There are still a couple of months to qualify, but so far there are no challengers to Coral Gables Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli and Commissioner Mike Mena in the April election.
That’s too bad, because neither of them deserve an easy slide without a challenge.
There are three candidates — including former Commissioner Ralph Cabrera and one-time crazy ass city manager-for-five-disastrous-minutes Carmen Olazabal — running for the open seat left by Commissioner Frank Quesada, who apparently is not running for re-election. Instead, Quesada is backing the third candidate, Jorge L. Fors, who looks like a bigger Mike Mena and raised incumbent money in his first two months. (But more on that later.)
Read related: Interim Coral Gables manager got a 20% raise — but ‘for now’
The mayor and Mena are vulnerable, and Ladra hopes anyone waiting in the wings won’t wait much longer to come out and stop the flood of money going to them — $47,200 for Valdes-Fauli and $70K for Mena, according to their last campaign finance reports (found on the city’s website) through November — simply because there is no other choice.
Heck, Mena feels so free in his seat that he didn’t raise a dime last month.
Both stood by while the police chief and his employees were dragged through the mud unnecessarily by the city manager’s office. They stood by like they currently stand by paying Frank Fernandez a six figure salary to stay at home and look for another job.
But while Mena has been pretty much in a coma and only put his big boy pants on yesterday, Valdes-Fauli has been arrogant and awful to people, even right from the dais. He also talks out of both sides of his mouth, telling people he was going to get rid of City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark — as far back as the campaign trail two years ago — and then defending her every chance he got on the dais. His story changes for the audience.
Cabrera, who lost twice against Cason, won’t try a third time. He is running for commissioner because its safer in an open seat and he can do just as much without the ribbon cutting ceremonial stuff.
Read related: Coral Gables Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark quits job in battle with chief
Former Commissioner Jeannett Slesnick is a possibility. She only lost to Valdes-Fauli by 187 votes and later learned that hundreds of her friends had not voted. If she runs again and makes sure those friends turn in their absentee ballots, she should have it in the bag.
“I think I could win. I just don’t know if I want to spend the time,” Slesnick told Ladra after the tree lighting Friday. “It took three months out of my life.”
While she prefers to spend her time these days raising funds for Democrat candidates to higher office — which she is very good at — she could very well be talked into it.
Ariel Fernandez is another good possibility. An activist turned one-time commission candidate, Ariel — who has stayed active — has the Hispanic name that would help the Hispanics who only voted for Raul out of some misguided loyalty to culture turn. After all, Valdes-Fauli traveled to Cuba under the Castro rule and defends the opening of relations with a country that still criminalizes political speech.
Like I said, he is not that hard to beat.
Fernandez said he would need to raise a lot of money to beat Valdes-Fauli but Ladra believes he can win without the big bucks by making the election a referendum on the mayor.
Who else is there? Anyone?

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After three tough and tumble years at the City Beautiful, Coral Gables Assistant City Manager Frank Fernandez is finally on his way out — four months from now.
Fernandez will keep getting his $188,000 annual salary and keep reaping his benefits through April, getting paid to basically sit at home and look for a new job. It amounts to a 20-week severance.
Just in time for the election. Ladra smells a campaign issue.
A “cooperation and transition agreement” signed Monday says he is no longer in charge of anything or anyone but must remain available by phone or email through April 19 should City Manager Peter Iglesias need him for something or other.
Read related: Frank Fernandez and Peter Iglesias stay in Coral Gables — for now
It ends sooner if Fernandez (right) finds a job before that. But c’mon, who wouldn’t make their start date April 20 under these circumstances?
Another good question: What mutual “best interest” is there on this good, green Earth for the city — and this means you, dear taxpayers — to pay Frank Fernandez six figures to stay home and look for a new job?
Iglesias would not return several calls and an email asking to explain why he would ever need Fernandez, who has been a thorn in the side of the police and fire supervisors since he was hired in June of 2015. Iglesias won’t talk to me at all unless, apparently, it is through city spokeswoman Maria Rosa Higgins Fallon.
