On the airwaves and in the mailboxes of Miami voters, Jose Regalado, a candidate in the June 3 special election to replace the late Commissioner Manolo Reyes in District 4, is striking back against the lies and attacks coming from Ralph Rosado, the other candidate, and his benefactor, Commissioner Joe Carollo — who may spend up to half a million dollars to get Rosado elected.
In his own voice, Regalado has a 60-second spot running on Spanish-language radio that tells voters how desperate Carollo is to have Rosado sit next to him. Most political radio ads are 30 seconds. But Jose Francisco Regalado has a lot to say.
“This election should be about the real problems that affect the quality of life in our city. But it has been converted in a campaign of lies and attacks against me and my family,” Regalado says. “Joe Carollo is spending millions on radio, TV and mail to impose his candidate, Ralph Rosado. If he wins, Carollo will control the commission of Miami.
“Manolo Reyes did not allow that and neither will I,” Regalado goes on. “I am not afraid of Carollo or his lies. Rosado is afraid and has accepted being his puppet.
Read related: Manolo Reyes’ widow comes out strong for Jose Regalado in D4 special election
“Carollo is the king of conflict and chusmeria,” he says, using a a word that google translates to gossip but really loosely means trashy or having no class. “He doesn’t want you to come out and vote,” Regalado adds, because negative ads like this are really a form of voter suppression when they are so frequent.
“I was born here and have grown up here. I’ve worked all my life for this community. My commitment is to continue the legacy of Manolo Reyes, and use your money to fix the streets and add more police. Not to pay for attorneys that defend Carollo.”
Ouch. That, no doubt, refers to the millions of dollars that the city has spent in taxpayer funds defending Carollo from multiple lawsuits, including a federal First Amendment suit brought against him by two Little Havana businessmen
Regalado’s campaign also sent a mailer last week with a long introduction on his history in the city, which includes his role in the creation of the Miami Forever Bond Initiative to invest $400 million to address the city’s most pressing needs — sea-level rise and flood prevention, roadways, parks and cultural facilities, public safety and affordable housing — and delivering aid and resources to residents and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the purpose was also to set the record straight and let people know that Carollo is behind the attacks on him.
“I was honored when Commissioner Reyes’ family asked me to consider running to continue his residents-first legacy. But this race has taken a disappointing turn,” Regalado writes. “Instead of focusing on the issues, like flooding, housing and public safety, it has become a proxy battle driven by Commissioner Joe Carollo.”
“He is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking me on television, on the radio, and in your mailbox, because he knows he cannot control me,” Regalado says. “We have seen this before. In his own district, Commissioner Carollo used city departments to target businesses he opposed, leaving Miami with millions in legal costs, a damaged reputation and a culture of fear among employees.
“I have no personal quarrel with my opponent,” he adds, referring to Rosado. “But many residents are asking the same question. Why is a commissioner from another district so involved in this race? And why would any candidate allow himself to be used by someone whose actions have cost Miami so much?”
Read related: Miami’s District 4 candidate Ralph Rosado is backed, helped by Joe Carollo
Let Ladra attempt to answer that. First, Carollo is so heavily involved, using his political action committee to send daily mailers and directing Rosado’s TV commercial, because he needs that third pocket vote to get a majority. That way he can move his agenda along, destroy the city agencies he wants to nix to retaliate against his new enemies, Commissioners Miguel Gabela and Damian Pardo, and stop any attempts at reform that they may be working on.
And second, Rosado is a two-time loser — he ran for state rep before losing his first commission race against Reyes in 2017 — who doesn’t think he can win without Carollo’s considerable, but waning, influence. It’s a shame. He may not be such a terrible guy, even though he apparently was a terrible city manager (more on that later). He has some education and experience as an urban planner. But this association with Carollo, who is a thug, is something he’ll never shake off.
