Lifetime term limits moved forward to November ballot
There will still be an election in the city of Miami this year — but it might be for a charter amendment, not for candidates.
Miami commissioners on Tuesday took the first step toward moving city elections from odd to even years, which extends everybody’s terms by 12 months, including Mayor Francis Suarez (who worked behind the scenes to make this happen) and Commissioner Joe Carollo, who were both termed out this year and has been threatening to run for mayor. Elections for mayor and two commission seats scheduled for Nov. 3 could be moved to Nov. 4, 2026, if the ordinance passes on second reading later this month.
Maybe.
Ladra expects a bunch of lawsuits. Not just from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, who said in an opinion issued last week that any such change would first need to go to a public for approval. Candidates who have already been campaigning this year — including former Commissioner Ken Russell, former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez and perennial candidate Michael Hepburn — might also take the city to court over this. Is the city disenfranchising voters?
Carollo, who has been threatening to run for mayor this year, voted against it. So did Commissioner Miguel Gabela, who got into it with Carollo later in the meeting on the Bayfront Park Management Trust (more on that later).
Read related: Miami commissioners Damian Pardo and Ralph Rosado have private lunch
Commissioner Damian Pardo, who sponsored the measure (and had a very good day), Ralph Rosado, who was elected earlier this month to fill the seat vacated by the late Manolo Reyes., and Chairwoman Christine King, after she talked for several minutes against the measure, voted in favor. King said she was just moving it along to second reading. That means that people need to reach out to her before June 26 and convince her to switch her vote and remove her support for this power grab.
Rosado was the swing vote, as everyone expected. But he swung the other way, voting opposite of his benefactor, Commissioner Carollo, who ran and funded Rosado’s campaign, pouring hundreds of thousands into it from his political action committee.
So much for the Reyes legacy that Rosado promised to continue. Manolo would never have voted to give himself an extra year.
Rosado was also the swing vote on the lifetime term limits (again, against Carollo’s “no” vote) that are absolutely part of the election year change, no matter how many times Pardo denies it on the dais. He did tell Ladra earlier that one was “instructive” to the other. What does that mean? Basically, that the election year change — perhaps a positive change for increased turnout that other cities are also making — was only proposed right now to make the lifetime term limits stick. Current term limits allow term-limited electeds to run again after a break from office. If voters pass lifetime term limits in November — which would prohibit former electeds who served two terms from running for the same seat — it would make a mess if they also elected former Commissioner Frank Carollo, who has filed to run in District 3 and brother Joe to the mayor’s seat.
Read related: Miami commission to talk term limits, election date, DDA, Watson Island…
The change in election year will avoid, allegedly, any legal challenges that may come from having lifetime term limits on the same ballot as former or current electeds that would suddenly become ineligible because of that amendment. Even if the change in election year practically guarantees a legal challenge in its own right. It’s a ‘means justifies the ends’ kind of thing.
People spoke both in favor and against the change, citing “dynasty” politics that have reigned in Miami for decades.
Some speakers said that it was worth the “sacrifice” of an extra year of Joe to “get rid of him” forever. His threat to run for mayor is the fear driving most people who support the move is that Carollo would run for mayor this year and win among the current clown car of candidates. While Ladra believes that’s not as much a done deal as they think, it is not “worth the risk,” they say, of another four or eight years of Carollos — because former Commissioner Frank Carollo is running again in District 3.
Among the supporters, was journalist Michael Putney, an Aventura resident who endorsed Pardo and also posted a video for him in favor of the “common sense” change. “Eight years is enough,” he said, citing what he said was “pathetic turnout.”
Joe Carollo said it should be called the Carollo amendment because it targeted him and his brother. “You know very well that you can’t find a candidate who can beat Frank,” Carollo said. “That’s why you want to knock him out.”
Pardo, who lobbied hard for the change, invited other “advocates” to come to the meeting and has even provided them with talking points for both the election year change and the lifetime term limits. So if the public comments sound similar and rehearsed, that’s why. His political action committee paid for a poll that he says shows widespread support. But it was his own PAC doing the poll, not an independent party.
Read related: Miami lifetime term limits, election year change intertwined, like bait & switch
Pardo posted videos on social media, including a clip from a Telemundo interview with former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, basically giving both items on the agenda a thumbs up, and another video of iconic restauranteur Monty Trainer, who must be 120 years old, supporting both measures as well.
But every single comment on that Instagram post is against the change. “This is quite crazy,” says one. “This is so wrong,” says another. “Shameful. Should be sent to the voters. You keep pushing this like you are giving us a choice,” wrote Donald G.
“Moving the elections is all well and good if it’s approved by residents in a referendum. Elected officials voting to give themselves more time in office is not democracy,” said someone under the handle MannyFernandez04.