But Ladra knows that he took police and fire away from Fernandez as soon as he was made interim manager in September. He had both the police chief and fire chief report to him since and he returned the emergency management department to the fire chief’s purview.
Former City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark — who at least had the guts to speak for herself — brought Fernandez with her from Hollywood and made him public safety director, causing an already strained relationship between herself and the police chief to become toxic and eventually force her resignation in September. Some insiders say it was the Fernandez factor and her stalwart refusal to let him go that led to Swanson-Rivenbark’s abrupt separation from the city. She took a bullet for him, in other words. Sources also say that Fernandez begged to keep his position and that this was the compromise.
Read related: Coral Gables City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark quits job in battle with chief
But if Iglesias can’t do the job without having Fernandez at home at his beck and call, then commissioners need to reconsider having him in that position permanently.
Because it does not take a talented genius to realize that it is not at all in the mutual “best interest” for Fernandez to keep accruing sick time and personal and vacation time and keep getting benefits through these next four months.
Ladra asked how the exit packages compare, and because he hasn’t worked for the city five years yet, Fernandez is not vested, Higgins Fallon said. Still, he can accrue more annual and sick leave — some top officials get up to 15 or 20 hours a month — and the city will continue to contribute to his 401K plan, according to the agreement.
Read related: Coral Gables cover up on police ‘spy’ protects managers
Ladra was not able to immediately get those exact figures to compare his payout in April to a payout this week, but there is no reason to believe it wouldn’t be significantly higher.
And still he felt the need to stiff one of his underlings with the $174 bill for the going away party he threw for himself and 14 of his closest friends at the police station Friday.
Fernandez will have to turn over his city vehicle, his city-issued weapon(s), his taser gun and any other city-owned equipment by 5 p.m. this Friday.
Except his ipad. He gets to keep the city-issued ipad and a city email through April 19.
What is it that Frank Fernandez has over the city that the city can’t seem to get over him?

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The Miami Lakes council caved Tuesday to the strong arm tactics of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and ignored the recommendation of a citizen selection committee, hiring Gimenez pal Ed Pidermann as the new town manager instead.
The committee, which met more than a dozen times over nine months to review 60 applicants, had recommended former North Miami Beach city manager Ana Garcia, principally because she has the experience they wanted and which, many believe, the charter explicitly calls for (though anyone can interpret it differently). Vice Mayor Nelson Rodriguez nominated her, but then withdrew the nomination when it became clear he didn’t have the votes — only Councilwoman Marilyn Ruano backed Garcia — and he wanted the new manager to start with unanimous support from the dais.
“I can count,” Rodriguez said. “Our manager, whoever that is, needs to have the full support of the council. and although it breaks my heart, because I know we are losing a superstar with super experience, I have no doubt that Mr. Pidermann will do a good job.”
Mayor Manny Cid said his vote was with Pidermann because the veteran firefighter is a resident of Miami Lakes and the other candidates hinted they were not eager to sell their longtime homes and move into the Northwest Dade town.
Read related: Carlos Gimenez pushes pal in Miami Lakes manager selection
But that can’t really be it, can it? Could Cid have completely alienated his citizens’ committee and shit on a painstaking transparent and public process just because of residency? “It’s a deal breaker,” he kept saying, me thinks protesting too much.
The process was intentionally and painstakingly public and transparent precisely to avoid political shenanigans or any perception thereof. To completely abandon it in light of the county mayor’s pressure seems to have also abandoned any attempt to keep the appointment politically clean.
Some observers think that maybe Cid made a deal with Gimenez and the residency issue gave him political cover. The city does need another fire truck. Is it possible that was dangled like a carrot? Or will Gimenez support Cid’s future bid for higher office? Gimenez holds the purse strings and the controls on so much of the planning around the American Dream megamall that will affect Miami Lakes residents probably more than anybody else, which could also be why it’s important to him to have someone close (read: controllable) at the top in the town.