On the back side of the mailer to voters, Regalado’s campaign prints images of emails he got from Ralph Rosado and his chiefs of staff seeking his help with policy matters or legislation when Jose Regalado was assistant building director and Rosado was city manager at North Bay Village

“I’m reaching out on Ralph’s behalf to inquire if the city of Miami’s private provider program guidelines have been updated with the changes made in new statutes passed by the state,” wrote Leonardo Cosio in 2023. “Kindly send us whatever you may have so we can reference it as we develop our own policies.”
As recently as last year, Rosado sought Regalado’s assistance with things like the tree ordinance, the demolition bond ordinance and unsafe structures. If Regalado was so unqualified, as Carollo has said on his radio show and in his PAC ads, then why did Rosado seek his advice?
Rosado, who has been caught in a few lies by Ladra — he has not lived all his life in District 4, like he has said — does not return calls and texts from Ladra. Carollo also chose not to return calls and texts.
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It’s been a little more than three months since Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo was accused of using the Bayfront Park Management Trust as a personal slush fund for himself and his political pals. But we’re about to find out that there’s been even more misuse of the public monies during some of the eight years that Carollo was chairman of the city agency.
Commissioner Miguel Angel Gabela, who was made chairman of the Trust after Carollo was stripped of the title, has called for an emergency Trust meeting Tuesday to discuss “newly discovered items identified during the initial review of the organization and to advise the board that additional issues are pending,” according to a press statement sent over the weekend. City officials and trust members — including the new executive director, Raul Miro — will be there, starting at 1 p.m., to “address the findings and outline potential next steps regarding the park’s administration and future.”
Miro was named director last month, because the last director, Jose Suarez, was pressured to leave after confronting Carollo about questionable Trust transactions.
Read related: Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo and the Bayfront Fountain of corruption
Suarez, once Carollo’s chief of staff, and finance director Jose Canto say they were forced to resign after they questioned the “lack of proper accounting practices and procedures that enabled Carollo to use the Trust’s funds to pay for Carollo’s own political ventures, his District 3 political office, his political allies, his District 3 social media provider, a 2007 van to use as a veterinarian mobile that was never used and was likely overpriced, and the commissioner’s holiday party.
“Carollo has attempted to use the Trust to pay or provide premium benefits to Carollo’s personal friends, including paying $20,000 for a yacht party for Carollo, his friends and family, and District 3 Office,” their legal complaint, filed in January, says. Another $45,000 was diverted to the Little Havana Fridays events that Carollo’s started to compete with an already popular event organized by critics — which has nothing to do with Bayfront or Maurice Ferre Park, which is also overseen by the Trust.
“Together, these wrongful expenditures totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars of misused and wasted Trust funds in less than one year, and Carollo has chaired the Trust for the past eight years without any legitimate oversight.”
So, it is safe to assume that some of the other seven years have been looked at, and already there were problems found.
Gabela did not return several calls to his cellphone. He is still mad at Ladra for calling him out on the pensions he wanted to propose last year. But in a statement, Gabela said, “This is a critical moment to ensure transparency and accountability in how we manage one of our city’s most cherished public spaces.”
Ladra does not know why it is an “emergency” meeting. Couldn’t Gabela just bring these issues up at the commission meeting on Thursday, when everyone is going to be there? At least it is going to be at City Hall, not the bunker where the Trust usually meets, so that may encourage more participation. The press release says “all residents, community leaders, and members of the media are encouraged to attend.”
This comes on the heels of a couple of contentious choques entre Gabela y Carollo. They have really gone after each other in the last two meetings, with Gabela calling Carollo a Nicolas Maduro wannabe and Carollo addressing Gabela as Tony. Tony Soprano. Carollo tried to derail the establishment of the Allapattah Community Redevelopment Agency, which he had previously supported, and everyone knows it’s because Gabela is the new Bayfront Trust chair.
Ladra has heard whispers about what they may be ready to reveal Tuesday: More details about discrepancies with the cash receipts from parking — called the “money room,” which held tens of thousands of dollars at a time — and the safety issues that led to the fountain, which just completed a $5.5 million renovation, being closed down again after Carollo rushed to get it open and operating for his big New Year’s Eve bash, which ended up being a long, free commercial for the commissioner, who wants to run for mayor this year.
