If you were still pretending this Miami mayoral runoff was about potholes, policing, or parks, bless your heart. Porque no, mi amor.
The race between Emilio González and Eileen Higgins has officially ripped off the mask, and what’s underneath is the same old Miami power struggle with a twist. Usually, the developers and the Republican machine are on the same side. Not this time. Not the way these two campaign pushes have landed this week.
It continues to be a partisan fight, with Congresswoman Frederica Wilson throwing her hat — which one, is anyone’s guess — in Higgins’ corner and Gonzalez wrapping himself in the GOP flag like it’s a weighted blanket. His campaign proudly blasted out a press release announcing Congressman Byron Donalds’ endorsement — completing the “GOP Governor Hopeful Pokémon Collection.” Donalds’ support adds to endorsements from Gov. Ron DeSantis, House Speaker Paul Renner, Lt. Gov. Jay Collins. and makes sense after the two were seen chumming it up at the Republican Party of Florida’s Lincoln Dinner last week.
Then President Donald Trump endorsed Gonzalez on Truth Social on Sunday. Of course, he spelled his name wrong.
“It is my Great Honor to endorse Emilio T. Gonzales to be the next mayor of the Beautiful City of Miami,” Trump posted. “As the former Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and a brave U.S. Army Veteran, Emilio strongly supports our incredible Law Enforcement, Military, and Veterans, and knows the Wisdom and Courage it takes to ensure LAW AND ORDER.”
Also, he wants that library in downtown Miami.
Ladra gets the feeling that if another Republican sneezes near the Miami River, Emilio’s camp will probably send a press release calling it an endorsement.
Donalds, who also has Trump’s endorsement for Florida guv in 2026, declared on X: “Emilio, you are the candidate to lead Miami into the future.” This from a guy whose district is two counties away and whose Miami knowledge comes from one or two fundraisers on Brickell.
Team Gonzalez pitched this as “rare and important alignment.” Ladra agrees it’s rare — because it’s not normal to turn a nonpartisan city election into the GOP state convention. But Team Gonzalez is betting that Miami voters want a Fox News mayor.Or at least that enough Republican abuelos will turn out in a low-turnout runoff to make it work.
Read related: Eileen Higgins heads into partisan Miami mayoral runoff with momentum
And while the colonel climbs the GOP tree, Higgins is hosting a bonfire for developers, who are hoisting her on their shoulders like she was the Queen of Density.
A fundraising invitation for her mayoral campaign went out this week and, even in a town where developers are always lurking, this one raised eyebrows. And hackles. And blood pressure.
The invitation to Monday’s mega contributor even features Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin Tapanes, Adler Properties, Sara Adler, Jose González (no relation to Emilio), Jonathan Riaffe, Integra Investments and Nelson Stabile. Basically everyone who shows up anytime a zoning map is being set on fire.

