You could cut the tension in the room with a knife Tuesday night, when the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations had their first candidate’s forum and former friends Joe Garcia and Annette Taddeo faced off for what could be the first time in this election cycle — or ever.

They are so used to working together, not against each other, and you could tell both were uncomfortable with the new dynamic. Pained, even. Certainly extremely awkward.

The other candidate sessions were lackluster in comparison.

Blame Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who was a no-show and gave Miami-Dade School Board Member Raquel Regalado (and, yes, Ladra’s horse) a captive audience of about two dozen people to present her platform and ideas to. She did a great job because she can fill a room by herself. The audience was full of bobbing heads in what Ladra now calls the “aha moment,” which is when people realize she is the real deal and can be the mayor we deserve to have.

Next to her, KFHA President Michael Rosenberg, who is also founder of the Pets’ Trust and has a rocky relationship with Gimenez, had placed an empty chair to represent the mayor — not just his personality but his MIA status. Rosenberg first noted that he had invited Gimenez no fewer than a dozen times. Ladra is not surprised he’d be afraid to try to defend his record of broken promises, sweetheart deals and no-bid contracts to his friends and family.

The opening acts were even more — yawn, stretch — uneventful. Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez and former Commission Chairman Joe Martinez, ran circles around their challengers, the unfortunately named Michael Castro and Felix Lorenzo, respectively. These certainly seem like slam dunk races, so it’s hard to even pay attention. Ladra got her ears pulled for talking in whispers during Martinez’s closing statements. Ay, he is such an unforgiving guy. And he’s trying too hard. Both incumbents — because Martinez once represented District 11 and is the defacto incumbent now that Commissioner Juan Zapata withdrew — should landslide in. Unfortunately. Because nothing makes for a bad elected like a big head that feels no pressure.

Read related story: Chased out: Juan Zapata leaves hostile work environment

But the Taddeo/Garcia face-off was weird enough to make up for the rest of it. And it offers just a taste of what we might see in future debates and/or mailers.

You wouldn’t think that a debate or forum featuring these two carbon copy candidates and former BFFs could be entertaining. They both support the same things. They both love Obamacare and the U.S. reaching out to Cuba. They are both concerned about sea level rise and immigration. They both took jabs at Republicans. Garcia said Everglades restoration was being purposefully mismanaged by Gov. Rick Scott. Taddeo mocked Congress members Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (who beat her 58 to 42% in 2008) and Carlos Curbelo (who they are fighting to face in November) for their efforts to keep studying sea level rise ad nauseaum.

Blah. Blah. Blah. Taddeo even said “Ditto” one time because it was getting repetitive.

But underneath all the outwardly polite agreement, seethed a palpable bitter resentment that surged with a little jab here and there. Him on her total lack of experience in public service. This is Taddeo’s fourth try to get elected. Her on the election fraud issues in his 2014 campaign. Garcia’s campaign consultant and his former congressional chief of staff, Jeffrey “No Relation” Garcia, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for absentee ballot fraud after he was found to have rigged a computer to request ballots without the voters’ permission.

Read related story: Joe Garcia releases first web ad in congressional contest

When asked if negative campaigning had a place, Taddeo was quick to make her position clear. And it’s a yes. But she said it was a “very tough thing” to “let people know about your opponent,” especially when it was someone you once supported.

Once upon a time, Joe and Annette were BFFs

“My level of disappointment to find out that the person I supported to get rid of David Rivera had done exactly what David Rivera had done was very high,” Taddeo said. “I don’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat. It is not right.

“And I know the disappointment I feel is felt by the community because they tell me.”

Garcia did not take the bait.

“Clearly, they’re going to attack. You’ve known me for a better part of two decades,” Garcia told the room, because it basically took him that long — and four tries himself — to get elected. He said that he was going to campaign on his track record, fighting FPL, fighting for children — we guess between his ear wax snacks.

“I’ve worked here. I lived here. I grew up here. I know this community,” he said, which could be a dig at Taddeo’s carpetbagging for a seat, any seat.