But Ladra likes Jessica Johnson‘s (at doubleagentjj) comment the best: “Damian, the pesky thing about the democratic process is: it’s tedious and due process matters above all. You seem to be falling into a power grab trap. How many authoritarian dictators said they were dictating in the name of democracy and upholding democracy? All of them.”
There were some public speakers Tuesday who said it was just not worth another year of Carollo and Suarez and that they would support the move another time, after Carollo and Suarez are already termed out. Pardo’s sponsored sister legislation to adopt lifetime term limits — which would make anyone who served two terms as mayor or two terms as commissioner ineligible for that same seat ever again — would be retroactive, which is something that was already challenged in Miami Beach and upheld by the courts. So it would still count against Carollo in the future.
Fernand Amandi, a Democrat strategist who lives in District 2 and has otherwise supported Pardo’s items, said it was “indefensible,” and that “this sacred decision” had to be made by voters.
“I find myself in the unfamiliar position today where I wholeheartedly agree with Governor DeSantis and Attorney General Uthmeier, and even Commissioner Joe Carollo,” Amandi said, and it did sound weird. Amandi said he would likely vote for Pardo again for another four years. “But not nine years.”
Carollo joked about it. “My wife’s gonna think you have a man crush on me,” he quipped.
Activist Denise Galvez Turros, a public relations specialist and former candidate who has filed to run again — in the same seat as Frank Carollo — asked the commission and Pardo to trust the voters to reject the Carollos. And if they don’t?
“So be it.”
She said that she knew, from walking her district, that people did not want to cancel the election.
“I trust the people of this city,” Galvez Turros told Ladra before the meeting. “They’re awake, immured and ready to speak through their vote this November.
“We don’t need backroom deals,” she said. “We need election. We need democracy.”
The post Miami Commissioners pass election date change — and steal an extra year appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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… Bayfront Trust, affordable housing, traffic calming
The Miami Commission agenda for Tuesday’s meeting is 123 pages long and has almost 90 items — and that’s counting the 14 consent agenda items as one. There are 17 public hearings, 25 proposed resolutions, four ordinances on first reading, three ordinances on second reading, an emergency ordinance on “aggressive panhandling,” eight discussion items, 15 planning and zoning items and 15 items under “board and committees” that are mostly appointments that never get made.
Take out the board appointments and that’s still a whopping 74 items.
Some of these are pretty important and expected to draw a large crowd of opponents, usually, or supporters, rarely, in what’s going to be a spillover turnout. Bring a folding chair. The commission is slated to vote on the proposals by Commissioner Damian Pardo to take lifetime term limits to the voters and change the election year to 2026, extending everyone’s terms by a year. Both these things are expected to have dozens of speakers and lengthy back and forth on the dais.
Commissioner Joe Carollo, who is known for drawing things out and loving the sound of his own voice, will bloviate for hours.
Read related: Miami lifetime term limits, election year change intertwined, like bait & switch
Commissioner Miguel Gabela has a number of interesting items on the agenda, like the termination of the existing agreement for the audit of the Bayfront Park Management Trust — which was chaired by Carollo, who is accused of misusing the its funds — and the authorization for the Trust to contract with its own external and independent auditor to conduct a forensic audit. And he wants his colleagues to approve the Trust’s $30 million budget.
He also wants the city manager to take “any and all steps necessary” to enter into an interlocal agreement with Miami-Dade or another local governmental entity to refer all “non-criminal complaints” regarding violations of the city code made against sitting elected officials. This is, on paper, in order to avoid any appearance of bias, impartiality, and perceived or real conflicts of interest. But it’s also probably a reaction to Carollo presenting photographs of Gabela’s home at the last commission meeting and questioning if he has violated zoning laws against the number of boats he can have tied to or number of cars he can have parked on his property.
But the best Gabela measure is a resolution to issue a subpoena to William Ortiz, Carollo’s chief of staff, to answer questions about his role in the said “investigation” of Gabela’s use of his properties. The city charter allows the commission to issue subpoenas to witnesses “for the purposes of investigating official acts and conduct of a city official.” Isn’t that what he wants the county to do?
A controversial item on a 287g agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, for city police officers to be deputized and conduct immigration enforcement, “may be deferred,” as it said on the online agenda Monday evening. It sorta has to be deferred now that they said it “may be deferred.” Which is good. Because the 80-some items that are still on the table are going to take the meeting into the wee hours of the morning.
Read related: Miami could join 250 Florida cities with 287g contract to help ICE vs immigrants
There should be a rule against this. Oh, wait. Ladra thinks there is.
According to the city’s municipal code, in Sec. 2-33, the “total number of items that may be scheduled on a regular city commission agenda shall not exceed 60 items,” and “all matters on the consent agenda shall count as one item.”
