The American Business Forum seemed more like an audition for him
This past week, while millions of Americans faced lost food aid, shuttered programs and threats to their health coverage, downtown Miami staged a spectacle. You know the kind — velvet ropes, orchestral beats, VIP tickets, and a gilded ceremony that screams celebration even when large swaths of the public feel anything but triumphant.
At the America Business Forum, held for the first time in the U.S. at the Kaseya Center in Miami Wednesday and Thursday, carefully curated privilege and business‐glamour took center stage. Headline speaker: Donald Trump, fresh off electoral bruises in New Jersey and Virginia, though you wouldn’t know it.
And perhaps the coup de grace: Miami Mayor Francis Suárez thought it was a good idea to hand Trump the symbolic “key to the city.” What he really deserves is a padlock.
In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, when even middle-class families are choosing between groceries and gas, our selfie-mayor decided to throw a red-carpet party for the rich and famous. Suarez boasted about importing the two-day corporate pep rally from Uruguay after attending last year’s edition in Punta del Este — where, no doubt, he saw how well the fog machines worked.
Because yes, there were fog machines at the Kaseya Center, home of the Miami Heat, which was decked out like a Super Bowl halftime show. Speakers came out through a tunnel of lights to a thundering orchestral beat while men holding glowing batons parted like the Red Sea. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, called it “a little embarrassing.” Ya think? And that was before the mayor pulled out the city’s golden key for his buddy Trump, who he probably wants a job from.
Come to think of it, the whole thing did seem a little like a girl at a high school dance thinking, “Pick me! Pick me!”
And remember, Baby X was once a presidential hopeful who admitted he did not vote for Trump in 2016 or 2020. At one point he said,“If Donald Trump should be the Republican candidate, in my opinion it would be the biggest disaster for the Republican Party since the Republicans turned against the civil-rights movement in the 1960s.”
Are all the workouts affecting his memory?
Read related: What corruption probe? Mayor Francis Suarez enjoys Egypt wedding, Miami F1
Let’s be honest: The key to the city was a slap to our face. While people drive up to food distribution sites and scramble to figure out what to do when their Medicaid runs out, Suárez decided this was the perfect time to honor a billionaire who lost Miami-Dade by 7 points last year. While many in Miami and Florida wonder how to keep a roof over their head or what to do when their health coverage evaporates, or if they’re going to be awakened in the middle of the night by an armed, masked goon squad, the mayor gives the key to a nearly-ubiquitous national figure whose brand is power, wealth, and global spectacle.
Suarez even joked that Trump could use the key to unlock some “really nice presidential library real estate,” referring to the multi-million public land next to the Freedom Tower that the state just gave away to the Trump library foundation for free to turn into a library and hotel — and maybe a casino. Because nothing says “public service” like making light of political corruption and backroom deals.
Maybe that’s the kind of “leadership culture” they were talking about at this so-called business forum.
And because one dictator is not enough, Suarez also was “honored” to welcome Argentine President Javier Milei, an authoritarian masquerading as a libertarian, a guy who screams about freedom while cozying up to police crackdowns, a showman who governs by spectacle and insult. Milei is anti-press, anti-workers, and anti-social-safety-net. So, basically Trump with a tango accent.
Talk about a disconnect.
Food stamp benefits (SNAP) cuts hit tens of millions across the state as the government shutdown dragged on. Inflation and affordability remain everyday crises for many Floridians — housing costs, insurance rates, everyday staples. Job growth is slowing, leaving the “business forum” chatter about unicorns, A.I., leadership culture and global conferences sounding like background music in a luxury elevator, not a grassroots town hall.
Yet the forum played it as if all is well: skyrocketing trade, booming Miami, global business. Trump credited tariffs for “hundreds of billions” flowing in. Never mind that those same tariffs raised prices for American consumers. Never mind that food prices, rent, and insurance premiums are all still rising in Florida. And never mind that thousands of Miami families are struggling right now. Because the language of crisis — of real people losing benefits, losing insurance, losing stability — couldn’t crack the surface of this gilded bubble.
Handing a key to the city is, of course, only a symbolic gesture. But the timing here feels so wrong. It reads like a photo-op for global capital while the ground crumbles for the non-elite. The tune was: “Look how far we’ve come,” when many are still wondering “How far will it drop?”
Read related: We’re No. 1! Real estate experts say Miami’s housing bubble is about to pop
Meanwhile, the real story was in the contrasts: humongous corporate suites, $1,000+ VIP tickets, orchestral lights, business mega-talks — while local families face cutbacks in food aid, insurance limbo, rising rents.
Who is this city for? The elite handing keys to each other — or the workers juggling bills, or the immigrants who built the city? If you’re flaunting a “key to the city,” what door does it open? And for who?
That key wasn’t just symbolic of access. It felt like an accessory for the scene.