Many of the fundraiser hosts for Monday’s lunchtime powwow at the Brightline station — so on brand, right? — are tied to two of the districts most criticized groups, the Miami Downtown Development Authority, where Higgins had served as Vice Chair, and the Morningside Civic Association, which has been on board with Damian Pardo‘s sidewalk project, which an attorney for other residents say has sidestepped the proper process.
Developers love the DDA. Land use lobbyist Melissa Tapanes is on the board. Critics, led by Downtown Neighbors Association President James Torres, say it has been a double-tax on residents and ignored sanitation and security issues while handing out subsidies to multimillion multinationals like Halloween candy.
Read related: Eileen Higgins: An engineer who wants to run Miami like a well-oiled machine
And the MCA, which is ruled by a bunch of Morningside residents with developer ties, has been pushing for a sidewalk project that may apparently be moving forward against the wishes of many residents who say the proper process has been ignored. Members of that board are on the host committee.
That’s right. The same group of insider board members who work in large development firms, including Integra and Adler, and who have been aggressively promoting a controversial right-of-way construction plan that affects residents’ properties, trees, drainage and environmental protections are hosting a major fundraiser for a mayoral candidate.
“When you connect those dots, the pattern becomes clear: the political machine pushing disruptive construction onto residents is the same machine lining up behind the candidate developers want in the mayor’s office,” resident Brian Hollenbeck told the Floridian Press. “For many of us, that overlap is not a coincidence; it is the whole story.”
The RSVPs are made to Greg Goddard, former finance chief for both Charlie Crist for Governor and Hillary Clinton’s Florida effort. He could use a win, huh? And one must “select a contribution option” — either a $1,000 check paid to her campaign or “unlimited funds” to her political action committee, Ethical Leadership for Miami.
There’s something about the word “unlimited funds” and “ethical leadership” that just sounds like they don’t belong in the same sentence.
So what do we really have in this election?
On one side, we have Gonzalez, wrapped in endorsements from MAGA celebrities, conservative power players, and Republican kingmakers. On the other, Higgins is being anointed by the development elite, backed by Republican insiders who only cross party lines when zoning variances are at stake.
Read related: Emilio Gonzalez will ‘clean up’ Miami — but he was there when it got dirty
It’s not left vs. right. It’s power vs. power.
And Miami voters are stuck in the middle like a speed bump on a developer’s renderings.
When Ladra looks at this race, she doesn’t see candidates. She sees interests, yelling over each other, waving checks, tugging on campaign collars like toddlers fighting over a toy.
Gonzalez, who was the one who sued to make sure this election happened — after the current mayor and commissioners tried to push it off for a year — wants voters to believe he’s the savior of “common-sense conservatism.” Higgins wants voters to forget she’s the developers’ favorite rubber stamp.
But one thing is clear: Both campaigns are answering to someone. Only one of them will eventually have to answer to voters.
 And we’ll find out on Dec. 9 whether Miami picks the GOP’s chosen one or the developers’ chosen one.

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

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Because Miami Mayor Francis Suarez apparently cannot leave office without one more extravagant flourish, Alcalde Lame Duck is asking taxpayers for a tiny little parting gift: $7.5 million in “city services” to support FIFA-sanctioned events next year.
Yes, fútbol fans, that’s on top of the $5 million cash payout the city already agreed to hand over, according to a July budget memo. Because what’s $12.5 million among friends? Especially when those friends are FIFA, billionaires, and the tight little circle of people who have been bankrolling and enabling Suarez’s presidential cosplay for years.
The ask is wrapped in a pretty bow, of course. Suarez calls the World Cup a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” even though he won’t be mayor anymore when the party starts. But don’t worry, he still wants to make sure the tab is left with Miami residents.
And those World Cup games? They’re not even in Miami. They’re in Miami Gardens.
Read related: Buyer’s remorse: Kionne McGhee wants refund on $46M to FIFA World Cup
Miami-Dade has already provided $21 million in in-kind police and fire services (solid waste, too?). Then they kicked in $25 million to support the events (read: VIP parties). But Suarez says the city will need to provide millions in police, fire, sanitation, traffic control and “logistical support” anyway — mostly for the massive FIFA Fan Festival he wants to host in Bayfront Park, which he claims will draw “over 1 million attendees.” No word on how the number was calculated, but why start being specific now?
And when asked how the city arrived at that magical $7.5 million figure? The mayor shrugged and basically said: Trust me, bro.
No backup documentation. No breakdown with projected cost estimates by department. No explanation of how the city priced out services that haven’t been scheduled, sized, or even described.
Just vibes. FIFA vibes.
Read related: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez gave Trump a key to city; gave us the finger
So, let’s not pretend this is about soccer, okay? This is about the host committee — an “independent” nonprofit helmed by the usual Miami power players who always seem to benefit when public dollars flow.
Chair Rodney Barreto (aka Miami’s most durable political rainmaker) has been leading the charge to squeeze government contributions. The Herald reported this months ago. Barreto’s not talking now — neither is host committee CEO Alina Hudak, another veteran of Miami’s insider ecosystem as former Miami Beach city manager and a county deputy mayor under Carlos Gimenez.
Also on the board? Jorge Mas, co-owner of Inter Miami and architect of Suarez’s treasured Miami Freedom Park deal, and billionaire Ken Griffin, Suarez buddy — he gave Baby X $1 million for his fat chance five-minute presidential dream — and one of the stars of the mayor’s recent ballyhooed America Business Forum conference.
At that shindig, Griffin even said: “If he asks me to jump, the only answer is how high.” He didn’t say anything about how high Suarez would jump for him. But that seems pretty obvious.
Hey, maybe Griffin should pay for the World Cup services. That $7.5 million to him must be a tenth of his vacation budget. Or maybe what he spends on his holiday decorations every year.
By the way, Gianni Infantino, the FIFA patrón himself, also made an appearance at the business conference, where Suarez gave President Donald Trump the key to the city. Ladra wonders if Infantino’s attendance was to sweeten the deal.
Read related: Miami-Dade could cut back services, give millions to FIFA for World Cup
Meanwhile, back in reality, taxpayers are already roiling about the county’s $46 million in subsidies, police overtime, and assorted expenses for World Cup-related events. Now, Suarez wants the City of Miami to pile on another $7.5 million in “donated services,” which is a cute euphemism for “you’re paying for it whether you asked for it or not.”
All of this comes weeks before Suarez leaves office, with no accountability for what happens afterward and no guarantee the economic impact will ever match the hype.
The City Commission will vote on the proposal Thursday. Prepare for fireworks — or for rubber stamps. In Miami, you never know.
But Ladra knows this: If Francis Suarez wants to keep courting billionaires, FIFA executives and global power players, he should do it on his own dime after January.
Because the taxpayers he’s leaving behind have paid enough.