Is that why they have this meeting identified as a “special meeting?” To get out of that? There’s nothing special about it. It is the same meeting that they cancelled or rescheduled from June 12, because Commissioner Christine King‘s father died and she had to travel for the funeral. So why is it now a “special meeting”?
Ladra expects a lot to be deferred when the agenda is set, before public comments, which means that people who go to speak on a particular item may not be able to speak, and get sent home or back to work after making the time to be there. This happens way too often in the city of Miami — people have complained already at several meetings — and needs to be addressed as an issue.
But that’s probably not gonna happen Tuesday. Because there are other time-suck items that may not be deferred, which include:

A personal appearance by someone at the Miami Downtown Development Authority to “inform the commission and the public about their mission and the work they do.” So a promotional ad for the DDA at a time when some residents are calling for the end of a special tax on residents that funds it — and the budget may grow from $13 million to $21 million next year (!) — or to put it on the November ballot for the public to decide. There’s also a resolution sponsored by Pardo to accept $1.2 million from the DDA to spend on increased policing within its boundaries.
A resolution approving a proposal from Motorola Solutions, after a competitive process, to provide portable smart radios along with related “enablement” and training for $30 million over the next seven years.
A resolution, sponsored by King, authorizing the city manager to execute a no-bid contract for a 99-year lease of city property at 1199 NW 62nd Street to Yaeger Plaza Partners for the development of an affordable renting housing project. It is proposed to have 135 units — studios, one bedroom and two bedroom units — for individuals and families whose income is greater than 22% of Annual Median Income (AMI) but no greater than 80%. There would also be a ground floor of retail and a clinic to provide affordable primary health care for low and moderate income individuals. Last October, the city’s Housing and Commercial Loan Committee approved awarding $3 million in Miami Forever bond funds for the development of the project.
A resolution, sponsored by Carollo, to transfer $2.4 million of Community Development Block Grant funds earmarked for economic development in District 3 in previous years to the Department of Real Estate and Asset Management to purchase six parcels, with a combined market value of almost $8.5 million, according to the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser. Where is the city going to get the other $6 million? Oh, wait, actually it’s another $12 million because the city is proposing to pay $14.5 million in total for all the properties, at Southwest 8th Street and 9th Avenue, are owned by Auyantepuy Investments, which is represented by attorney Barry Simons and has a Doral address that is the same address, and same suite number, for Garam Global Solutions, formed May 19 by Gabriel Rodriguez and Alejandro Machado. Auyán-tepui, which is phonetically practically identical, is the most visited and one of the largest tepuis, or grouping of tabletop mountains or “mesas,” in the Guiana Highlands. In Venezuela.
The transfer, sponsored by Gabela, of $586,000 in CDBG funds allocated in 2020-2021 (why is that still around?) from the housing and community development department to parks and recreation for improvements at Charlie Delucca Park in District 1.
A resolution authorizing the city manager to negotiate the sale of 5.5 acres of city-owned land on Watson Island, next to the Jungle Island theme park, to Ecoresiliency Miami for a cumulative total of at least $135 million and the development of condos, commercial spaces and a public waterfront park. That includes $15 million to the city for affordable housing projects. For this to move forward, it will require a four/fifths vote Tuesday. The final lease agreement would have to be approved by a public referendum vote.
A resolution authorizing, by a four/fifths vote, the five year extension of a concessionaire contract with Eventstar Structures for the provision of tent structures at Miami Marine Stadium Park.
A resolution authorizing the city manager to “expeditiously request” the Miami-Dade Department of Transportation and Public Works (DTPW) consider proposed traffic flow modifications to 22 locations in the residential neighborhoods of District 1 to ease cut-through traffic and speeding during morning and afternoon rush hour — and exempt the required balloting process for property owners.
A resolution, sponsored by Carollo, authorizing the city manager to “expeditiously request” the Miami-Dade DTPW consider traffic flow modifications at 26 locations in the residential Silver Bluff neighborhood, where a bunch of illegal street closures were ordered re-opened by a judge in 2023 after Miami-Dade sued the city. Again, the move would “waive the required resident concurrence and exempt the balloting process in order to expeditiously proceed with the design and construction of traffic calming devices.”
Not to be left behind, Commissioner King has sponsored an item also authorizing the city manager to “expeditiously request” the Miami-Dade DTPW consider traffic flow modifications at 10 locations in District 5. She also wants to skip the required resident concurrence and exempt the balloting process. Why ask?

There are also some complicated planning and zoning matters having to do with changes in zoning and land use, appeals of denials and at least one amendment to the Miami 21 code having to do with attainable housing and density.
Ladra is tired just reading the agenda.