Read related: Bayfront Park board member resigns on Joe Carollo’s $1 mil no-bid giveaway
But there has to be more. Because Carollo was in charge over there for eight years. A lot of graft can happen in eight years.
Carollo’s control of the Trust has been shady for years. There was a petition to remove him as chair of the Trust in early 2024, before any of the recent allegations were even made. That would include drugs that reportedly disappeared from the vet mobile, which was purchased for $115,000, which seems hugely over inflated and could be one of the kickbacks that the complaint says are rampant in the agency.
Then there is the $1 million spent on the Dogs and Cats Walkway that never went through a competitive process because the sculptures were reportedly provided by a friend of the commissioner’s wife, Marjory Carollo. That led to the resignation of a board member in 2021.
Then there is the outdoor gym that was put in place last year without the proper permitting or process. Was that also a non-bid award? To one of his friends? For a kickback? That might explain why he fought so hard to keep it there.
So, there are likely some big revelations coming on Tuesday. But Ladra also hopes they say that there’s more digging to be done.
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Is Miami Commission District 4 candidate Ralph Rosado a habitual liar or a compulsive liar? Or is he a pathological liar?
A habitual liar falls into the habit of lying because it’s easier or more convenient than telling the truth. A compulsive liar gets a “high” — similar to other drug addictions — when they can get away with a lie and fool somebody. So they often can’t help themselves. Pathological lying is more likely to be intentional, manipulative and self-serving and can lead to serious impairment of functioning in social, occupation and other areas, according to a 2020 study.
In his bid to replace the late Miami Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who died in April, urban planning consultant Ralph Rosado — running against Jose Regalado of those Regalados in a special election June 3 — sent out an email this week to voters, swearing to be an independent candidate. It’s another lie. Because he’s Commissioner Joe Carollo‘s guy.
“From the start of this campaign, I’ve made it clear that I am running as an independent voice — not aligned with any political group or current elected official. However, my opponent’s campaign, in desperation due to their inability to find issues with my character, accomplishments or platform, has chosen to mislead voters and lie about ‘endorsements,’” Rosado wrote in the email.
“So, let me be clear: I have not sought, nor have I accepted, endorsements from anyone on the City Commission because I believe this moment calls for a new kind of leadership at City Hall.”
Read related: Ralph Rosado keeps lying, misleading voters in Miami Commission D4 race
He put that last sentence in bold. But he knows its bullshit. Because Carollo has not only endorsed him — naturally, it’s not official… one wouldn’t put this on a door hanger — but the commissioner accused of abusing his power, and who has cost the city millions in legal fees, is also pouring tens of thousands from his political action committee to pay for mailers and TV ads for Rosado.
Carollo is so involved, in fact, that he was seen directing the video that Rosado recorded at a city park to use in an ad. And Rosado got caught lying to Ladra about that, as well. He said Carollo wasn’t there. “He wasn’t directing.” When he clearly was. Even Marjory Carollo was there, with a clipboard in her arms, cradled like a baby.
And Rosado is lying to voters again, about a “candidate forum” that he attended this week where there was an empty seat theatrically set up for Jose Regalado.

“Thank you to all the neighbors who came out to this week’s District 4 candidate forum. I was proud to be the only candidate who showed up — sharing my vision answering your questions and listening to what matters most to you,” Rosado posted on Instagram. “Showing up for this community isn’t just something I talk about — it’s something I practice. And I’ll continue showing up, every day, for District 4 as your Commissioner.”
Except Tuesday’s event wasn’t a forum for District 4 candidates with the Shenandoah Neighborhood Association, as first reported erroneously in the Floridian Press (it has since been fixed). It was an ambush in Silver Bluff, which is mostly District 3, Joe Carollo’s district — just a tiny sliver is in D4 — by the president of the Loco Joe Pollo Carollo Fan Club, Beba Sardiñas Mann, who got illegal street closures in her neighborhood in 2021, if temporarily, thanks to the commissioner’s abuse of the system. A judge had them forcibly removed in 2023. Most of the questions at Tuesday’s forum were asked by Beba’s hubby.