The vote came after several firefighters — including the vice mayor’s brother — and the new Deputy Miami-Dade Mayor Maurice Kemp, another former Miami Fire Chief (photo, right), spoke on behalf of Pidermann. One firefighter suggested Nelson Rodriguez, who is a firefighter in Coral Gables, was betraying his own by backing Garcia.
Several residents spoke on behalf of preserving the process, including Maria Kramer, a longtime activist who was on the citizen review committee.
“Your fiduciary responsibility is to us, not the firefighters,” Kramer told the council. “Our number one recommendation on every vote we took was Ana Garcia (photo, right). No one had the kind of experience that she did. I remember Frank Bocanegra when we made that fatal mistake of going with the police chief because he had the knowledge. And it almost destroyed Miami Lakes.”
She is referring to the former police major turned town manager who has been accused of abusing his office in cahoots with former Mayor Michael Pizzi.
Read related: American Dream megamall developer would give us buses for our trouble
“Hiring a Miami Lakes resident has its pros and cons. You’re going to have a conflict of interest: ‘Am I going to do what’s right for my neighborhood or what’s right for everyone,’” Kramer stated.
“You have to choose who is most qualified. Mr. Pidermann is charming. he is committed to this town. But he has not even been an assistant manager. We need someone who can hit the ground running.
“Another Frank Bocanegra would be a disaster for this town.”
The surprise upset is a small political victory for new Councilman Josh Dieguez (photo, left), a Gimenez lackey who silently slid into the seat of former councilman Frank Mingo and had tried to stop the process to include more candidates (maybe Gimenez had a plan B).
“It’s about rounding out the list,” Dieguez said, because he wanted a shortlist of seven candidates, for whatever reason.
Then he started crying about some “gossip website” that called him a Gimenez minion — oh, wait, was he talking about little ol’ Ladra?
“It was just to give an option. It was not about distorting the will of the charter to even have this committee in the first place,” he said, although it is exactly what he was doing: Unhappy with the outcome of the process, he wanted to tweak it.
He eventually withdrew his motion, knowing it would have no support. But he spent several minutes showing his thin skin, talking about a public record being “leaked” — obviously he wanted to keep the Gimenez email secret — and how Ladra “attacked” him. Someone please ask the young councilman to explain how it is an attack to state the truth. And please explain that at no time did Ladra suggest that he “manipulated the mayor into writing this letter,” which is, indeed, absurd.
Dieguez is the mayor’s minion not the other way around. And that is why, after his big song and dance, Little Minion Dieguez nominated Pidermann.
Reading from an admitted script, Dieguez recalled a “stellar career in public service. Nt just that he was a firefighter. It’s that he has a service heart. He is someone who has managed a budget of over 100 million and hundreds of employees. M. pidermann was not my initial choice. additionally he comes highly recommended by members of this community.”
Dieguez said he met with Pidermann again just shortly before the council meeting Tuesday. “He assured me that he has a plan in place to ensure that the knowledge we will be losing when Mr. Ray leaves us. He ensured me he has a strong team to keep that institutional knowledge in town. That gives me great comfort.”
Well, I’m sure the members of the selection committee are comforted by that as well.
Councilman Jeffrey Rodriguez said he was “confident in his ability to work with people and I’m confident in his ability to work with this council,” especially after getting calls from residents, not the county mayor, he said.
And Councilman Carlos Alvarez first said he had a “duty to honor the time spent by the committee” and then did just the opposite by voting for Pidermann.
Mayor Manny Cid
Cid seemed somewhat ticked off that he didn’t get the same opportunity as his predecessors to name the next town manager. “That opportunity wasn’t afforded to me because of prior sins,” he said, adding that he would have suggested Tony Lopez, who never threw his hat into consideration.
“The process itself has been good. I think the committee did a great job. There are some bad parts of the process… the intrigue and discussions. I really dislike that I think it should be clear cut… but I didn’t get that opportunity.”
That’s when he said residency was a priority for him.
“We are a $40 million organization. I truly believe that the CEO of our town, whoever the next CEO of our town is,m should own stock,” Cid said. “I can envision all four of them doing the job. They all have their strengths. They all have their weaknesses. I come back to that question I asked.”