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

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Commissioner Damian Pardo visits residents at home
On a Sunday evening in Morningside —a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood of old Miami where decades-old live oaks and gumbo-limbo trees cast dappled shade and the hum of Biscayne Bay lingers on the breeze — a flyer showed up in mailboxes and on front doors, featuring what one letter from residents’ counsel describes as a “sigil” that “bears a striking resemblance to the City of Miami’s official seal and conveys a sense of finality and executive authority under District 2.”
That flyer was handed out by City Commissioner Damian Pardo, himself, who, according to a formal letter from an attorney representing a group of homeowners, went door-to-door on the evening of Nov. 9 distributing materials to his own neighbors that “promote the sidewalk construction as a fait accompli.”
In other words: the decision has already been made.
“We wanted you to have an official thing about the sidewalk project that’s coming through in January, probably,” Pardo tells one of the homeowners, as seen on one of those front door cameras. “We wanted to meet with the director of public works and the people running the project so that you can give your concerns.”
First, “an official thing,” is what exactly? A flyer with the name of district liaison Bradley Mills and an office number that nobody ever answers. Secondly, notice that he says the project is coming through. That’s it. It’s done.
Political Cortadito tried to reach Mills, Pardo and the commissioner’s chief of staff, Anthony Balzebre, several times. Ladra left voice mail message and sent text messages over the course of several days last week. Nobody returned a call. A call to Public Works Director Juvenal Santana was returned by a staffer to make an appointment for next week. Ladra will follow up then.
According to the letter addressed to City Attorney George Wysong by counsel for affected residents, the door-to-door flyer campaign “occurred outside of business hours and without any city staff present.” It was described as “wholly improper, unauthorized, and legally meaningless as a form of public notice,” wrote attorney Mark Leśniak.
“Any suggestion that Sunday-night door-knocking by an elected official constitutes ‘notice’ under City law is factually inaccurate, procedurally defective, and constitutionally suspect,” Leśniak said.
That’s a mouthful. But the essence: the neighborhood is saying there was no real public process. The commissioner has tried to pretend that he got neighborhood approval through the Morningside Civic Association, a voluntary club with no legal authority that has acted less like a neighborhood association and more like an unofficial annex of Pardo’s office. Its board — dominated by people with real-estate, development, and City Hall–adjacent interests (more on that later) — spent the last year cheerleading the sidewalk plan, downplaying flooding and tree removal, and giving City Hall the false appearance of “community backing” that never actually existed. While residents were kept in the dark, MCA leadership helped sell a project the city never properly noticed, turning a neighborhood group into a political prop.
Read related: Damian Pardo’s Morningside sidewalks in Miami — a $93 million mistake?
Instead of real process, there was a flyer and an evening knock-knock by the commissioner and his aide. “Several residents have reported feeling coerced and intimidated by this late-night contact,” the lawsuit states. It kinda reminded Ladra of the 1997 late-night knock on the door that former Miami Mayor Xavier Suarez made to a constituent who wrote a letter of complaint to him.
But it’s not just creepy. It’s also downright wrong. A sidestep of the process, the attorney said.
The legal letter breaks it down: under City Code § 54-27(a)–(b), capital improvement and right-of-way projects must be noticed and administered by the City’s Dept. of Public Works (or equivalent) — not by a single elected official on his own. The letter argues that because the flyer doesn’t bear a city seal, project number, City Clerk reference or Public Works link, but instead uses the Commissioner’s personal insignia and a QR code linking to a political communication page, it “blurs political advocacy and official business… and undermines the due-process rights of affected property owners.”
For residents whose hedges, trees and lawns line the proposed sidewalk route, this is not a technicality — it’s life, yard and value.
But it doesn’t stop at process. It takes aim at substance. It says that the same residents already endure flooding issues tied to prior shoreline and seawall work in Morningside Park, and that the sidewalk project threatens to compound those harms. Among the claims:

Mature canopy trees and hedges will be removed or altered without appropriate mitigation.
On-site parking or driveway functions may be impaired.
Flooding patterns may worsen due to added impervious surface and altered drainage.
Independent appraisals show a 10 %-15 % diminution in market value for the homes directly affected (40–50 homes), and another 3 %-7 % for 100–150 homes in the broader impact area — aggregate loss estimated at $17 million to $43 million.

“The City’s assertion that ‘anything in the right-of-way may be removed without permit’ misreads the Code and ignores decades of municipal acquiescence,” the letter states. “What the City characterizes as ‘infrastructure improvement’ has, in practice, functioned as a transfer of risk and cost from government to homeowners.”
Toward the end of the Leśniak’s letter comes the flourish: the reference to the “sigil” — the city seal-like image on the flyers distributed. As the letter puts it: “The flyer distributed by Commissioner Pardo also bears an unauthorized derivative of the City of Miami seal. … By distributing materials bearing such imagery and implying official notice of a capital project, the Commissioner has misused the indicia of municipal authority…”
In the mind of the residents, the sigil represents something deeper than branding: it symbolizes the commissioner stepping into an administrative role. The letter frames it as a separation-of-powers concern. The commissioner is a legislator; the city manager and Public Works Department are the administrative and executive arms.
“A legislative office cannot cloak an administrative act in political discretion and expect immunity from review,” the letter states. “When process is replaced by proclamation, the courts become the only remaining check.”
Read related: Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo loses support, inspires recall threats
That Sunday flyer drop is emblematic of what many in Morningside see as the bigger issue: the project was marketed, not debated; delivered, not deliberated. While Pardo has said he has been working on since December of last year, many residents did not find out about it until some trees came down to make way for the sidewalks this summer. “It seems sneaky to me,” one resident told WSVN7’s Patrick Frasier.
In other words, when the neighborhood is being asked to accept sidewalks that may uproot trees, ditch lawns, narrow swales and alter drainage, leaving them with less shade, less privacy and possibly more flooding — they expect a full process. They did not expect a flyer, a QR code and a Sunday-evening paint-by-number boardwalk announcement.
What they expect now is:

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Well, it looks like it’s happening. The Miami Seaquarium — once the depressing, algae-stained home of Lolita the orca and a bunch of overworked dolphins — is being reborn as… wait for it… a giant waterfront dining-and-marina playground.
Because nothing says “environmental redemption” like swapping captive sea mammals for $60 ceviches and a fleet of yachts.
Developer David Martin from Coconut Grove’s Terra released the first glossy renderings of his $100 million vision, and let Ladra tell you, they look like someone fed Bayside Marketplace and a Sandals resort to Midjourney and said, “Make it fancy.”
Marine mammals? Gone.
Fine dining under a mega-canopy overlooking the harbor? Very much in.
County revenue? Projected to double.
Public skepticism? Already simmering.
The images shown at the Miami-Dade appropriations committee Thursday have outdoor restaurant tables circling the existing harbor in a “Fisherman’s Village” setting — which is funny because fishermen will probably not afford to eat there. There are also small sailboats pulled onto shore, just in case anybody wants to cosplay as a person who sails for fun.
All the old Seaquarium relics — the tanks, the pens, the sad performance pits — have magically vanished from the renderings. Not even a ghost of those “animal encounter” upcharges remains.
That wasn’t an accident.
As part of his $23 million deal to take over the county lease from the bankruptcy-ridden Dolphin Company (good riddance), Martin promised that every last dolphin, sea lion, and critter be relocated by the time he takes the keys. Good. Let’s hope they end up in sanctuary, not on a different stage.
But wait — he says we still get an aquarium. County requirements still mandate an aquarium on site, so Martin’s giving us one — just without the mammals. Fish only. And the renderings show visitors walking through a massive, two-story tropical aquarium with glass walls and an open-air breezeway that looks like a cross between a zoo exhibit and a Bal Harbour boutique.
Also getting a makeover: the Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome. Once a sea lion theater, it will now become an “event space. Translation: weddings. Lots and lots of weddings.
Imagine saying “I do” at the same place where they once made dolphins dance for anchovies. Miami really is a full-circle town.
In a poll earlier this year, more than half — 54% of the respondents — say the Miami Seaquarium, the management of which has been under fire for years, should remain a tourist attraction. Only 36% said it’s time to repurpose the property.
Read related: Poll says Miami-Dade voters divided on most issues — and thinking of leaving
Aerial renderings also show six brand-new docks popping out into Biscayne Bay like county-approved tentacles. There’s even a yacht tied up at the end of one — just in case the donors needed a visual aid.
And of course, there’s a dry-dock facility. Nothing says “public park vibe” quite like forklifting boats over your head.
Martin also promises a full baywalk wrapping the property, with free kayak launching. That’s called a “public benefit.”
Martin’s outfit is predicting $50 million a year in revenue. That’s double what the Seaquarium used to claim. And because the county’s lease cut is between 3% and 5%, Miami-Dade expects nearly $3 million in year one — a bump from the measly $1.4 million the place used to bring in.
That right there is why the appropriations committee moved this along with zero discussion Thursday. This thing went through faster than a lobbyist through metal detectors.
The full board votes next month. Martin is going to push the project as a public value.
“The Seaquarium sits on land owned by Miami-Dade County, making it a public asset meant to serve our community,” Martin said in a statement.
And that’s a beautiful sentiment. Really.
But Ladra has three questions:

Who is the “public” we’re serving — the waterfront brunch crowd, or the families who used to come here for $39.99 dolphin shows because they couldn’t afford Disney?
And how much “community” remains when the yachts show up?
Is this it? Or is this part of a larger redevelopment of the Rickenbacker Causeway

A marina, dry-dock storage, restaurants, shops, a “Fisherman’s Village,” a bigger, fancier aquarium and event space under that golden gumdrop dome — all that sound familiar? It should. It’s starting to smell like part of a bigger, long-game redevelopment plan for the entire Rickenbacker Causeway.
Remember Plan Z? The controversial, privately driven scheme to overhaul the causeway and Virginia Key, dressed up as a bike-and-pedestrian safety project but really about opening the door to more commercial development?
Well, guess what? With Martin’s takeover of the Seaquarium site, it feels like we’re already on Plan Z+. Ladra can’t help but wonder when the other shoe will drop.
Read related: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez pushes for renewal of ‘Plan Z’ on Rickenbacker
Still, no matter how you feel about the transformation, one thing is clear: The Seaquarium era is over. The Seaquarium a la carte era is here.
And if you want to stroll the new baywalk by 2030, start saving now — you’ll need parking money, and maybe a reservation.
This is Miami, after all. We can’t really redevelop a site without giving it bottle service.

