Nothing like a little fire under your, er, feet to get those contributions coming in, eh?
Candidates in the special election for Miami-Dade Commission District 5 have less time than probably anyone in the history of special commission races to raise funds. The election is May 22. So, basically, they’ve had little more than a month.
So far, heir apparent Zoraida Barreiro, wife of former Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, who resigned abruptly March 31, is leading the pack in contributions with $55,500, more than twice the next candidate, which is not former State Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla. No, Alex comes in third behind newby candidate, Eileen Higgins, a Democrat activist with an impressive first report of $25,080.
Yeah, okay, so she loaned herself $5,000 and another $3,000 came from relatives. The donations on her campaign finance report — all filed through April 20 — also include some notable contributions from notable Democrats like former Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner, former Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson and Robert Cava, husband of Miami-Dade Commisioner Daniella Levine Cava. Notable because each of those people could raise Eileen another $10,000 each if they wanted to and they really expect her to compete.
Read related: Special Miami-Dade commission race has us entre un rock y un hard place
Higgins also has $5,000 in six bundled contributions from companies owned by or tied to Uri Benhamron and Gary Ressler. Maybe she’s not such a newby, after all.
She has also spent $1,080 on t-shirts and buttons and $2,100 on an event for senior citizens. See? She knows what she’s doing.
Dean DLP is lagging behind with $16,500, more than half of which ($9,500) is loaned to himself. So he’s actually got just $7,000 (as of April 20) in all maximum gifts, from people who believe in him, which include a wine distributor in Broward and a software company in Chicago. He also already got a $1,000 donation from a political action committee called Floridians for Strong Leaders that Ladra couldn’t find in the state or county databases. But it leads us to the most likely scenario: Alex has a PAC already or a 501C3. He likes soft money more than hard money. And there’s money that should be there. Where is all the Disney money? Where is all the lobbyist Tallahassee money? Where is all the American Nightmare money (since his brother Miguel is the lobbyist on record for the megamall)?
But Ladra looked and couldn’t find any new PACs with his name on them filed at the county or state. The Dean has Floridians for Responsible Solutions, which did collect $20,000 in February, at a time when Alex was staying in a Tallahassee Econolodge — oh, how the mighty have fallen — so he was probably lobbying something or other. But nothing obvious for this race. Not yet, that is.
So Zoraida Barreiro may truly be leading in campaign finance pole position with her $55,500. None of that is loaned to herself so it’s all from donors. Kudos Mrs. B!
But a few chunks of it are bundled, like the $5,000 from companies owned by or tied to veteran developer Sergio Pino, $4,000 from Demetrio Perez companies, $3,000 from Beach Towing and their lobbyist and $2,000 each from developer Armando Guerra and the city of Miami firefighters union.
She also has $1,000 from Balsera Communications, which makes Ladra go hmmmmm. Because CJ Gimenez, the county mayor’s favorite son, works for Freddy Balsera, who has worked for Carlos Gimenez. Wouldn’t they naturally be supporting DLP? Or is the happy love triangle over?
Zory has also spent the most through April 20, with more than $11,000 out — including almost $7,000 for a mailer and $1,000 for a ticket to a Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber event. ADLP, meanwhile, spent $5,423.15 so far, including about $4,000 for a mailer and $850 for printing. Can’t see him going after the LGBT vote.
But with a little more than three weeks left before this bizarre election is over, one thing is certain: Mo’ money is gonna fly.
It’s flying already.

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Talk about being stuck between an evil rock and an evil hard place.
Voters in Miami-Dade commission district five have a short time to come to terms with the limited and poor choices they have to replace former Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, who abruptly resigned last month to run for Congress — with the intent to open the door wide for his wife to step into his shoes.
Barreiro didn’t have to make his resignation, required by the new amendment to Florida’s “resign to run” law, effective immediately. He could have made it so that it was effective later, like in August when there is already a primary planned, but that would have meant giving other potential candidates a fair shot. Doing it this way gives the missus, fresh off a loss in a city of Miami commission race, an advantage. Everybody knows Bruno resigned the way he did to help Zoraida Barreiro get a leg up, with an election machine already up and running from last year’s campaign. Notice, already, that she hits the ground with a bigger campaign account (more on that later).
