit in on your county budget process? Maybe they’ll bring snacks. Maybe they’ll bring subpoenas.
Read related: Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava defends new budget, service cuts
Look, nobody’s arguing that Miami-Dade doesn’t have some bloated contracts, inefficient processes, and legacy issues worth fixing. That $402 million budget gap is real — even if Rodriguez and his Republican pals have been quietly enjoying the federal trough for years and are only complaining about it now.
But this sudden love letter to Tallahassee oversight — when the county has spent years yelling about local control and Home Rule — smells a lot more like partisan posturing than responsible governance. It’s like lighting your own kitchen on fire and then thanking the arson investigator for showing up.
So yeah, let’s tell it like it is: Chairman Rodriguez isn’t just welcoming DOGE. He’s rolling out the red carpet, handing them a list of talking points, and asking for extra copies to use in next year’s campaign mailers.
And he’s calling it transparency.

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Here come the political pooper scoopers.
Just as Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is trying to close a massive $402 million budget hole without jacking up property taxes, Gov. Ron DeSantis has sent in his Florida DOGE squad — yes, that’s really what they’re calling it — to root around the county books like it’s a litter box full of progressive waste.
In a sharply worded letter Monday, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, warned that a state spending review is headed to South Florida. State officials want receipts — literally — and they’re not being subtle about their priorities.
Read related: Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava defends new budget, service cuts
The three-page letter, signed by two DeSantis aides and new Florida. Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia, who was just handed that watchdog gig by the governor last month, questions everything. The state not only wants to see county leases and real estate transactions — like the purchase of an old FP&L building for more than it’s worth, Ladra assumes — but they are, predictably, looking at diversity programs, green energy spending and — wait for it — traffic calming devices like Miami-Dade’s beloved speed bumps. Not our speed bumps!
Translation: “We smell liberal spending. And we don’t like it.”
They also raised their eyebrows about the millions of dollars worth of property tax growth in the last few years.
“Particularly in light of these increases in revenue, we are concerned about the $400M+ budget gap that you have announced,” the letter says, with all the sincerity of a campaign attack ad.
This isn’t the first time Team DOGE has sniffed around Miami-Dade. Levine Cava’s office released correspondence to the Miami Herald Tuesday that shows they’ve already turned over details on employee salaries, contracting, and tax revenues. And now they’ve got until Aug. 13 to cough up even more records — or potentially face fines.
Ladra smells a rat. And the stench is not just coming from Tallahassee.
Because while the DOGE letter is pitched as a dry fiscal oversight move, it just happens to come days after Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, a vocal DeSantis loyalist trying to position himself for a congressional run, made a pilgrimage to Ingoglia’s office and posted a cheerful video talking about “ensuring county resources serve our taxpayers best.” Because, of course the state knows better than the local government that was actually elected to manage this mess. And they’re so good with our money.
Levine Cava’s team isn’t playing dumb.
In a strongly worded statement, the mayor reminded DOGE that Miami-Dade’s tax rate has actually gone down 2% since she took office — and that her administration is already subject to routine audits. She said she’d cooperate with the review “to the extent that it adds value without disrupting local governance.” That’s like saying “¡Cuidado!”
“If DOGE requires clarification on budget line items we have already clearly documented, we will help,” she said in a statement. “But there is no need for duplication, nor for politically driven investigations that could divert staff time away from critical services.”
La Alcaldesa — who last month put a freeze on a $5 million grant to a shady non-profit secured by Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez, another GOP county elected who also happens to be BFFs with House Speaker Danny Perez — also took a swipe at what she called “staged political theater,” saying her priorities remain on things like infrastructure, housing, and public safety, not partisan witch hunts. That’s like saying, “No te hagas.”
Read related: STRIP show: Miami-Dade’s Anthony Rodriguez wants to fix procurement
But the timing couldn’t be worse. The mayor is in the middle of budget season, on media and town hall tour to defend a flat tax rate that ensures “core services,” but still includes cuts to parks, meals to the elderly, and charity funding, plus fee hikes for transit, gas, and even parking at county parks. So, walking Bella is going to cost you $5.
It is no wonder the mayor is getting push back from commissioners and the community.
At public town hall meetings in Miami Gardens and Westchester, Levine Cava blamed the width of the money hole on the five new constitutional offices elected in November. They account for 44% of the budget gap. She also warned residents that rolling back the tax rate even a small amount — as Gonzalez and others, like Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, want to do — would mean deeper, even more painful cuts.
Regalado requested a special appropriations committee meeting for commissioners to go “line by line” through the budget and find places to cut. The meeting is August. 20. Anyone going might want to pack a lunch. And a snack. And a pillow.
And maybe a handheld fan. Because the political heat is rising — and Levine Cava’s Republican critics are turning up the flame. Congressman Carlos Gimenez, her GOP predecessor at County Hall, couldn’t resist piling on. He took to social media to praise the state probe, and he didn’t even use her full name — just “Mayor Levine” — like she’s a high school vice principal who got caught dipping into the prom fund.
“In just a few years, Mayor Levine has turned our good stewardship into a massive deficit,” posted Gimenez, who might just be running for Miami Mayor.
Good stewardship? Maybe Gimenez is gettin’ a little senile. Ladra remembers when he suggested rolling blackouts at fire stations to make up for his budget hole. That’s like putting out dumpster fire with a squirt gun.