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Well, it looks like Eileen Higgins just added a very shiny feather to her hat — and you know Congresswoman Frederica Wilson has plenty to choose from.
The beloved bedazzled-hat-wearing congresswoman, who represents much of the city in Washington, officially endorsed Higgins for Miami mayor Monday, calling her “a proven leader who delivers real results.”
In campaign-speak, that means: Frederica thinks the Miami-Dade commissioner can actually win the Dec. 9 runoff against former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez.
Read related:Eileen and Emilio headed to Miami mayoral runoff as voters end the circus
And, sure, this endorsement may seem pretty predictable in a full-blown partisan race, but it is also the kind of nod that matters. Not just because Frederica Wilson is a respected voice with deep roots in Liberty City and across Miami’s Black community — and Higgins won 48% of the black vote compared to Gonzalez’ 3% in the first round Nov. 4 — but also because it signals that the Democratic establishment all the way to Capitol Hill is circling the wagons around La Gringa.
“Miami’s future depends on leaders who not only care about our neighborhoods, but who can deliver real results,” Wilson said in her statement, praising Higgins for building affordable housing, investing in small businesses, and making communities safer for kids. “I have full confidence she’ll bring that same passion and proven leadership to City Hall.
Read related: Eileen Higgins heads into partisan Miami mayoral runoff with momentum
Higgins, of course, returned the love with all the right words about shared values and admiration for Wilson’s long fight for families and children. “Her endorsement means so much because our shared mission is clear — to create a city that’s safe, affordable, and full of opportunity,” Higgins said.
The list of heavy hitters behind Higgins is getting longer than a Miami traffic light: Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Commissioners Oliver Gilbert and Danielle Cohen Higgins, Sen. Jones, Rep. Ashley Gantt, EMILY’s List, Ruth’s List, Equality Florida, both major SEIU locals, UNITE HERE, LiUNA, and even the Miami Herald and Miami Times editorial boards.
That’s not a coalition — that’s a small army.
Meanwhile, González — the former director of Miami International Airport and onetime director of U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service — has also been collecting endorsements of his own, including from Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Rick Scott, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (weird, right?), and, the latest, former Mayor Xavier Suarez, who was the mayor once and is the father of the current mayor. But let’s be honest, they don’t have the same sparkle as a Frederica Wilson endorsement.
Well, maybe Ted Cruz does.
Read related: After coming in 6th, Papi Suarez backs Emilio Gonzalez for Miami mayor
Higgins’ camp says the congresswoman’s nod reflects “ethical leadership” and a “focus on families.” Ladra would add: it also reflects momentum.
With just over a month to go before the Dec. 9 runoff, both candidates are hustling for every precinct, every headline and every endorsement. Higgins wants to turn her first-place finish into a coronation. Gonzalez wants an upset.
And somewhere in the middle, voters are wondering if either one can clean up the circus at City Hall without joining the act.

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

The post Eileen Higgins nabs expected Frederica Wilson endorsement for Miami mayor appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Ladra predicts State Rep. Vicky Lopez gets appointed
Ah, Miami-Dade County… where the candidates start lining up before the seat is even officially vacant.
With Commissioner Eileen Higgins heading into the mayoral runoff and leaving her District 5 seat, the race to see who replaces her has gone from sideline chatter to full-blown arena. And we have our players.
The deadline to apply, for those who want to be appointed, came and went Wednesday and there were five wannabes for D5. Fitting. And they are exactly who we thought they would be. Commission Auditor Adeyinka Majekodunmi told Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez in a memo Wednesday that there would be “background research and residency verification” of the candidates and that the commissioners would get a report by Monday, Nov. 17.
Read related: Let the jockeying begin to fill Eileen Higgins’ Miami-Dade commission seat
Commissioners are expected to make a decision the very next day. So, let’s give them some cliff notes they can get without the fancy audit, right? Here is some tiny basic background research on the five applicants for the District 5 commission seat:

Former Commissioner Joe Sanchez, the “veteran” law enforcement figure who lost the Republican primary for the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s office last year, has been lobbying commissioners hard even before he filed to run for the seat the day after Higgins won the first round with 36% Nov. 4. He keeps publicly saying there should be an election, but that’s only because he knows someone else has the inside track.
State Rep. Vicky Lopez, the one with the inside track, who is being pushed out by Tallahassee and seems to have most of the commissioners on board — Republicans as a favor to House Speaker Danny Perez, and Democrats because they think they can win the seat in a special election, which is not entirely impossible given the current climate (more on that later). But Lopez has excess baggage. It includes an indictment on 10 counts, including bribery and “honest services fraud,” when she was a Lee County commissioner in 1995 and served 15 months in federal prison until President Bill Clinton commuted her sentence. Later, a court vacated her conviction. More recently, she’s been accused of benefiting from the school bus camera legislation she championed last year after family members got lucrative jobs in the industry. But in Miami politics, that kind of baggage often just means “experienced.”
Former Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, who had the seat before Higgins and resigned to run for Congress. He lost. He told Ladra earlier this month that he has the time now that he’s an empty-nester and he wants to bring stability to the commission. You know, the kind of stability that comes with 20 years on the board.
Former Miami Beach Commissioner and State Rep. David Richardson, who lost the Miami-Dade Tax Collector race last year and  filed to run for the seat has said he has already represented the same group of people in both the city of Miami Beach and the Florida House. His supporters make the case that, as the only Democrat in the running, he should replace Higgins because she, too, is a Democrat.
Anthony Javier Diaz, the only non retread, who likes to be called Tony Diaz because that’s how everybody knows him, he says. He was going to run for Miami Commission in the District 4 special election but withdrew (read: chickened out) before it started. Ladra will bet that he won’t run if he’s not appointed.

Nobody should be appointed. By county rules, the Commission has 30 days to either appoint someone or call a special election to fill the vacancy. They have appointed commissioners in the past — Natalie Milian Orbis and Danielle Cohen Higgins some to mind — and proponents will say that an appointment saves more than $1 million taxpayer dollars.
But it’s going to be hard to keep a straight face when they gave FIFA $46 million for, basically, World Cup parties and can always find funding for the pet projects their contributor contractors can build.
Read related: Lobbying starts to fill Eileen Higgins’ D5 Miami-Dade commission seat
Ladra was under the impression that there would be an election for the seat in August anyway, which could make spending $1.2 to $1.5 million on an election in a tight budget year hard to swallow But that’s not true. That’s only if the person is appointed. That’s what triggers the special election with the other county seats in August. This term has almost three years left on it. If someone is elected in a special election in, say, February, they would serve those three years.
There’s nothing else to consider. A special election is the only choice commissioners can make next week if they want the public to have any trust in them whatsoever.
Only five people applied for a seat in a district that covers such hot spots as Downtown Miami, Little Havana, Brickell and parts of Miami Beach because everyone knows the fix is in. (Remember, Ladra was the first to say Orbis would be appointed). The commissioners are leaning toward appointment, because it gives them more control. They already set up an online portal, asked for résumés, and had the auditor’s office prep for the process. In other words:
The setup is ready for the “we pick someone” scenario. And Ladra’s money is on Lopez.
District 5 is now a political chessboard. The players: institutional favorite Lopez, beggar Sánchez, and the whole commission watching who blinks first. Whether the process will be democratic (a special election) or managed (an appointment) is the question — and the answer could tell us a lot about how Miami-Dade really “does” democracy.
Ladra’s prediction: The appointment route wins out, the inside candidate takes the seat, and citizens roll their eyes. Unless the chambers are packed on Nov. 18 and the outrage meter gets high enough to force a special election.

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