Little did Bruno know, however, that former State Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla would be the evil dwarf wizard to ruin his plan for an easy peasy gimme seat.
And abra cadabra presto! It suddenly becomes a promisingly entertaining race between these two family dynasties, which have battled it out before, because, let’s face it, as awesome a candidate as Eileen Higgins may be — and the activist has an impressive first campaign report with $25,000 (more than ADLP) — she would need everybody and their mothers in Miami Beach, the Roads and Brickell to vote for her in order to make up for the high performance voters in Little Havana who are going to go with one of the Cuban Republicans, pero por supuesto.
Yeah, sure, okay, keep telling yourself this is a non-partisan race. It’s a non-partisan seat. This is Little Havana. Every race is partisan. You know somebody is going to get called a communist. My pesos convertibles are on la gringa Democrata.
So, yes, the two Hispanic Republicans with enviable name recognition have a huge lead against anybody else here. Unless Higgins can keep the ka-ching coming and gets big Dem machinery to reel in the aforementioned Brickell-South Beach sweep. It’s not an unreasonable request. Local Democrats, which outnumber Republicans in Miami-Dade but have lagged behind in municipal races, have made no secret about the fact that they have been recruiting for county and city seats, including the county mayoral race. Couldn’t they at least find a Hispanic Dem for this? Former Congressman Joe Garcia‘s name was floated but Ladra suspects he’s holding out for the 2020 mayoral matrix (more on that later).
Dean DLP has beaten a Barreiro before. In 2012, he won the Republican primary to go back to the Florida House against Gus Barreiro, Bruno’s estranged brother. But then he lost the general election to Jose Javier Rodriguez, who beat his bigger and better brother Miguel just last year to become a Senator. Then Alex lost a Senate primary out in Kendall against Jose Felix Diaz — 58% to 26%, beating Lorenzo Palomares by less than 10 points — who ultimately lost to Annette Taddeo in the general.
In between, he helped both brothers lose elections of their own, got on board a medical marijuana advocacy group and started to write legislation, flirted with running for Miami commission — or maybe he was just threatening us — and now he has landed in this commission race. God help us. While Ladra still thinks ADLP has a brilliant political mind, it is a brilliant and evil political mind, full of paranoid conspiracy theories and sinister plot twists. And his grudges are legendary. If he is elected, se van a pagar muchas cuentas. And the American Nightmare Mall, for which is brother is a lobbyist, will get whatever it wants.
Read related: Alex Diaz de la Portilla will tell us how we can smoke pot
But it could happen, ladies and gentlemen. This could be the comeback story of the decade. Even without the backing from the likes of Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez — ADLP is part of the mayor’s friends and extended family plan now — he was already a formidable candidate. The Dean loves to campaign and he’s good at it. Better than most people Ladra knows. Better ‘an anybody, maybe. It’s scary good. Did I mention he loves it?
God help us.
On the other hand, Zoraida Barreiro is said to be the smartest Barreiro — though that’s not saying a lot. She’s also a woman, but that can play against her in the misogynistic Cubano viejo crowd, believe it or not. The best thing she’s got going is the political machinery, still oily and warm from recent use and contacts with the bulk of Cuban American absentee voters through her home health care business. High performance Miami voters saw her at their homes just a few months ago — while ADLP was knocking on 17 doors, y cuidado con eso, in Westchester, of all places — and they’ll remember her. Him? Didn’t his brother just lose a Senate seat to some Harvard arrepentido amigo de Obama?
Zoraida has also been able to garner the most early financial support. Do donors, usually the government insiders, know something we don’t?
But, while I try not to judge a person by their spouse, she’s going to have to do more than base her campaign almost entirely on her marital status, which she did last time. That’s not healthy. And it’s for nothing, because it didn’t help her even get to second place in the District 4 city commission race, where she landed third behind someone named Alfie Leon. Exactly. Now she’s going up against a real name. And while Alex may not attack her directly — because se ve mal for a caballero, which he pretends to be, to attack a female and old Cuban voters don’t like that — you can bet he’ll beat up on Bruno. And the missus gets the muck by marriage.