He wanted someone with “the same motivation to retire here, to raise their kids here. I really want to see that skin in the game.”
Nelson said the manager, whoever it was, could be fired within 72 hours at any time and that it was “unreasonable” to force candidates to move from longtime homes.
“But again I can count,” Rodriguez said. “The committee did their job. They recommended the number one person. I wish all these letters of recommendation would have materialized in their file in March.
Pidermann was visibly pleased. “I prayed to God and I think he produced the right result,” he said, thanking the council and offering that he was ready to start Jan. 1.
And Gimenezville seemingly expands.

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The Miami Lakes Town Council may choose its next town manager at Tuesday’s meeting. And Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez has his pick.
Gimenez sent an email to Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid and the council members urging them to support veteran firefighter Ed Pidermann, a former city of Miami Deputy Fire Chief and one-time fire union president, for the job.
Not like anyone asked him. Que pinta Gimenez metiendo la cuchara aqui? The self-appointed king is interfering in a process that has been painstakingly transparent, with a selection committee of citizens has had more than a dozen public meetings since they were formed almost nine months ago after Town Manager Alex Rey announced his retirement in 2019. They reviewed almost 60 resumes, interviewed dozens of wannabes and came up with a shortlist of five hopefuls.
There was even a “meet and greet” for those five candidates catered by Anacapri Restaurant at the community center and attended by about 100 residents who were encouraged to give feedback to the mayor and council members, who make the final decision.
Councilman Nelson Rodriguez (photo right) will move at Tuesday’s meeting (6:30 p.m. starting time) that they accept the recommendation from the citizens committee and hire former North Miami Beach city manager Ana Garcia.
“The meet and greet with residents went overwhelmingly in her favor,” Rodriguez said, adding that he has had many residents support Garcia, photographed here, while Pidermann’s support is limited to his neighbors.
“She is a real talent. She’s the most qualified,” Rodriguez said.
Garcia, who recently returned to her native Cuba as one of the passengers on the first cruise ship in 50 years, was city manager in North Miami Beach for five years. She was pressured to leave earlier this year by Commissioner Phyllis Smith, who pushed her out saying the manager wasted city funds, especially with regards to public utilities and the water plan. Others, however, say that it was because the commissioners found out about her application to Miami Lakes.
The other three candidates in the shortlist are California Manager Howard Brown, Bay Harbor Island Assistant Town Manager Juan Jimenez (who withdrew), and Miami Lakes’ Chief Financial Officer Ismael Diaz.
But Ladra has been hearing for weeks that Gimenez, through his lacky Josh Dieguez — who coasted into Frank Mingo‘s seat without anyone noticing — has been pushing for weeks to get his buddy Pidermann the position. On Monday, he sent the email.
“It has come to my attention that the question of who will be your next town manager of Miami Lakes may be debated and voted on at your meeting on Tuesday,” Gimenez wrote. “One of the finalists for this position is somebody I have known for over 30 years… and I wholeheartedly endorse him as the new manager of your great town.”
No me digas.
Read related: Carlos Gimenez has new role as rainmaker — soliciting for 10 PACs
Knowing full well that Pidermann lacks the town manager experience that the citizen committee wanted — and Ladra believes the town charter calls for — Gimenez goes on to blow up his colleague’s experience in training, handling 911 calls, as emergency management director and even serving as public information officer, managing the media.
“Mr. Pidermann has also achieved many academic successes,” Gimenez wrote, citing six, count ’em, six degrees.
“I would also like to attest to Eddy’s work ethic and integrity,” Gimenez said, not realizing that this means nada because of his own lack of the aforementioned. “He is known to be ready to respond to the need of our customers, day and night. His integrity is impeccable and without question.
“I believe Eddy will easily and successfully transfer the skill and abilities that he has developed over the past 33 years to the role of town manager of Miami Lakes,” the mayor ended.