Read related: Miami’s District 4 candidate Ralph Rosado is backed, helped by Joe Carollo
Jose Regalado, who was invited after the event was posted, never confirmed.
“My only communication regarding this event was a brief text message from the intended moderator — no direct conversation, no confirmation of my availability, and no discussion of debate format or topics,” Regalado wrote in an email to the Silver Bluff Homeowners Association.
“While I deeply respect neighborhood and homeowners associations and strongly support their role in promoting community engagement, I have significant concerns about fairness and impartiality in this instance,” he added. “The individual organizing and moderating this debate maintains a close, pubic relationship with a commissioner who is actively managing my opponent’s campaign, personally funding attacks against me exceeding $250,000 from his own campaign account, and using his daily radio show to spread misinformation about my candidacy.”
“Genuine debates require transparency, neutrality, and procedural fairness, conditions clearly not met here. That said, I remain fully available and eager to openly discuss any topics or concerns directly with residents, neighborhood and homeowners associations or any community group,” Regalado said. “District 4 voters deserve transparency and fairness, and I’ll continue advocating for exactly that.”
In other words, Regalado — who had gone to a meet and greet (Rosado also went) the day before with the Shenandoah Neighborhood Association — knew it was a political stunt to begin with. That is why Rosado reportedly took a film crew/photographer for campaign material.
Because Rosado, who did not return calls and texts from Ladra, is a fraud on top of being a liar and a puppet.
What does Carollo want in return for his investment? Rosado’s vote, of course.
The new commissioner, Regalado or Rosado, will be elected on June 3 and in place for the June 12 meeting where Commissioner Damian Pardo wants to present a measure to put lifetime term limits on the November ballot. Carollo, who wants to run for mayor and could be blocked by this, is against it. Guess which way Rosado will vote if he’s elected. He has to pay Carollo back somehow.
Read related: Miami commissioners could extend terms, gain a year for themselves, mayor
Who knows what else is on corrupt Carollo’s revenge wishlist? Destroying the community redevelopment agencies? Outdoor gym equipment in every park? We can say goodbye to the Bayfront Park Management Trust. Since he was removed as chair, because of accusations he used the budget as his own personal slush fund, he has said the Trust needs to go.
The Little Havana businessmen who own Ball & Chain and have been a target of Carollo’s political ire could be in trouble. So is Coconut Grove — all of it — just because Carollo has been wanting to spite them since the redistricting fight in 2023.
So is anyone he considers an enemy, including city employees who won’t do his bidding.
That’s why Carollo is so desperately helping Rosado. The election June 3 is going to change the dynamic on the commission and either give Crazy Joe a majority or, in most cases, freeze him out.
“Voters are looking for honesty, transparency, and a commitment to serve the public — not political alliances or agendas, or more of the same,” Rosado writes in his email, very cynically, because he is not honest or transparent, has a political alliance and is more of the same.
A fraud.
A liar.
A puppet.
The post Ralph Rosado is a fraud, liar, puppet trying to become Miami commissioner appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Francis Suarez and Joe Carollo want to stick around
In a perfect example of how a good idea can get twisted and turned into an evil plan, the city of Miami Commission is poised to consider a change to the municipal’s biannual election year — from odd to even, to coincide with state and national elections — that would end up extending the terms of all the current electeds by a year.
That means that Mayor Francis Suarez and Commissioner Joe Carollo — who are both facing term limits and are, reportedly, the ones behind this move — will get to stick around until November 2026. Commission Chairwoman Christine King would not have to campaign for re-election until next year.
This idea will be brought to the commission, not this month but at a a later time, by Commissioner Damian Pardo. It is not part of the measure he will bring to next week’s meeting to put lifetime term limits on the ballot, so that, if voters approve, electeds in Miami can’t sit out a term and run for the same seat later.