The fourth candidate is a La Poderosa radio show host who hasn’t raised any money and is the third Republican behind the two big names anyway, so he’s not getting blue votes or red votes. Carlos Garin is wasting his time and getting himself a headache for no good reason. At least Higgins has a tiny sliver chance if the two families split the GOP votes and every single registered Democrat votes for her.
One can hope, can’t one? Lo ultimo que se pierde es la esperanza.

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After being a no-show at every debate and the Miami Herald editorial board screening, Andrew Vargas, the very shy Republican candidate in the special election for Florida House District 114 phoned it in on Actualidad Radio’s morning program last week, where the other two candidates had been debating (and egging him on) for almost 18 minutes.
Immediately, Vargas had excuses. Who had Actualidad actually contacted in his campaign? Why, campaign manager Alex Miranda, said Roberto Rodriguez Tejera. Well, it must have been a miscommunication because Vargas said he would have been there, even though he would rather debate in English. “We speak English,” Ricardo Brown told him.
As for the other debates, the Herald knew his positions since February, when he interviewed with them for the primary endorsement (which he didn’t get) and he had nothing new to add, Vargas said. And the other forums? Well, they were liberal traps, naturally. Not just the League of Women Voters (right), who we now know is viewed by the local GOP as a Democrat organization. But all o’ them! Every. Single. One.
“The Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce was a Democratic forum?” That question was asked with a slightly incredulous tone by Democrat candidate Javier Fernandez, who probably did not get that warm and fuzzy feeling when he actually showed up for that one.
Read related: In House 114 race, Andrew Vargas won’t speak for himself, lets PACs attack
The radio broadcast, available online here, got sorta warm and fuzzy when Vargas said he was willing to debate Fernandez and NPA candidate (read: Republican plant) Liz de las Cuevas anytime, anywhere. This is easy to claim eight days before the election ends Tuesday and after every debate has already passed. Hundreds if not thousands of absentee ballots have already been returned. Vargas knew there was no time for another debate. That’s why he’s willing to do it now. Disingenuous, to say the least. He thinks we’re stupid.
Fernandez, who has been desperate to tackle Vargas on the issues, said he’d be willing to do it the next day. Or later on Facebook.
“I have invited you several times. Whatever venue, whatever language you want,” he said. “You can choose the forum. Facebook. West Miami. A Republican club. I am not afraid of the issues. The forum can be wherever.”
“I am willing to do it any day. But let’s do it in a just way,” said Vargas, who was a no show three days later Thursday at the taping of a Univision debate that will air at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Because he can’t debate the issues. Because he’s afraid of questions about his insurance industry lawsuits and the PAC that has been attacking him and the stinky $350,000 second mortgage he got from his PAC treasurer.
Read related: Andrew Vargas’ 350K home loan looks like a 3rd party political contribution
Apparently, “a just way” means when he can call it in on the phone so he can have someone (read: law partner and puppeteer Carlos Trujillo, a state rep tapped by Donald Trump to be U.S. Ambassador to the OAS) feed him patent answers while the phone is on mute. Does he think we haven’t been teenagers  once before?
This is a serious race and, as Brown reminded the candidates, voters have been disappointed over and over again by their state reps in this district. By snubbing his nose at legitimate forums and debates, calling the credibility of some into question simply because they are not his band, and then phoning it in at the 11th hour while the answers are likely being fed to you, Vargas is doing the voters a disservice.
And one has to wonder if (read: assume that) he would be the same guy if elected May 1 — ignoring everyone but his base.

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UPDATED: Democrat Javier Fernandez is running against two Republicans in the special election for House District 114.
The official Republican is Andrew Vargas, law partner of former State Rep. and U.S. Ambassador to the OAS, Donald Trump lackey Carlos Trujillo. The unofficial Republican is the alleged “independent” candidate, Liz de las Cuevas, who entered the race as a Republican originally and was registered Republican until eight days before the qualifying deadline. No joke. Eight days before she qualified on Dec. 28, she changed her party affiliation to NPA.
But, hey, she still likes to take pictures with Gov. Rick Scott.