To be fair, La Alcaldesa should have seen this $402 million deficit coming. In fact, Ladra remembers warnings about the drying up of federal COVID funds, for years. COVID was in 2020, remember? We had warnings, but not foresight? We’ve also had years of soaring property values. Where has that money gone?
Ladra would welcome a true independent audit. Keyword: Independent. And that’s not the same as a politically-charged probe that looks more like campaign ops than budget watchdogging.
And that’s because DeSantis is holding the leash.
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Eenie, meenie, miny, moe.
A recent poll suggests Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava could just edge out Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar in 2026. But wait, isn’t she going to run for governor?
Levine Cava, who is termed out in 2028, hasn’t said a peep about either, but people keep imagining her into these races because she’s probably the strongest Democrat in the state, getting re-elected last year against the Trump train that ran over Miami. Her political consultant, Christian Ulvert, is getting bored of telling people she is not running for higher office.
At least not yet.
“She was honored to be re-elected by nearly 60% of Miami-Dade voters and she’s going to do the important work as the mayor,” Ulvert told Political Cortadito.
“She is not going to be on the ballot in 2026.”
Besides, he already has another candidate in the CD-27 race. Which may explain his tweet Monday making it clear: “No! Not happening.”
So, this is just somebody’s ultimate fantasy.
Salazar, who has become increasingly unpopular because of her blatant lies and alignment with Donald Trump‘s cruel immigration policies, which impact her constituency big time, is vulnerable. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has put her on the list of flippable Republican-held seats and they’re desperately searching for their Holy Grail.
The poll by Kissimmee-based Kaplan Strategies — a one-stop shop for “all your political communication needs” — shows La Alcaldesa with a 2 point lead over Salazar. And while that is within the 3-point margin of error, it is still closer than the other candidates who have already announced their candidacy in the Democratic Primary next August (except for Robin Peguero, who announced most recently).
The bigger picture that has local Dems smiling: Salazar doesn’t get more than 45% against anybody.
The survey of 804 likely general election voters in late July shows that “if the election were today,” former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey would get 38%, environmental entrepreneur Richard Lamondin (Ulvert’s guy) would get 34% and accountant Alexander Fornino, a progressive accountant Ladra only heard of through this poll, would get a whopping 35%.
Levine Cava, meanwhile, got 44% and pushed Salazar down from 45 to 42%. The undecideds on that head-to-head were lower, also, which is natural since La Alcaldesa has more name recognition across the whole district, which includes parts of Miami, Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, North Bay Village, South Miami, West Miami and several areas in the unincorporated Miami-Dade.

Davey’s tiny lead among the other candidates is probably because he ran in the last Democratic primary, losing to former School Board Member Lucia Baez-Geller (54%-46%),who also was not in the poll. But one would think Davey would do a lot better than just a few points above Fornino and Lamondin, who are basically unknowns.
The poll seems to indicate that voters could support anybody against Salazar, who has coming under fire in recent months for taking credit for extending TPS to some immigrants, when it was a judge in California who did that, defending the conditions at Alligator Alcatraz — she sat on a bed and it was soft! — and her ill-named Dignity Act proposal, which only applies to some immigrants who want want to do the backbreaking, menial jobs nobody else wants without opening up any benefits or giving them any chance to become legal residents or citizens. It’s
Salazar beat Baez-Geller last November by more than 20 points, riding on Trump’s coattails. Since then, two special elections in Florida April 1 show that those coattails are shorter. Republicans still won in districts 1 and 6, but their margins were smaller than Trump’s. Former state CFO Jimmy Patronis beat Democrat Gay Valimont to replace the embarassment that is Matt Gaetz, and gambling executive and former State Sen. Randy Fine beat Democrat Josh Weil for the seat vacated by Mike Waltz when he became Trump’s national security advisor.
Both Valimont and Weil outspent their GOP opponents, but neither have the same name recognition as Levine Cava, who is so well known she is contemplating a statewide race.
A week after the special elections, the DCCC put CD 27 into their “districts in play” list, which maps 35 competitive Republican-held seats they think could be flipped next year.
“This result suggests a potential battleground district heading into 2026,” Kaplan Strategies principal Doug Kaplan wrote in his poll message, according to Florida Politics, which broke the story about the survey Monday.
It’s not entirely unexpected. Levine Cava’s Tallahassee dreams may have been dashed by David Jolly, the former GOP Congressman who turned blue and is tearing across the state to run for governor next year. On Tuesday, Jolly’s campaign announced the endorsements from 60 current and former Democrat electeds, including a ton of La Alcaldesa’s friends: State Rep. Kevin Chamblis, former Senator Dave Aronberg, who ran for state attorney in Palm Bach, and former state reps Steve Geller, who also served as a senator and Broward County mayor, Dan Gelber, who was also Miami Beach mayor, Annie Betancourt, Elaine Bloom, Joe Geller, a former North Bay Village mayor now on the Miami-Dade School Board, Cindy Lerner, who was mayor of Pinecrest, and Juan-Carlos “JC” Planas, who ran for Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections last year but lost.
Aronberg, Gelber, Lerner and Planas all have worked with Ulvert. It might be awkward at the Christmas party if La Alcaldesa jumped in the governor’s race now, after her pals have committed to Jolly.
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