Take your vitamins. Drink cuban coffee. Bring a snack. The commission meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive. It can also be seen live on the city’s website.
The post Miami commission to talk term limits, election date, DDA, Watson Island… appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Spotted at the Pollo Tropical on 57th Avenue and Northwest 7th Street Wednesday: Miami Commissioners Damian Pardo and Ralph Rosado, who was elected earlier this month to fill the vacant seat in District 4, chatting and bonding over maduros.
Pardo said it was just a chance encounter: Both men stopped for a bite to eat — separately and individually, he said — on the way to the grand opening of the newly-renovated Manolo Reyes Park, which was West End Park before it was renamed to honor the late commissioner, who died in April.
“It was nothing planned. It was totally spontaneous,” said Pardo, who had to be prodded to remember that he even met with Rosado, even though it was four days earlier, the day after Rosado was sworn in at City Hall. “Wednesday? No.” At Pollo Tropical, Ladra asked. “Oh, yes, yes, yes,” he said. It almost seems like he almost got caught lying — same as Rosado during the campaign.
Read related: Ralph Rosado and Joe Carollo beat Jose Regalado in Miami D4 special election
Pardo told Political Cortadito that he was already at the popular fast food restaurant when Rosado walked in. And he invited the new commissioner to join him. Guess it was a bonding opportunity!

“We all just had a quick something and went to the park.”
The park ceremony was to start at 2 p.m. and the lunch was just about 1 p.m. so they talked for almost an hour.  What about? “Nothing to do with any city business, that’s for sure,” Pardo said. “We talked about the park, “it’s hot outside,” “what are you eating?”
Really? It wasn’t plainly obvious what everyone was eating?
They talked about the ceremony they were about to attend. “How long does it take to get done and when can we leave?” That kind of thing, he said.
Still, Commissioner Joe Carollo is going to be hurt when he learns that Rosado, who he helped get elected by pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars from his political action committee into the campaign, le pego los tarros. Carollo doesn’t have a heart to break, but he’s got more ego to make up for it.
And Rosado basically cheated on him with Pardo, who is one of Carollo’s enemies on the dais. Hey, at least it wasn’t Miguel Gabela. That would lead to divorce.
Read related: Miami Commission honors the late Manolo Reyes with park, honorary title
But the real issue here is what they talked about, of course. Because discussing anything on the agenda or that could be voted upon by the commission is a no-no. It’s a violation of Florida’s Government in the Sunshine laws, which provide that all electeds announce their meetings and allow the public to watch and listen if they want to. They’re not supposed to have a private lunch. It looks messy, even if it is just by chance.
For all of Pardo’s talk about small talk, there’s no way to know what they really discussed. And from the photos taken as they were leaving, it looks like it could have been business.
Pardo could have been making his case for the proposals this week to change the election date to 2026 and put lifetime term limits on the ballot. They could have been swapping votes. “You vote for my lifetime term limits and I’ll vote for the street closures in Silver Bluff.”
That’s a Carollo item but it looks like Rosado doesn’t have any items on the agenda for his first meeting and he’s generally considered a yes vote on the street closures pushed by Beba Sardiñas Mann, who was at his election watch party Tuesday.
Again, why invite another commissioner to your table? Why allow even the perception of something shady? Say hi and let him be on his way.
Perhaps they didn’t think anybody who knew them would see them at a Pollo Tropical.
Read related: Miami lifetime term limits, election year change intertwined, like bait & switch
They weren’t the only ones there. Pardo’s chief of staff Anthony Balzebre and his sergeant at arms — an armed police officer who apparently was securing the parking lot as they walked out — were also at the lunch. So, they are witnesses.
This is something that the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust can easily figure out with subpoenas to those two staffers. Ask them what was discussed. Trust, but verify.
It’s especially important because of the timing. Tuesday’s commission meeting has a lot of things on the table. Ladra can’t wait to see how Rosado votes on the lifetime term limits and the election year change and how Pardo votes on the street closures.
The post Miami commissioners Damian Pardo and Ralph Rosado have private lunch appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Miami City Commissioners could give themselves an extra year in office at their next regularly-scheduled commission meeting. Just like that. All it takes is three votes.
Maybe.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says they can’t do it without voter approval first.
“If the City of Miami is to amend its charter, either to move the date of municipal elections or to change the terms of office for elected officials, then the change may only proceed by a vote of the elector,” Uthmeier wrote in an opinion Wednesday (more on that later), which is a response to an inquiry from  the Commissioner Miguel Gabela.
But Commissioner Damian Pardo, the sponsor of the the ordinance to move the next election to November 2026, is not giving up. He is working with the city attorney to figure out some kind of go-around.