The candidate touted as the “true progressive” was in Hialeah on April 10 when Scott announced his run for U.S. Senate. De las Cuevas was back in the City of Retrogress six days later at the Trump “USA Open for Business” event touting his tax plan at the Bucky Dent Gymnasium. Vargas, the partner of Trump’s hand-picked OAS guy, didn’t take time off the campaign to go, but de las Cuevas did. And  Latinas for Trump co-founder Denise Galvez Turros liked her photo, left. Thumbs up!
Then de las Cuevas attended the Lincoln Day Dinner, the Miami-Dade GOP’s biggest annual fundraiser, on April 20. And in a debate on Actualidad Radio last week, she admitted that she would likely vote with the Republicans most often.
Then there’s Evelio Medina, a MAGA true believer behind the Deplorables Nation organization and events, and de las Cuevas campaign manager. Medina called Ladra Friday, coincidentally (read: not) five minutes after we called Vargas’ accountant and funky mortgage holder Richie Puerto. Ladra would love to see some law enforcement agency subpoena Medina’s phone records when they investigate that third party campaign contribution (Do you hear me, Kathy Fernandez Rundle, or do you only punish Democrats?)
Read related: Andrew Vargas’ $350K home loan looks like a 3rd party political contribution
When I mentioned that this went against his cult, Medina said he was de las Cuevas’ “cousin” and that blood was thicker than political waters. But Ladra’s not buying it.
Especially since there has been a shady political action committee working on the NPA candidate’s behalf for months, hitting Fernandez with negative mailers and touting de las Cuevas as the “true progressive.” This sketchy PAC, People for a Progressive Florida, has not reported a single contribution or expense, even though it has sent out more than a dozen mailers — and should have been investigated months ago and shut down or else why even have campaign finance laws in the first place.
People for a Progressive Florida was formed around the same time that de las Cuevas changed her party registration from Republican to NPA.
De las Cuevas has not raised much. She got donations for a total of $11,265 and loaned herself $9,000. Yet de las Cuevas has benefited from multiple mailers (like the one photographed right) — sent only to Democrat and NPA voters — urging them to reject Fernandez as a fake Democrat and vote for the real progressive in the race, de las Cuevas. So someone is investing in her. But we don’t know who because no information has been reported — which is what the Republicans would do if the money were theirs.
Read related: In 114 race, Andrew Vargas won’t speak for himself, lets PACs attack
All of this leads to only one logical conclusion: Liz de las Cuevas is a Republican plantidate, put into the race solely to siphon or peel votes from Fernandez, who can only win with large swaths of independents voting blue. Smart but sneaky strategy.
Ladra hopes that the Democrats and NPAs in District 114 are smarter.
De Las Cuevas finally called me back Saturday afternoon, a couple of hours after this was posted, to try to explain herself. She confirmed that she was originally running as a Republican but changed to NPA because she didn’t want to be a third wheel in a primary. “There were two other men running in the primary,” she says, referring to Vargas and Jose Pazos. “I didn’t want to participate in what I knew would be a negative campaign.”
Riiiiight. Because what female candidate with no name recognition wouldn’t want to catch the fallout from a negative attack race between two guys with no name recognition?
Asked if she truly considers herself a progressive, de las Cuevas answered affirmatively. “I am running a morally correct campaign, that is why I am not taking money from the parties,” she said, repeating over and over that she is an educator (which usually means she doesn’t work in the classroom).
But for someone who is allegedly so smart, she acts dumb when it comes time to put her progressive policy where her mouth is. She knows she is going to win. And, although she says she has nothing to do with the PAC that is obviously helping her — or, rather, helping Vargas, since she knows she is not going to win — she wouldn’t do what a true principled progressive would do and that is get off the ballot to give Fernandez, who would definitely advocate the progressive view in Tallahassee, a chance.
“I don’t care about that,” she answered when Ladra said that if Vargas got elected it was likely because of her. A true progressive, eh?
“I’m not stepping out of the race because I don’t feel like it,” she said, adding that she will run for office again.
Maybe next time she should be honest and run as a Republican. She can use that picture with Rick Scott in her campaign materials.