Taddeo shot back. She told the audience that Garcia was backed by Big Sugar. “Let’s make sure to follow the money… I;m so tired of the influence of special interests,” she said. To which Ladra would say, yeah, but he had Big Sugar money when you supported him, too.

Still, Obamacare seems to be the go-to for Democrats as much as it is for Republicans (the repeal anyway). Taddeo also took Garcia to task for voting against Obamacare eight times.

Garcia giggled and glimpsed down at his shoes a lot while he waited his turn with his arms crossed. Then he said he had voted against some of the convoluted registration requirements and actually made it easier to sign up. He said he voted for Obamacare more than 50 other times and hit her on her lack of experience. “I was on the floor. Unlike her, I have a record.”

Ouch. That is hitting her where it hurts. Taddeo wants nothing more than a vote record. Anywhere.

But as pained as it might have been for them to be in this position, it was even more so for many in the audience. Said Esther Garvett, a Democrat who has volunteered for both candidates in different races: “It’s breaking my heart.”

Not everybody was shocked by the news Friday that Miami-Dade Commissioner Juan Zapata had withdrawn his candidacy and was leaving county government. Zapata — who has repeatedly expressed his frustration with the lack of transparency and the “cost of doing business” at County Hall — has had enough.

“For the past four years, it has been my honor to serve as County Commissioner for District 11. I have fought for the residents of Miami-Dade County to ensure that their tax dollars are not wasted and that we have the most efficient government possible,” Zapata, who is estranged from Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, wrote to the elections department in his withdrawal letter.

“However, the time has now come for me to pursue other endeavors in my life,” he wrote, apologizing to Elections Supervisor Christina White for the inconvenience.

Zapata did not return calls and texts over the weekend. So we have no idea what these “other endeavors” might be? Incorporation? He’s been keen on the efforts of West Kendall residents to form their own city. Back to Tally? The former state rep has often said he preferred that elected position.

Read related story: Juan Zapata to mayor: ‘Where’s the money?’ and ‘Cut taxes’

He’s expressed frustration with county government before. And often. Usually it’s peaks around September, when the commission considers the annual budget. Lately, with the museum giveaways and the taxing district fiasco, it’s been more of a permanent thing than a seasonal one. And it’s no secret that Gimenez wanted him gone. Everyone thinks the mayor put former Commissioner Joe Martinez up to run against Zap, one of his harshest critics. Although they fleetingly once buds, two have had problems for more than a year. Gimenez has publicly snubbed Zap at more than one event. And we are certain that his office leaked and spun that story about the Harvard course — the one he said he intended to pay himself, and eventually did. Because the mayor is a bully.

Now, no matter what happens, Zap’s term at County Hall will be marked not by his knowledge of budget operations and legitimate questions about contracts and taxing districts and county perks, not by his killing of $62 million in giveaways two years ago — but mostly by a false story planted by his enemy to smear him.

So Zapata gave up. “El Zorro” — who has come to our rescue time and time again — was basically worn out. Or chased out. The county commission is a hostile workplace for an honest and inquisitive community representative who gets dirt kicked up in his face every time he tries to make sense out of a hot mess or, here’s an idea, stop it.

But like with most things in life, this exit is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Read related story: ‘El Zorro’ Zapata rides again; kills $62 mil in gifts to insiders

It sucks because — in addition to providing evidence that county government is not the place for a sane and thoughtful elected with no special interests — Zap was the lone voice of reason on that commission (especially now that Commissioner Xavier Suarez is all happy-go-lucky with the mayor he once blasted). Zap is the only one who asks all the right questions. He’s the only one unafraid to call the shell game what it is. He’s the only one willing to corner the mayor on his lies. And we’ll lose that in November. The only consolation we have is that, with any luck, Gimenez will be gone, too, and we won’t need Zapata so desperately.

But his exit also leaves me a little excited about the future. The future three months, that is. Because if there is someone sin pelos en la lengua on the commission, it is Zapata. And now, nobody is safe. It is open season on any commissioner who wants to use convoluted language to justify some inexcusable county expense or policy — or rubber stamp the next corporate or private bailout. 

Ladra, for one, cannot wait until Thursday’s meeting.

And it’s hard to be angry at Zap for bailing. He was working in a hostile work environment.