“We are in receipt of the Attorney General’s letter regarding our item on the City Commission agenda to change the dates of the City’s election from odd to even years,” Pardo said in a statement. “We have immense respect for the Office of the Attorney General; however, the stated opinion is not a mandatory precedence in the State of Florida and is regarded as persuasive.
“Fortunately, the Third District Court of Appeal, which is mandatory precedence, has issued a ruling which may fully address these issues.”
Fortunately? How invested is he in this change without taking it to voters?
Read related: Miami commissioners could extend terms, gain a year for themselves, mayor
Pardo said that several municipalities across the state have already made the change to even-year elections without going to a vote of the citizens and that the aim is to save millions of dollars over the years and quadruple participation.
“We are confident that this reform is both legal and necessary for the benefit of future generations of Miamian,” Pardo said.
This has been cast as a necessary sacrifice to not only get lifetime term limits for city electeds on the November ballot — to stop professional politicians who have already served two terms from running for that same seat again after a short break — but also to make the term limits stick if they are passed. There is some fear that if someone like, say, former Commissioner Frank Carollo or his big bro Commissioner Joe Carollo are elected this year — in District 3 and the mayor’s race, respectively — they could challenge the charter amendment because it was on the same ballot and, an argument can be made that it would disenfranchise voters to remove the newly again elected individual they put in office.
Pardo is sponsoring both measures — the lifetime term limits and the election year change — and once said they had nothing to do with each other. Now, they are on the same agenda and Pardo says that one explains the other. He says both proposals aim to strengthen voter participation, transparency, accountability and to restore public trust.
“These reforms are about creating a government that works for everyone, not just those already in power or those seeking to return to power,” Pardo said in a statement last week. “We must set clear, enforceable guardrails that invite new voices and ideas. Miami’s residents deserve leadership that reflects its dynamic neighborhoods and evolving priorities.”
Currently, the Miami mayor and commissioners are termed out after two terms, but can run again after sitting just one term. This amendment would make electeds permanently ineligible after two terms. It would apply retroactively, mirrored on term limits in the city of Miami Beach, where it was upheld by the courts when former Commissioner Michael Gongóra wanted to run again for commission in 2021. A judge didn’t allow him, citing a 2014 voter referendum that limits commissioners to two complete terms.
Pardo says that’s a strong legal precedent.
But it’s not a sure thing. Commission Chairwoman Christine King spoke against it when originally introduced in April. She said she doesn’t want to limit voters’ choices, but most observers in the know say she is protecting the future interests of Miami-Dade Commissioner Keon Hardemon, who was a Miami commissioner and could want to return when his eight years gig is up at the county. King did say she might feel differently if the ordinance expanded the limitation to sitting out two terms rather than one. Which perfectly serves Hardemon. And Frank Carollo, too.
When Pardo saw he didn’t have the voters in April, he deferred the item.
According to the notice from Pardo’s office, “The charter amendment would take effect immediately upon voter approval, applying to all candidates in the 2025 election.”
Except Pardo doesn’t want there to be a 2025 election.
The commissioner’s second proposal would move city elections from odd to even years, to coincide with the national and state and county elections. That would effectively cancel the 2025 city election and reschedule them to 2026. The stated goal, same as other municipalities that have made the change, is to save money — about $1 million in this case — and increase voter participation. Turnout at municipal elections hovers in the low double digits. The June 3 special election in District 4 barely got 11%. While elections in odd years see a 65% to 70% turnout.
But in Coral Gables, where the commission recently moved the election from April of odd years to November of even years — for the same reasons, savings and turnout — the commission voted to shorten their terms by five months. They did not extend them.
Read related: Coral Gables changes city elections to November, cuts terms by 5 months
Moving the city of Miami’s election to 2026 would “prevent legal challenges potentially arising from having a term limited candidate win a seat at the same time as the lifetime term limit ballot initiative passes,” Pardo’s press release reads.
But there is no guarantee that the lifetime term limits would pass and already Carollo and Mayor Francis Suarez have formed a political action committee to fight a yes vote.
The change in election year is something the commission can and intends to do without going to a voter referendum for the public’s approval — and would have already happened should the public reject the term limits.
Maybe these two things should be on separate ballots.
They could take it to the people. But they don’t have to. Because, deep down, they don’t care what you think.
The city of Miami commission meets at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall. The meeting can also be viewed on the city’s website. Click here for the full agenda. It’s a lot.
The post Miami lifetime term limits, election year change intertwined, like bait & switch appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Miami doesn’t have Roberto Rodriguez-Tejera anymore on weekday morning radio to let us know what’s really happening at the county, the different municipalities, the state and the country. But, hey, we have Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo every day at 10 a.m. on America Radio Miami 1260 AM to feed us lies.