Said Rodriguez: “I’ve known Ed Pidermann for 35 years as well. But Ed has never been a manager of a city and I’m concerned about the learning curve.”
In truth, Pidermann wouldn’t even have made it into the top five if the selection committee had averaged out the two scores, one from the paper qualifications and the second from the interview. The only reason he is on the shortlist is because he interviewed so well, but he would have been off the list if they had averaged the score from the other criteria, which he did not meet.
And that’s because Pidermann is a nice guy. Everybody loves him. He is a firefighter, after all.
But what we don’t love is the Gimenez interference and those references to “our customers” he made. One might think he means Miami Lakes residents, but he could also mean the clients of his lobbying relatives, now that it’s not just one son but a family business. Our customers?
Miami Lakes might be where they are ready to expand their influence.
Read related: Add another son to Carlos Gimenez’s lobbying clan
If this were a genuine letter of recommendation, wouldn’t it be in the package that the committee got when they first considered Pidermann rather than a last minute hail Mary political posturing by the county mayor asking for a favor of some municipal electeds who depend on the county for so much? The answer is yes. This is practically extortion.
That’s why Dieguez — good little minion that he is — has introduced a competing item for Tuesday’s meeting — to throw the whole selection committee process out and start over. He wants to ensure that if it’s not Pidermann, his boss (read: Carlos Gimenez) gets to pick someone for that juicy position.
Seems like a real political maneuver if after nine months that the committee has worked on this very openly, spending about $20,000 during the process to vet the candidates and making a choice based on criteria that they determined early on, the whole process is thrown out because Gimenez didn’t get his guy.
Ladra hears Dieguez doesn’t have the votes. And that Nelson does have the support of other council members who want to respect the hard work and independent voice of the citizen committee they appointed.
Gimenez will have to stick to Hialeah, for now.

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The legal bills are coming in from Commissioner Joe Carollo‘s ill-fated, frivolous lawsuit to try to stop the strong mayor referendum that was doomed to fail anyway.
And so far, the city is liable for almost $120,000 in legal fees.
That means you, dear taxpayer.
The biggest bill is from McDonald Hopkins, whose attorney Raquel Rodriguez charged $575 an hour to help defend the city and City Clerk Todd Hannon. That bill came in at $73,558.15, including $252 for copies, $203 for transcripts and $15 for parking.
Read related: What are Joe Carollo’s frivolous strong mayor lawsuits costing us?
Colson Eidson Hicks billed another $44,683 for the time of three attorneys — Roberto Martinez, Lazaro Fields and Francisco Maderal — who spent a combined 172 hours on the case, each at $250 an hour, helping to defend Mayor Francis Suarez.
Both of these invoices were dated Oct. 26, which could mean that there were more fees incurred afterwards. Especially since Carollo originally filed an appeal after his lawsuit was shot down.
The city also provided Ladra with a report that indicates Deputy City Attorney Christopher Green spent more than 17 hours on this nonsense, including 20 minutes, for example, reviewing emails from City Attorney Victoria Mendez and deputy city attorneys John Greco and Barnaby Min. There is also indication in Green’s report that assistant city attorneys Kerri McNulty and George Wysong worked on defending the city from Carollo’s silly attack. But Ladra did not get any report on the amount of time they spent on it.
This also doesn’t include the amount of time spent by Deputy Miami-Dade Attorney Oren Rosenthal, who represented Supervisor of Elections Christina White during the quick and ridiculous proceedings.
Read related: Judge calls Joe Carollo sore loser, rips apart strong mayor lawsuit
And we still don’t know how much Carollo’s attorney, Jesus Suarez, billed for this botched up job — or, more importantly, who paid him. Carollo has not returned mutliple calls to his cellphone and his office, as well as several texts. Mendez, the city attorney, has indicated that no payments have been made — yet. But Suarez will eventually be paid and that bill should be a public record.
The strong mayor measure failed anyway but all Crazy Joe did with his frivolous lawsuit was spend at least $120,000, probably more, of the taxpayers’ money.

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It is nothing more than political retaliation.