 

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A political action committee that continues to attack the Democrat candidate for Florida House District 114 may not the only sign of dark money in that special election. The Republican candidate got a second mortgage on his home last December for $350,000 from the treasurer of another political action committee working on his behalf.
The special election, which ends Tuesday, was called by Gov. Rick Scott after former State Rep. Daisy Baez resigned after she was caught lying about living in the district. Andrew Vargas lives in the district, dear voters. He may only have moved here recently, but he is so invested in his new home that he is, in fact, underwater in the South Miami house he bought with is wife in 2015.
Or is he? Could a second balloon mortgage loan he got four months ago, from the treasurer of one of his political action committees, actually be a campaign contribution? An illegal, third party campaign contribution?
Vargas, the law partner of U.S. Ambassador and former State Rep. Carlos Trujillo, got a second mortgage on his home last December for $350,000, even though he was still paying off a $468,000 first mortgage on a house that is assessed at $526,786. What bank would approve such a deal? Well, none probably. That is why he turned to his friend and firm’s accountant, Richard Puerto — who also happens to be the treasurer on his Citizens for Accountability and Transparency political action committee, which has been attacking Democrat Javier Fernandez for weeks.
Puerto made the loan Dec. 18, coincidentally (or maybe not) 10 days before the qualifying deadline for the special election. According to county clerk records, it looks like an interest-only loan — and the interest may only be $10 — payable in a year, so it has to be paid back a month after the November election.
The timing is not the only thing that is sus’. So is the source.
How does Puerto, 35, a partner in a small accounting firm who lives in a modest two-bedroom Dadeland area Kendall condo assessed at $133,165, also happen to have liquid large to loan just like that? That is the $350,000 question.
“Because I work like a dog. I have no life,” Puerto (photographed left) told Ladra Friday.
After explaining how this reeked of a third party contribution, and someone using the accountant as a conduit to hide the true source, Puerto said he understood the perception, but promised it was just him helping out a pal.
“It’s a mortgage, a normal mortgage. It has nothing to do with a donation. It only has to do with building a house,” he said.
“I’ve known Andrew for a very long time. I’m very proud of him and I hope he wins,” Puerto added. “I gave him a fair market loan. We’ve had various business transactions and his credit is an 850 with me.
“It’s a totally legit loan. It’s a line of credit, really.”
So it’s a $350,000 line of credit? Thanks for the clarification.
It’s not like Ladra is grasping at straws here. Vargas — who wouldn’t return multiple phone calls and text messages — has already shown a penchant for hiding behind secret funds. There has already been another PAC that has been attacking Fernandez since before the primary, but People for a Progressive Florida has not reported a single contribution or expense in their required campaign finance reports.
We just had to be sure. And, really, all we have now is a possible best case scenario. At worst, this is a third party contribution, impossible to track, and voters will never know who Vargas — who has been able to loan his campaign at least $60,000 — is truly going to represent in Tallahassee.
At best? He’s not terribly fiscally responsible.

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There’s not enough room in Coral Gables for both City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark and Police Chief Ed Hudak. One of them will have to go, eventually.
Residents overwhelmingly hope that it’s the manager who is given the boot.
This could happen as early as Tuesday, when the city commission discusses the latest chapter in the grudge match between the two top municipal dogs: a questionable reprimand that Swanson unleashed on Hudak even after an independent investigation found the chief did nothing wrong when he stopped by an all female officer pool party last summer to say a few words of encouragement at the party host’s request. Mayor Raul Valdes Fauli, who put the item on the agenda, may have done so simply to ask Swanson to rescind the six-page reprimand that threatens the chief with termination.
But that may not be enough anymore.
Especially since residents — and maybe a couple of electeds, too — are comparing the ridiculously unnecessary and spiteful investigation into Hudak, which cleared him of any violations and was likely started by a bogus and politically motivated anonymous complaint, to an investigation by the Inspector General of Broward into Swanson’s management of Hollywood, where she was found to have intentionally and repeatedly lied to and manipulated that city commission and to have violated several city rules.
Maybe this is why Swanson has such a hard-on for Hudak — because he is law enforcement and can see right through her. Or is it really, as some residents swear, a 15-year-old grudge from when Hudak, then in internal affairs, investigated her BFF and appointee to the planning and zoning board, Maria Menendez, when she was Maria Alberro Jimenez and an assistant city manager in the Gables.