As if he didn’t already drone on — on and on and on — during commission meetings.
Carollo, who is threatening to run for Miami mayor, gets an hour Monday through Friday to blast his enemies and support his friends — including recently elected Miami Commissioner Ralph “Rafael” Rosado, whose campaign Carollo coordinated — in a show he calls Miami Al Dia. The program sits in between the three-hour programs of Emmy Award winning journalists Sandra Peebles, before, and Carines Moncada, after.
They must be livid.
How is it okay for a politician to have an hourly morning radio show to use for electioneering and political retaliation? It’s basically an hour long ad and there’s no disclaimer. His communications director, Karen Caballero, who is paid $115,043 a year from city taxes, sits there in the radio studio with him, though it’s hard to figure out why, since this is not part of his city job or her city job. Caballero — the same staffer who tricked Ladra into coming to the district office to get served with a subpoena as a witness in a case brought by the mayor of a neighboring city — is the blonde on the bottom left corner in the photo below.
Neither of them responded to several calls and texts for comment.

Remember, this is the same guy who was found by a jury to have violated the First Amendment rights of two Little Havana businessmen by weaponizing the city’s code enforcement against them. He lost and was ordered to pay a $63.5 million. One could say he is now weaponizing the airwaves.
Carollo used the space and time to attack Jose Regalado — who ran against his puppet candidate, Rosado — and the whole Regalado family (including the candidate’s sister, Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, and their father, former Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado, now the county property appraiser). He made scurrilous and baseless allegations about every single one of them, calling them communists and associates of drug traffickers.
The commissioner has also used the airtime to blast other candidates who are or are threatening to run for Miami mayor, including Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, who has filed paperwork, and former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who is just bluffing. He called Portilla’s campaign stunt — handing out fruit to high priority elderly voters — Operation Mamey and called Higgins a Marxist Johnny Come Lately pandering to Hispanic voters (same ol’, same ol’).
Read related: Ralph Rosado and Joe Carollo beat Jose Regalado in Miami D4 special election
“They learned Spanish with JustiLanguage. And all of a sudden they want to be mayor,” he said, referring to what is actually an English instruction school in Westchester. He could have been including former City Commissioner Ken Russell, who has also filed paperwork and has shown pretty fluent and locally nuanced Español on recent interviews and social media posts.
Carollo also calls former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez, who served in the U.S. Army for 26 years, including a stint as a military attache with the Defense Intelligence Agency and who has also filed paperwork, “Coronel Chiringa” (or Col. Smallshit in English), and former Miami Police Chief Jorge Colina, who keeps getting mentioned in polls, a liar.
Gonzalez said it’s not the first time Carollo nicknames him and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t listen to the show. I don’t think anybody does,” Gonzalez told Political Cortadito.
The station’s program director told Ladra that they are between Nielsen contracts and are not currently measuring their ratings with listeners. How convenient. However, one of the recordings last week has 68 views on YouTube — and that’s over five days.
Colina lives in Miami Lakes and, as such, is not running for mayor, despite being named in some polls. He also doesn’t listen to Carollo’s propaganda and doesn’t care. “It would be concerning to me if it was a more respectable person,” Colina told Ladra. “A vast majority of the people know who Carollo is and know that the majority of the things that come out of his mouth are inaccurate or biased or just self-serving.”
Current colleagues also mentioned. Carollo is all aglow about Rosado, going on and on Wednesday about his “illustrious” swearing in on Tuesday. But two of them are regularly skewered: Commissioners Damian Pardo and Miguel Gabela. Carollo has gone so far as to call Gabela’s wife “La Llorona” — or the crybaby — after the woman showed up to a commission meeting and emotionally testified about being harassed and watched by Carollo and his goons. He also played a song by the same name.
It seems a bit childish at times. Like a high schooler podcasting in his garage.
Read related: Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo to lose appeal on $63.5 million judgement
The commissioner DJ also sometimes fills the space with this-day-in-history anecdotes. One recent Thursday, it was the anniversary of Hank Aaron’s 715th home run and also the release of both the movie Dancing with Wolves and the album The Joshua Tree. He played a little U2 that day, but he daily airs what must be theme songs of old western TV shows, like Bonanza.
He once played the theme to The Godfather on the day Marlon Brando was born. But he just had to mention how former Police Chief Art Acevedo — another regular target of Carollo’s — called the commission a mafia. He marked the birthdays of actor Doris Day, and singer Miguel Bose (he played “Amante Bandido”) and wishes people a Happy Feast Day on occasion.
On the day that Richard Nixon died, Carollo talked about meeting him and getting a campaign check for one of his campaigns. “It’s part of the memory I lived that nobody can take away from me.”