Miami, at its best, is meant to be a city of diverse culture, of resilient hustle, of inclusion — so antipathetic to everything the POTUS represents. But this moment? It looked like Miami as backdrop for spectacle. A show of “business as usual” — for the 1%. Oh, and sponsored by the likes of American Airlines — which cancelled more than 700 flights because of the shutdown, but had money for this dog and pony show — Royal Caribbean and Chewy, the subscription pet supply service that must have forgotten the “they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating ting the cats” line. (Note to self: Cancel Chewy subscription).
Early bird tickets started at $100, but the real players — the ones who matter — paid almost $2,000 for VIP seats. Meanwhile, the upper deck was curtained off because even with all that star power — Trump, Jamie Dimon, Jeff Bezos, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt — the place was half empty.
Half full of what, though? Ego, mostly.
Schmidt even read a “Shakespearean sonnet” about Suárez — written by artificial intelligence. “Through tempest rage and plagues most grievous tests, he stood as a bulwark against adversity’s tide,” he read. Cue the applause. Cue the irony.
Read related: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is all over the place — except leading the city
Because if there’s one thing Miami doesn’t need right now, it’s another AI-generated love poem to a postalita lame duck mayor who loves mirrors more than policy.
Outside the Kaseya Center, there’s another kind of production going on — people working two jobs to pay rent, seniors skipping meals to afford their prescriptions, parents losing benefits that helped feed their kids.
They don’t get fog machines or orchestral intros. They don’t get keys to the city.
But they’re the ones who make this city what it is. The ones who keep it running. The ones who deserve a mayor who’s not so busy courting the global elite that he forgets the local reality. Thank goodness this one is on his way out.
Handing Trump the key to Miami this week wasn’t just tone-deaf — it was symbolic of everything that’s broken in the city’s leadership. When regular people are losing everything else, our mayor gives us the only thing he’s got left to offer: a shiny distraction.
You can help bring your community more independent, watchdog government reporting of our local government and political campaigns with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.
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Here we go again. There’s another political tempest brewing in Palmetto Bay — and, once again, it’s  Steve Cody and Vice Mayor Mark Merwitzer at the center of it.
This week, Merwitzer — who has made a second career out of policing Cody’s social media — issued a press release demanding that the councilman remove a post from his personal Facebook page that features a button that says “I am ANTIFA — meaning I am against fascism, as most Americans are. We literally fought a world war over this.”
Yes, really. That’s the scandal of the week in Palmetto Bay.
In his official statement, Merwitzer accused Cody of “publicly declaring association with Antifa,” which he called “a disgraceful reflection of the very extremism our community has worked so hard to rise above.”
The vice mayor doubled down, saying that such rhetoric “has no place in public service and no place in Palmetto Bay.”
And if that wasn’t dramatic enough, he even claimed that Cody’s post “reopened wounds” from just a few weeks ago — when Cody was wrongly reported to have mocked the “tragic assassination” of right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk, writing that it was “a fitting sacrifice to our Lords: Smith & Wesson.”
That story, loyal readers will recall, exploded nationally. Cody got hounded into resigning, but refused. It eventually died down.
So, now, this.
Merwitzer says Cody’s new “Antifa” post continues “a troubling pattern of hateful and divisive conduct that has brought shame to Palmetto Bay.” He even called on the councilman to “reflect on the damage he causes.”
Read related: Palmetto Bay councilman is asked to resign after ‘vile’ Charlie Kirk post
Cody, who posted it as his new profile pic, wasn’t having it.
He fired back with his own public statement — titled “Setting the Record Straight — and a Word About Fascism” — calling Merwitzer’s accusations “the blather of a young man who mistakes memes for scholarship.”
In an email to his friends and constituents, Cody explained: “The word ‘antifa’ literally means ‘anti-fascist. My father came ashore at Normandy just after D-Day. He and millions of American soldiers fought actual fascists — the ones flying swastikas and herding millions of Jews into death camps. My dad and the men who fought with him were, in the truest sense, the original Antifa.”
He said his post was not a confession of membership in any “organization,” but a simple statement of principle — that being against fascism, racism, and political violence should not be controversial.
“Merwitzer claims to have a degree in political science,” Cody wrote, “but he apparently slept through the lectures on fascism and democracy — or skipped the ones on decency.”
Zing.
Merwitzer’s press release said Antifa was designated a domestic terrorist organization on September 22, 2025 — through an executive order, not through the State Department or the Justice Department. Why? Because the designation makes no sense. As both former FBI Director Chris Wray and the Congressional Research Service have explained, antifa is not a group or an organization, but “a decentralized movement.” A feeling. A cause. A value.
And it is a global phenomenon, this resistance to a neo-fascism. There has been recent antifa protests in Paris and Dresden, Germany.