While it is hard to believe that a professional like Cathy would let a personal thorn in her side so long ago fester like that — or, at worst, get in the way of business — there is no other plausible explanation to what is very obvious animosity and open antagonism toward the chief since Swanson-Rivenbark was hired away from Hollywood in November, 2014, to replace Pat Salerno, who resigned after he was caught lying repeatedly and intentionally to the city commission in an effort to manipulate them. It’s noticeable because while residents, business owners and most of the city employees almost worship the guy — really, it’s like boy band fandom — she seeps disdain for him out of her every pore and has been railroading him since Day 1.
First Swanson brought in Frank Fernandez, from Hollywood, as her assistant city manager and director of public safety. He is listed as the head of the police department on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement database. She then dragged her feet to change Hudak from interim or acting chief to permanent status. First she wanted to make him co-chief with another police administrator, one who was in the former chief’s faction. When the city attorney explained that she could not do that, she begrudgingly made him chief — 10 months after she was hired and basically at the gunpoint of popular opinion and the city commission. But he is irrelevant to her, as proven when his opinions were ignored during the planning of the new public safety building. Swanson even overturned Hudak’s recommendation to fire Maj. Theresa Molina after the officer was caught spying on residents and commissioners at City Hall, likely on the orders of and reporting to Fernandez or Swanson herself. How else can you explain them letting Molina keep her job, suspended with pay (to the tune of $90,000 or so) until she maxed her pension? She wasn’t taking those cellphone pictures of Maria Cruz’s text messages for herself?
Read related story: Gables coverup on police ‘spy’ protects city managers
How come there was never an independent investigation into that? Even just phone records could have proved plenty. The same reason, Ladra suspects, that the investigation into this anonymous complaint about Hudak was delayed and then put into the hands of another Fernandez crony (more on that later): Because it could very well lead back to City Hall. Otherwise, why not have an independent investigator — heck, the same investigator, who knows the back story and the people already — do this inquiry too?
Each and every time the city manager goes up against him, Hudak has had a solid tsunami of support show up at City Hall. Expect another one Tuesday. There has already been an outpouring of support for the chief online and a group of residents who started an online petition form to contact commissioners, have been emailing everyone and even plan a press conference before the city commission meeting Tuesday.
Ladra hopes they demand an outside investigation of the anonymous complaint. Because the one who made the city look bad, the person who embarrassed the female officers and continues to put the city in a bad light with this witch hunt wasn’t Hudak but the anonymous complainant that posted a photo from the pool party on Instagram last July and then posted anonymous comments on the LEAffairs online forum.
The photo was posted by user dmannow256, who only has two photos from the day and nada else on their anonymous account with a caption suggesting that there were sex toys distributed (there were not, those were water guns):
“In the same week that Coral Gables was investigating two home invasions, the Chief of Police drove 30 miles outside the City during work hours to spend some ‘quality time’ with his female subordinates at a pool party. As you can see, he is in full uniform at a female only party in which sex toys (female in front of Chief) are being handed out to party goers. As brand new female officers we had no idea he was going to show up. In videos that are to follow, you will hear the disgust and embarrassment from people at the party as we are being visually raped by our boss. At this point we are too afraid to initiate a complaint against him as he is the Chief. I would hope that a City government would not let their chief law enforcement officer victimize the employees they should be protecting. I am sure Roxy Bolton is rolling in her grave as this goes on in the City she spent her life in. #citybeautiful #honortheuniform #pervert #hideyourdaughters #whatwashethinkingwith #newpolicechief?”
Certainly the investigation was warranted. Ladra wouldn’t want a complaint like this to go unanswered. But once the investigator, former Pennsylvania State Police commander Charles Skurkis said nothing bad went down, once each and every one of the female officers says that they did not feel “visually raped” but, rather, pleased the chief had taken the time to stop by, the city manager should have switched gears to investigate the complaint. Immediately. Not four months later. Especially since most if not all of the 14 women at the party demanded an investigation into whoever used them and embarrassed them for their own political vendetta against the chief as early as last August.