But he always has time for the rants. And when there’s not an election that he’s trying to influence, Carollo is always “reporting” on the undercover activity of the hidden Sandinistas and Chavistas in our midst, alleging that anyone who crosses him is laundering money for the Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela. He also constantly rages against the leftist Democrats trying to gain control of the city and hails President Donald Trump, trying to position himself as the Trump candidate in the mayoral election (But so is Diaz de la Portilla, who can’t stop campaigning on the “injustice” of the public corruption charges against him in 2023).
Carollo says on his show that the attempt to move the elections to November of next year is a scheme by “extreme leftist Democrats who want to get control of the city of Miami… by creating Biden districts.” He says any proposal to increase the number of districts is also a Democrat plot. And the lifetime term limits are an attempt to stop him from exposing the real corruption in the city.
In other words, Miami Al Dia is a lot like Carollo himself: There’s a conspiracy everywhere.
Ladra hates to admit this, but it makes for good radio. It’s very entertaining when Carollo gets all hot and bothered and starts to raise his voice in what definitely sounds like practiced outrage. His prolonged silences are just as dramatic. It’s radio theater from the golden age of radio. But it’s bad for you. Like drugs. Ladra might need an intervention.
It’s not the most responsible broadcast.
Luis Gutierrez, the program director for America Noticias Radio Miami, said that Carollo is not paid for his time nor does he pay for the hour himself. Gutierrez says that the commercials he brings pay for the hour and that if Ladra can secure $1,400 per show, or $20K a month, she could have one, too (which is a great idea Mr. Mike Fernandez! Let’s dare them to do it!)
Other sources, and just plain common sense, indicate that this is a quid pro quo for the $150,000 that Carollo had the city paid America TeVe, which was affiliated with America Radio Miami, to cover the New Year’s Eve bash at Bayfront Park. The money came out of the Bayfront Park Management Trust, where there is already an investigation into the commissioner’s alleged misspending of public funds for his private or political gain (same thing).
Read related: Miami paid $150K for one long Joe Carollo commercial on New Year’s Eve
In addition, the commissioner’s wife, Marjorie Carollo, is reportedly the “agent” who buys the air time, meaning she gets a commission, which is usually 15%. That means that if Carollo’s political action committee spent $500,000 on radio ads on the show, which could be a conservative guess, the couple got $75,000 in commission 0ver the 43-day election cycle for the special election that ended June 3. Nice little gig, right?
Gutierrez said he did run it through legal and Carollo’s airtime doesn’t violate any federal rules, “as long as he’s off he air by September,” which is when and if Carollo qualifies for the mayor’s race. If the commission doesn’t move it to 2026 (more on that later).
In the meantime, “If an opposing candidate wants equal time, we’ll take the money. I don’t have a problem with that,” Gutierrez told Political Cortadito. “This is straight business for me. I’m not on the right. I’m not on the left. I’m bipartisan — as long as the money keeps coming in.”
Ladra asked him if she could have an hour of time some mornings if Political Cortadito got enough commercial sponsors to pay $20,000 a month. That’s apparently the value of the “freebie” time Carollo is getting on the air. Could it be considered an “in-kind” donation to his campaign?
Gutierrez said he would have to ask Carlos Vasallo, the owner of the station, who is really good pals with Carollo, if they would put me on the air.
“I run the station but I don’t set the rules. And I would have to filter that through him,” Gutierrez said.
There will be an update when he gets back to me. But Ladra is not holding her breath.
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The post Commissioner Joe Carollo freelances as ‘Miami Al Dia’ morning AM radio host appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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As always, there are winners and losers in every election that go beyond the candidates. As tradition, Political Cortadito has analyzed the campaigns and results of the special election last week in Miami’s District 4 to replace the late Manolo Reyes.
Ralph “Rafael” Rosado, an urban planning consultant and fired city manager of North Bay Village, is a winner, simply because he got 55% of the vote. But he’s also a loser, because only 11% of the eligible voters in D4 cast ballots and because he is now going to have to be a puppet vote for Commissioner Joe Carollo, who bankrolled his candidacy and ran his campaign.
And Jose Regalado, the former assistant building director and son of former Miami Mayor and current Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomas Regalado, and brother of Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado, is a loser. He doesn’t win anything. Especially since he left a six-figure job as the number two at the city’s building department to run for office at the request of Reyes’ widow. Ouch.
And that brings Ladra to the list of other winners and losers.
The big winners are:
Topping this list, everyone agrees, is Carollo, whose horse made it across the finish line in first place. He bet big — some say he spent more than $800,000 through his political action committee — and is already gloating about the win. Está insoportable. And he’s going to have that third vote on so many things, including the Bayfront Park Management Trust, which he lost the chairmanship to Commissioner Miguel Gabela and which everyone expects Crazy Joe to take back, even though he is being investigated for misspending the agency’s funds. Carollo might even be able to go so far as stopping the investigation in its tracks.  This win also shows his strength in a potential run for mayor, which means he will get more money to replace what he spent.