“These are not things that are tied together,” Pardo told Political Cortadito on Wednesday. “One thing is not contingent on the other.”
But the election year change, when it comes back at a subsequent meeting, is related to the term limits, because there are several candidates already running in this year’s election who would be excluded under the lifetime term limits (i.e. former Commissioner Frank Carollo for his old seat and Joe Carollo for mayor, where he already served from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2001. They and the charter amendment would be on the same ballot. And Pardo says he is trying to avoid a legal challenge.
Read related: Voters in Miami may get to strengthen term limits and ban political retreads
“I asked the city attorney what happens if the candidate and ballot initiative pass at the same time,” Pardo told Political Cortadito. “And he said that may be a challenge that works.”
“If we move the elections at the same time as we’re making the lifetime term limits, it won’t be clean. It would be challenged,” he said. “So we wait another cycle.”
How about we wait another cycle on the change of the election date? Lifetime term limits are not a bad idea. But it’s not worth keeping Carollo and Suarez around for a year. We’re almost rid of them. Can’t we do this later? After they’re gone?
Pardo also thinks that it’s worth the bitter pill we’d have to swallow to get a higher turnout on Election Day. The difference would be from the 10-15% range to the 65 to 80% range. That would completely stop the Joe Carollos and Alex Diaz de la Portillas of the world from getting elected because there are not enough turkeys at Thanksgiving or pastelitos to buy that many votes. Pardo says it more diplomatically.
“That changes the kind of commission candidate you get,” he said. “You will have to appeal to a different demographic. The entire political landscape in the city of Miami changes. Boom!”
He says it is something that he came up with todo solito, and not because Suarez had threatened to veto his term limits thing unless he did this, too, like las malas lenguas say.
But who would benefit the most? Suarez and Carollo.
Suarez has hinted a possible run for governor in 2026 and could use the bully pulpit and fundraising palanca that the incumbent mayor of the state’s most important city would bring. He may also want another year to solidify his legacy and get projects like the Miami Marine Stadium redevelopment started and Miami Freedom Park closer to finished for the postalita photo opps.
And Carollo just knows he’s not going to win a citywide mayoral race and, thus, has no place else to go. Doral just got a new city manager (more on that later), so going back there is out.

That’s why it looks like City Attorney George Wysong has been researching this. He told the Miami Herald that the City Commission has the authority to move the election back one year all by themselves, without having to go to a referendum. What The Herald story didn’t say was that Wysong is relying on Florida State statutes that are really for “continuity, ease, practicality and efficiency,” said former Commissioner Ken Russell, who has filed to run for mayor.
“They are misusing the statute. It’s an overreach for self serving purposes.”
The commission, Russell says, can’t just wave a magic wand and change the election year.
“By charter, we have odd year voting elections,” Russell said on TikTok, where he is campaigning a lot. He said that a change can be put on the ballot by citizen petition or by a commission vote. “But the voters get to decide.
“There will be an election this year for mayor and there will be a change of leadership.”
He looks like he’s ready to challenge it. There goes Pardo’s reasoning.
Other candidates that may be in the running include Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins, former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, and former City Manager Emilio Gonzalez, who also reacted negatively, of course. “This is wrong,” he posted on social media. “This is a blatant power grab.
“Career politicians want to extend their terms, bypassing voters — in exchange for letting them weigh in on reforms. It’s straight out of the Maduro playbook,” Gonzalez wrote, referring to the Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. “The voters must decide and no one is talking about them or to them.”
In what must be a sign of the apocalypse, Diaz de la Portilla agreed with Gonzalez and Russell. “Charter does not allow that,” he texted Ladra late Thursday about the ordinance. “It has to go to the people.”
Read related: Petition aims to add Miami commission districts, change election to even years
That is what a citizen-led petition drive announced last month wants to do — take it to the people. Led by Coconut Grove activists Mel Meinhardt and Anthony “Andy” Parrish, the Stronger Miami political action committee aims to change the election date to even years to increase turnout. They have created a coalition with a group of activist organizations and must collect around 26,000 signatures by sometime in the summer to get the question on the November ballot.