The Miami-Dade County Attorney’s office is trying to remove an outspoken, critical member of the Citizens Independent Transportation Trust who has been a thorn in the mayor’s side, saying that he can’t be on the oversight committee because he is involved in legal action against the county.
Attorney Paul Schwiep was advised via email — actually a copy of an email to CITT Director Javier Betancourt — that he had “relinquished” his seat on the board when he filed a legal action Oct. 26 against the county on behalf of the Friends of the Everglades, seeking to stop construction of the Kendall Parkway extension to the 836 expressway.
Oh no he didn’t, Schwiep shot back.
In a seven-page email with exhibits and legal precedent examples the attorney tells the county attorney, in no uncertain terms, that he has absolutely not relinquished nada and that he will be at the scheduled CITT meeting Thursday, as planned.
Read related: Carlos Gimenez taps commissioner to block return of half penny funds?
“The current county administration did not appoint me to the CITT and is not permitted to remove Trustees with whom they may disagree on particular issues, whether on ending unification or the extension of SR 836,” Schwiep, an appointee of Commissioner Daniela Levine Cava, writes in his response.
Schwiep has also been one of the leading voices on the call to end unification of half-penny surtax funds — which were supposed to be for the extension of metrorail — with operation and maintenance dollars. Something the current administration continues to do. Mayor Carlos Gimenez has even found a way to use the county attorney’s office to thwart a CITT directive that these funds stop being used this way.
And, to boot, Shwiep also sued MDX months ago to get documents related to the PR for the Kendall Parkway, some of which was done by the mayor’s daughter in law, a perk now that he is chairman of the board.
So, as one might imagine, Gimenez doesn’t love Schwiep.
“The mayor is not happy with me because I represent people opposed to the 836 extension and because I am on the transportation trust saying we have to end comingling,” Schwiep said. “He’s told me himself.”
Does he think Gimenez ordered Assistant County Attorney Annery Pulgar Alfonso to get Schwiep off the board? “That would be pure speculation,” he told Ladra.
But what else could it be? How likely is it that this was on Alfonso’s radar all by itself? After all, Schwiep represented another group that sued the county in 2013 — and nobody objected then.
No, more likely this is a move by Gimenez to silence a critic who is in an actual position to derail the mayor’s plans to keep using PTP funds forever to shore up his budget.
Read related: MDX spent $400K on PR, including $60K for mayor’s daughter-in-law
Not that the county has any legal standing, he said, adding that the county code section 2-11.38 cited by Alfonso to make him “relinquish” the seat does not apply. “They’re really out on a limb on this,” Schwiep said.
First off, the legal action is not a lawsuit, per se, which is what the county code speaks to. What Schwiep filed is an “administrative petition” to seek the review of an agency decision, which doesn’t go to court but rather the state’s Division of Administrative Hearings and before an administrative law judge. Sounds like a lawsuit to Ladra, but the legal nuances may have Schwiep technically in the clear.
No matter, though. Because, secondly, this particular part of the county code does not apply to the CITT, which is not a board created by the county commission but rather a trust created by voters who approved the People’s Transportation Plan in 2002. It’s an independent watchdog group separate from the government and as such is not subject to the same government rules.
Schwiep also argues that, thirdly, the county code section only applies to board members who participate as a party to a lawsuit, not who serve as counsel — like he did in 2013 for the Biscayne Bay Waterkeeper in an action against the county.
“No one at that time suggested that my service as counsel for the plaintiffs triggered section 2-11.38,” Schwiep wrote. “This demonstrates that your current opinion is no more than retribution for my work to end comingling of surtax funds and in opposition to the extension of SR 836.”
In addition, Schwiep went to the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust and got an opinion from them that he could serve as counsel on the administrative petition because the relief sought by the third parties are not associated with the CITT functions.
Schwiep ends by saying that he will be at the next CITT meeting Thursday afternoon. On the agenda are two $1.1 million contracts for environmental clean-up for the departments of transportation and public works and other departments using the half penny surtax funds.
And the county is requesting surtax funds for this, of course.

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