Former Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, a lobbyist whose claws are still very deep into Miami government, just got another ally on the commission with Rosado’s election. Sarnoff was spotted at Rosado’s victory party Tuesday night. Will he get more taxpayer-paid contracts from the city? Ladra’s guess is yes.
Former City Attorney Victoria “Tricky Vicky” Mendez is celebrating Rosado’s victory. She is BFFs with Rosado’s wife, after all, and serves with him on their crooked Abuelo’s Foundation, which is a front to find homes to steal from vulnerable elderly residents to flip for a huge profit. Mendez, who could still be held liable for bad advice and other shenanigans at the city — and is representing Carollo anyway through a cushy job at the same law firm where Sarnoff works — just got additional protection for using the city for her real estate scam or any other shenanigans she may have pulled.
Read related: Lawsuit: Miami city attorney, husband ‘conspired,’ used city to flip property
Lying. Normally, Ladra does not include adjectives in the winners and losers circles post election, but this time it is different. Lying and scheming are also victors in this election because they will be seen as winning strategies that can be utilized again and again and again. Yes, it’s true that this may not be new. But it’s never been more blatant. Rosado lied to Ladra when he said that Carollo was “not there” and “not directing” a TV commercial he recorded a park. He couldn’t even admit to it after he was told that there was a video recording showing Carollo giving him instructions and Marjorie Carollo nearby holding a clipboard. He lied again when he said he was a lifetime resident of Miami (he used to live in Schenley Park) and then again when he said that he was independent and not being supported by any Miami commissioner. He’s a perpetual liar who is now a commissioner.
The big losers are:
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez thinks he’s won. But that’s because he’s a postalita without any calle. Suarez supported Rosado and got his dad, former Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez, to hype up the Rosado team. Las malas lenguas say he wants pensions back on the table. But Baby X will soon find out — the hard way — that he stepped right into a trap. Carollo has him wrapped around his finger and will soon stab him in the back. Probably in public. Crazy Joe is famous for burning bridges with nuclear bombs. Remember the mayoral election in 1983 between Maurice Ferré and Xavier Suarez, when Carollo was set to endorse Ferré at a public event and then ranted against him instead, on the mics, accusing Ferré of being anti-Cuban (he was Puerto Rican).
Jose Regalado is not the only one in his family licking his wounds. The whole family is hurting. They are used to losses, of course. But Tomas Regalado is taking this one hard. It feels kinda personal to him. It is. Carollo went on the attack against the whole family, lashing out in very cruel and personal ways like only Joe Carollo can, or will. Raquel Regalado is more disappointed, but still laser focused on her county job. The day of the election she was at a county commission meeting and then a virtual Zoom update on the issues at the Coconut Grove Playhouse since part of it collapsed recently (more on that later). Tomas N. “Tommy” Regalado, who lost to Carollo in a crowded 2017 race, must be feeling a little deja vú.
The loss Tuesday must still be stinging the Reyes family, as well. They backed Regalado hard. Not only did Chacha Reyes, who was married to the late commissioner for decades but never recorded a commercial for him, do a radio spot urging voters to support Regalado, but her son, lobbyist Manny Reyes, helped Regalado raise money for his campaign. They made calls and walked. They may also feel party responsible for Jose Regalado’s sudden unemployment, because they were the ones who asked him to run and continue Manolo Reyes’ legacy.
Read related: Manolo Reyes’ widow comes out strong for Jose Regalado in D4 special election
Miguel Gabela is not sitting pretty. Did anybody see his face at the Rosado victory fete? He was not happy. Gabela supported Regalado and is the biggest thorn in Carollo’s side right now. He has had two special meetings to reach out and slap Carollo recently — one on the Bayfront Park Trust’s mismanagement and misspending and another on Carollo’s weaponization of government (more on that later). Ladra thinks he is going to be on the losing side of a lot of votes at the next meeting — and for the foreseeable future.
Miami voters citywide are also loser. This was a District 4 race but the ramifications will be felt by all Miamians in all corners. Pensions, lifetime term limits, the change of election year, the future of the Bayfront Park Trust and its moneys, the future of the city’s community redevelopment agencies, and particularly the Omni one, are in play. Residents from District 1, Gabela’s district, and District 2 — Carollo already hates Coconut Grove people — should be especially afraid.
That seems like a pretty complete list, but Ladra always forgets one or two. So, please feel free to add any winners and losers left out of this story in the comments below.
The post Political Cortadito’s Winners and Losers from Miami’s special District 4 election appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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