They are also petitioning to put two other questions to voters: Extending the commission from five to nine seats and codifying the fair district guidelines that were mandated by a judge.
The change in election cycles could result in the loss of a year instead, which Pardo said he was amenable to. But that seems to disenfranchise the voters who elected them with a four-year term in mind. So, Ladra is not sure she likes that idea, either, unless it becomes effective after their own next election. Cutting the term short would be wrong, unless voters approve it themselves and have fair warning.
And that’s another big reason why this shouldn’t even be considered. Because nobody told voters that terms would be extended for a year, either.
Help Ladra keep them honest. Consider making a contribution to Political Cortadito today and support independent watchdog journalism. There are important elections this year. Thank you.
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In the two weeks after the city of Miami scheduled a special election to fill the commission vacancy caused by the death of Manolo Reyes, the two candidates have raised almost $100,000 combined. And local favorite Jose Regalado — of those Regalados — who quit his job as assistant building director to run for office at the request of Reyes’ widow, out-raised urban planner Ralph Rosado, who was basically fired from his job as city manager of North Bay Village (more on that later), almost three to one.
Regalado reported a total of $67,470 in contributions raised through May 2, while Rosado had a total of $26,454, according to their first campaign finance reports, filed Friday.
The contributions in Regalado’s report are also from a diverse group of sources. Meanwhile, the contributions in Rosado’s report include bundles from four sources that add up more than half of his take for the one month period. He’s got $5,000 each from developer Sergio Rok and the owners of the Green Acres Trailer Park, $3,000 from the owners of Adonel Concrete and $2,000 from real estate investor Robert Sckalor.
Read related: Manolo Reyes’ widow comes out strong for Jose Regalado in D4 special election
They both have quite a few contributions from lobbyists, including South Miami Mayor Javier Fernandez, who gave to both candidates, hedging his bets. One interesting gift is a $250 check to Rosado, a rabid Republican, from former Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner, an uber Democrat former state rep who ran against Jose Regalado’s sister, Raquel Regalado, for county commission twice and lost both times. That looks like an obvious example of emotional spending.
Ladra hopes she feels better.
Jose Regalado has some bundles, too. He has $5,000 from gasoline mogul Max Alvarez and $3,000 from developer Jorge Salazar. But there are far more actual people giving to his campaign than to Rosado’s. His expenses are also higher, with more than $10,000 spent on radio and $1,500 for professional photos.
Rosado’s expenses include almost $2,500 in yard signs and $914 for text messages.
Both of the candidates also have political action committees spending money on their respective campaigns.
Rosado has the benefit of Commissioner Joe Carollo‘s PAC, Miami First, sending mailers and paying for other messaging on his behalf. It recently sent a mailer that said Jose Regalado wants to bring red light cameras back to Miami. It’s not true. It’s a tired old Carollo campaign smear he used on Tommy Regalado, the elder son of the former mayor, when both ran for commission in 2017. It was Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomas Regalado, who was Miami mayor from 2009 to 2017, who championed red light cameras once upon a time.
Read related: Miami’s District 4 candidate Ralph Rosado is backed, helped by Joe Carollo
By the way, so did Carollo, who was city manager in Doral when the city was installing its own traffic cameras.
Regalado has Proven Leadership for Miami, a PAC chaired by Miami River Commission Chairman Horacio Aguirre for the candidate’s father, Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomas Regalado, who was Miami mayor from 2009 to 2017.
Voters won’t get any information on the PAC contributions and expenses until a month after the election. There will be two more campaign finance reports filed with the city clerk’s office before the June 3 special election: one on the 23rd and one on the 30th, four days before the election — and also the day that early voting begins.
The deadline to request a vote-by-mail or absentee ballot is May 22.
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Miami Commission candidate Ralph Rosado — who is running in the special election June 3 to replace the late commissioner Manolo Reyes — may be a habitual liar.