But I can be disappointed. Especially since he should have dropped out before qualification ended. Because this leaves Martinez to run against some guy named Felix Lorenzo, who ran to oppose the incorporation effort. Which means that Martinez, who has lost bids for the mayor’s seat and a congressional seat, will finally get his coveted elected position back.

And while Zap only replaced him for one term, Ladra hopes Martinez knows he has big shoes to fill. And that his ego is not so big that he can’t see those shoes.

Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Joe Martinez may have learned something from his last two campaigns: how to go negative.

Martinez refused to attack Carlos Gimenez, who he was running for mayor against, with the absentee ballot fraud committed by the Gimenez campaign in 2012. He refused to go negative against any of his primary Republican opponents in his congressional bid in 2014.

But it looks like Martinez got over his distaste for the political attack just in time for this commission race.  His first emailed “press release” — titled “Are The Residents of District 11 Really Being Represented?” — looks like a preview of the campaign, which will predictably hit Zapata on his alleged mistake he made when he billed the county for his Harvard education (he later reimbursed the costs) and on rumors that he wants to incorporate West Kendall.

Read related story: Joe Martinez mulls county challenge to Juan Zapata

And he uses Zap’s middle name like an admonishing parent.

County Commissioner Juan Carlos Zapata sure likes to talk a lot about serving his district, but if you look closely at his attendance record to his commission and committee meetings, you have to question his commitment to the job he was elected to do,” the email says.

It goes on to report that Zap has been late (what? no Cuban time allowance for the Colombian?) or absent to 40% of the county commission meetings and 50% of the Metropolitan Services committee meetings since January of 2015.

“Imagine showing up to work at all or on time only 50% to 59% of the time, would you still have your job,” the email asks, then goes into the Harvard controversy.

“What could Commissioner Zapata be doing that’s kept him away from so many meetings? Other than trying to get taxpayers to pick up the tab on his studies at Harvard the truth is not much, which is similar to his less than stellar career as a State Representative for eight years.  What he has been pushing hard for is incorporating an area of Kendall as the City of West End, which will ultimately raise taxes for the residents of that area. It more than likely will also create another political position for Zapata to jump to.

When hard working residents deposit their vote and confidence in a person to represent them as their commissioner, the last thing a commissioner should do is raise their taxes and barely show up for work. The last four years have not been good to District 11 because we have had a disconnected and unresponsive commissioner.

Martinez told Ladra weeks ago that he decided to run for his old seat because constituents cannot get access to Zapata and are frustrated with the commissioner’s efforts to brand the district as the West End. Another candidate, Felix Lorenzo, told us months ago he was running because he was against incorporation and felt that Zapata was going in that direction.

But the Martinez email is the first salvo in this race, which we can now expect to get ugly.

Zapata didn’t return a call for comment but Martinez said, in a text message, that everything in the email was true.

“A public attendance record is negative?” He asked it like a question.

Sure, Chairman Joe. Just ask Marco Rubio.

Every day now, Ladra hears the same ol’ thing, like an echo: “Joe Martinez is going to file today.”

The rumor going around for weeks now is that Martinez, the former Miami-Dade County Commission chairman who lost a mayoral bid in 2012, is going to run against Commissioner Juan Zapata for his old seat. Las malas lenguas say Mayor Carlos Gimenez is tired of Zapata’s critical mouth on the dais and has encouraged Martinez in an effort to get rid of Zap. Martinez has reportedly said yes, he’ll do it, but only if Gimenez can get $300,000 for his campaign.

The Chairman, as he likes to be called, would not confirm any of these things about Gimenez and the warchest, though he has said for weeks that he is seriously considering a run for his old seat in District 11. Of course, he was also at one point reportedly considering a run for county clerk and a run for sheriff, if that position ever becomes available.

Read related story: Joe Martinez mulls county challenge to Juan Zapata

But last week he went so far as to open a new political action committee. You know, so Gimenez has a place to send the mulah. Together for a Brighter Future opened on Friday the 13th. It lists Zaray Cabrera, a Miami Springs CPA, as the chair and treasurer. The paperwork states it will be advocating in a Miami-Dade commission race and Martinez told Ladra that it is his.