But Swanson had a better idea. She decided to hone in on the few recommendations that Skurkis made about moving forward and other things not related to the original complaint to continue her war on Hudak.  “An individual while serving in the capacity of Police Chief must remain cognizant, at all times, that his or her conduct may be closely scrutinized by subordinates, the media, and the citizens they serve, regardless of acting in an official capacity or otherwise,” Skurkis wrote, not realizing that for “community policing” to work in places like Miami or Miami Beach or Coral Gables, things like photos is gonna happen. She also hits him for not reprimanding one of those female officers for taking her patrol car to the party — even though the contract allows officers to take the car from “portal to portal,” meaning that you can sleep over your girlfriend’s or your mom’s or your friend’s house with the patrol car out front, you don’t have to drop it off at home first. Enough said. We don’t need to know the officer’s personal business, even though Ladra was told that Swanson was told of the extenuating and possibly embarrassing family/home/life circumstances — and is still making a big deal of it.
Swanson didn’t bring these reasons up when we spoke Friday. She told Ladra that the reprimand was warranted because Hudak lied to her. He told her that he was there to make a “motivational speech,” and none of the female officers reported a motivational speech. Well, you know Cathy, “motivational speech” are subjective terms. What he calls a motivational speech may be what someone else calls an attaboy, or attagirl in this instance. Some women did notice that he said some words of encouragement. Others weren’t paying attention. Ladra doubts that it was a mandatory “motivational speech” at a pool party he was invited to impromptu.
“Failure to consistently practice more professional and mature judgment moving forward will result in further disciplinary action, including termination,” Swanson-Rivenbark wrote in her reprimand, issued earlier this month.
For a bad motivational speech?? Or allowing a selfie in uniform? Seriously?!?
It sounds like a set up. Ladra is not the only one who thinks so.
“Ed Hudak is clearly being railroaded,” said Raul Mas, who has written a blog and a couple of emails about it. “It is obvious to me that Ms. Swanson is being petty and vindictive and that she will stop at nothing to install her lapdog, Frank Fernandez, as the Chief of Police.”
“She never wanted to appoint him,” said Maria Cruz, the citizen who was spied on. “She was forced to. But his hands are completely tied. Any decision he has made is overturned.
“Just rescinding the letter is not going to do it,” Cruz said. “What guarantee do we have that after she rescinds that letter, she is not going to do something else?”
Freddy Balsera, a political consultant with palanca, wrote Valdes-Fauli and all the commissioners on Monday. “The reality that the public knows full well, but the Commission refuses to admit, is that the investigation into Hudak and the subsequent report was merely a Trojan Horse that the Manager is employing to ultimately remove a Chief that she does not want.
“The erosion of this relationship began the moment the Manager assumed her job and has progressively worsened in a systematic fashion ever since.  And for all of my criticisms of the City Manager there is no doubt that ultimate responsibility lies with the City Commission which has failed to exercise its authority under the City Charter and address this controversy,” he added, accusing Swanson of “fabricating accusations, generating investigations and creating a hostile work environment” and warning of a voter backlash if Hudak is forced to leave the department.
“Stand up for Chief Hudak and hold the City Manager accountable for orchestrating this Roman circus, even if that includes her removal.  Don’t reward her record of violations and mismanagement that include misleading a City Commission; these are actual facts that speak for themselves,” he ended.
In an email response supporting Balsera, forwarded over and over again so it is making the rounds, Jorge Arrizurieta questions why Swanson doesn’t just fire Hudak if she can by charter. “Why create this circus and involve the Mayor and commission with this matter when she has the power by Charter to fire him. Is it because she doesn’t have cause to fire him? Therefore it’s better to smear his name with the hopes he goes away? Or is it because she never liked the fact the commission anonymously voted to re appoint him Chief despite her best efforts following her hiring?
“The reality is her best efforts have not ceased and won’t cease. Tomorrow is a very important day for our Mayor and commission to make a decision on whether the Managers approach to management is what is best for our city.”
Like Ladra said, there ain’t enough room in Coral Gables for the both of them. And the only one pushing Hudak out is Swanson.

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