Last week, Rosado blatantly told Ladra that Commissioner Joe Carollo was not at the park with him, directing his campaign video, on Thursday. But there is a candid phone recording that disputes that, showing Carollo guiding Rosado as he walks with his mother-in-law. Over the last week, Rosado has sent text messages saying he is a lifelong resident or longtime resident of the city of Miami — even though he can’t be both.
But that’s another lie. Rosado lived in Schenley Park, just west of Coral Gables, 3.6 miles outside the city of Miami limits, for at least five years. Records with the Miami-Dade Property Appraiser’s office show that he and his wife bought the home for $575,000 in October of 2004 and then sold it for a loss, $520,000 in October, 2009. He knows this. He was president of the Schenley Park Homeowners Association at one time.
Read related: Miami’s District 4 candidate Ralph Rosado is backed, helped by Joe Carollo
In 2008 he bought another house in Schenley Park for $223,000 and took another loss, selling it for $145,000 three years later, according to the county records. And there was another house he bought, under the company Rosado Investment Group, in 2006 for $320,000 and sold in 2010 for $450,000, at last making a profit.
Rosado still owns a home in Schenley Park, which is an unincorporated Miami-Dade community, through his family trust. It has a market value of $1.24 million. The subdivision is called “Rosado Estates.” He also owns three vacant lots valued at more than $1 million in the same neighborhood through a company called Rafael Rosado and Leocadia E. Rosado, LLC.
He used the Rosado Investment Group address in Schenley Park when he ran for state rep, losing the Republican primary in 2010 among a crowded field. The winner was Michael Bileca, who went on to beat Democrat Lisa Lesperance and win three re-elections after until he was termed out in 2018.
That’s not something you forget.
County records also show that Rosado and his wife Maria also owned a home in Tamiami that they sold in 2005 for $300K. They purchased their current 4-bedroom, 2-bath home in the Coral Gate neighborhood of Miami in 2014 for $180,000. What a steal! the house today has an assessed value of more than $560,000 and a market value of more than $900,000. That’s one hell of an investment.
Read related: Miami voters to fill Manolo Reyes’ District 4 seat with June special election
But it’s been just over 10 years, not 30 years, like he says in another text message. In a mail piece, Rosado says he’s been a district resident for nearly 25 years. His messages are conflicting: Is he a “lifelong District 4 resident,” or “someone who has lived in Miami for over 30 years” or in the district for “nearly 25 years?” Which is it?
The answer: Neither.
Rosado seems adverse to the truth. And that’s probably not what Miami voters want in a commissioner. Their other choice is Jose Regalado, who resigned his position as assistant building director to run after Reyes’ widow asked him to. Jose Regalado is the son of former Miami Mayor and now Property Appraiser Tomas Regalado and brother of Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado. This is his first run for office.
In 2017, when Rosado ran against Manolo Reyes for the seat, he sent a mailer saying that he “spearheaded an initiative to hire 100 new officers.” Um, what? He wasn’t an incumbent. He spoke during public comments at commission meetings in favor of hiring more police officers, but he did not spearhead anything.
Read related: Candidate Ralph Rosado exaggerates ‘his’ police initiatives
A few days ago, he posted a photo of himself during a press conference about a park renovation — standing at a city of Miami podium as if he were an incumbent. It’s disingenuous.
Last month, he was caught in an outright lie after he got direction from Carollo while recording a video ad at a park. Rosado lied to Ladra and first told her Carollo was not there. “He was not directing. He wasn’t there,” Rosado said. When told that there was a candid camera video of him walking with his mother-in-law as Carollo walked backwards in front of them, with Marjory Carollo nearby holding a clipboard — is she always holding a clipboard? — he said, “I’ll get back to you.”
He has not. Rosado also did not return calls Wednesday, but he did text that he lived in the city of Miami from 1972 to 1984, from 1999 to 2002 and from 2010 to the present, including a few years at a home his wife owns while they worked on their home, Rosado told Ladra. But that is still not his whole life.
And we can’t believe what he says, anyway.
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