He also said this week that a little ol’ thing like total knee replacement surgery was not going to stop him, even if it does make knocking on voters’ doors a little more difficult.

“Yes, but not impossible,” Martinez responded to a text message I sent him this week, with a photo of his stretched out leg and ouch!

“Additionally, many people know me. [I’d be more like] reintroducing myself,” he wrote.

When I told him that people keep saying, every day, he was going to be appearing at the elections department “this morning” or “this afternoon,”  he answered with one word: “Soon.”

Then, in the next breath, he says he is still “exploring the landscape.”

UPDATE: Two hours and 20 minutes later, el muy sin verguenza filed papers to run. Why all the cloak and dagger stuff, Joe?

Zapata already has one challenger, Felix Lorenzo, who loaned himself $2,000 and doesn’t seem like much of a threat. Zap raised $135,000 and still had a little more than $100,000 at the end of April.

Commissioners Audrey Edmonson and Dennis Moss, who are also up for re-election this year, have each drawn opponents as well (more on those races later).

Former Miami-Dade Commission Chairman Joe Martinez may jump into his third race since leaving office to run for mayor unsuccessfully in 2012. And, no, he’s not running for Congress again.

Martinez wants his old job back. He is seriously considering a run against Commissioner Juan Zapata for his old District 11 seat.

“I have it under very, very strong consideration,” Martinez told Ladra. “I’ve spoken to a few people. There’s a lot of disconnect between the current commissioner and the people.”

Several sources told Ladra that Martinez is being egged on by Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who has been at odds with Zapata, his biggest budget critic, almost since the commissioner was elected. The support, they said, would be quiet and include financial backing.

Martinez laughed off the notion that his former foe would reach out to him.

“It’s not something that… I won’t tell him no. But that hasn’t happened,” Martinez said.

It’s plausible. Martinez never really attacked Gimenez in 2012, though he could have gone negative with the absentee ballot fraud that was caught in his Hialeah campaign office. Up until late last year, he was considering a rematch. And everybody knows that Gimenez would love nothing more than to say “Bye Felicia” to Zapata.

Read related story: Joe Martinez hints at 2016 rematch with Carlos Gimenez

Martinez said he had not been approached by any Gimenez operatives to run but had been encouraged by a number of other people. “A lot of people talk to me as if I’m the commissioner still.”

He said he had also been told about a poll that asked voters if they would change their mind about voting for Martinez if they knew he had been put  up to it by Gimenez.

Another source told Ladra the push poll also asked voters if it changed their mind if they knew Martinez gave $9 million in district taxes to other areas, awarded pay raises to unions and only wanted the position because he needs the paycheck.

Not so, Martinez said.

“I don’t miss it,” he said about serving as commissioner. “But I do care about the direction that the district is going and I think its going in the wrong direction.”

And what direction is that, Ladra asked.

“I’m taking in general. I’m talking about the relationship he has with voters. You can’t see him. You can’t get an appointment,” Martinez said about Zapata.

“I’m talking about the way that surreptitiously the name was changed on the library and the police station without public input,” Martinez said about the West End branding initiative. “It’s a move to incorporate… and to make such a big move, you have to talk to everybody.”

Martinez — who might also be mad at Zap for supporting Gimenez in 2012 — said that Zapata has been hell bent on incorporation since he was a state rep in Tallahassee and Martinez was the district commissioner. “He would always talk to me about it,” Martinez mentioned.

Read related story: Does Zapata still have Martinez’s nod? Depends who you ask

He said he’ll make the decision about whether to run or not in May.

Zapata did not return calls for comment. He’s expressed a real distaste for county politics in the past, threatening not to run for re-election.

But he’s also been quite active lately with a call for a moratorium on development in West Dade (more on that later) and a call to reform the lifetime insurance benefits still paid for past commissioners (more on that later). Just seems like a swipe at Martinez without having to name him.

Zapata, who led a overthrow of the mayor’s veto two years ago, was the sole no vote to the mayor’s $49 million bailout of the science museum last week.

Martinez said he would vote the same way. “But not to spite the mayor.”

Hmmmmm.