“Moreover, the administration has no authority to designate groups as domestic terrorist organizations, as is obvious from the failure to cite any statute or constitutional provision in support of the president’s action. There is none, and the purported designation has no legal effect,” according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
The “terrorist” label against antifa has been tossed around politically for years but never formally applied in law. This backwards administration is only seeking elevate the perceived threat level from left-wing political violence by designating antifa to be a “domestic terrorist organization” — which is cherry-picking to highlight “left-wing” violence exclusively. It seems to completely ignore “high-profile examples of political violence that do not comport with its storyline.”
Read related: Palmetto Bay residents cry for Steve Cody’s resignation, removal or recall
These include the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol; a 2022 mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store motivated by white supremacist beliefs; and the deadly 2025 shootings of two Democratic Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses. That wasn’t antifa. That was just the fa. “Painting this fuller picture, however, would puncture the narrative that political violence is the result of a left-wing conspiracy,” according to the Brennan Center.
So while Merwitzer furthers that narrative and plays prosecutor, Cody is doubling down on his “anti-fascist” stance — saying the real danger is in normalizing the kind of rhetoric that treats opposing fascism as extremism.
And honestly, he’s not wrong.
Because if saying you’re against fascism now counts as controversial, then Palmetto Bay might have bigger problems than Steve Cody’s Facebook feed.
Still, this feud between the councilman and the vice mayor has gone from simmer to full boil. Merwitzer is probably just still upset that Cody sued to disqualify him from voting saying that his swearing in by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins — which already tells you something — wasn’t legitimate because Cohen Higgins is not a notary, clerk or officer of the court. Merwitzer later retook the oath in front of the Palmetto Bay Clerk and then signed the oath on a separate day.
Because of that gap between recitation and signing, Cody argues Merwitzer’s swearing-in did not count and he is not an actual member of the town council. He reminds Mark every chance he gets.
Meanwhile, residents are rolling their eyes at yet another round of political drama while village business takes a back seat.
Cody says he’ll keep “focusing on facts, good governance, and treating residents with respect.” Merwitzer says he’s defending the community’s values.
But Ladra says: enough already. Maybe they should both log off social media for a week and remember they’re supposed to be running a town, not a Twitter war.
Because Palmetto Bay doesn’t need another press release. It needs a ceasefire.

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

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The Miami Downtown Development Authority just can’t help itself. The agency that’s supposed to make life better for people who live and work downtown keeps giving away public money to millionaire vanity projects — and this time, they’ve literally thrown ten grand into Biscayne Bay.
That’s right. The DDA approved a $10,000 “sponsorship” for the flashy E1 Series Boat Race, the grand finale of the UIM E1 World Championship — a high-gloss spectacle featuring electric raceboats, celebrity team owners, and a Cirque du Soleil show at the Miami Seaplane Base this weekend.
Because clearly, Tom Brady, LeBron James, Will Smith, and Marc Anthony really need our help paying for their little speedboat party.
The race — billed as the world’s first all-electric boat racing series — is supposed to promote sustainability and innovation. But nothing says “greenwashing” like a taxpayer-funded sponsorship from a local agency that is supposed to keep the sidewalks clean and keep the downtown streetlights on. Instead, they are throwing $10K at an event where a two day pass costs $2,103.
Ladra can’t help but wonder if the DDA — which reportedly has a whole table reserved for them at Club E11even — got five two-day passes and who are the lucky board members that get to go. Wanna bet lobbyist Melissa Tapanes is one of them?
Read related: Ka-ching! Miami DDA is doling out more checks to billionaire companies
And it’s not like this is a one-time oops. The DDA has been on a spending spree of celebrity subsidies, handing out gifts like it’s Santa’s workshop at sea level. Remember the FC Barcelona event, the UFC spectacle, and that football game sponsorship that left downtown residents fuming? Yep. All DDA-approved. All unnecessary.
Meanwhile, the same merchants and residents who actually pay the taxes that fill the DDA’s coffers are complaining about overflowing trash cans, crumbling sidewalks, and a growing sense that the agency has lost the plot.
They say they’re investing in promoting downtown. But who are they promoting it to? Tom Brady?”
This weekend’s E1 event — scheduled for November 7 and 8 at the Seaplane Base — will feature Marc Anthony’s “Team Miami” (complete with a color scheme “representing the city,” whatever that means), VIP lounges, and exclusive performances by Cirque du Soleil and celebrity DJs.
So, yes, it’s Miami. It’ll be glitzy. It’ll be loud. And it’ll be yet another reminder of how much public money keeps flowing into private parties for the rich and famous while regular downtowners are left out.
Elvira Manon, the DDA’s executive board secretary, said the event will have several “deliverables” and quite an impact downtown.
Read related: Miami DDA gives UFC $100K for event, despite protest from downtowners
“The Miami Downtown Development Authority is proud to partner with E1 because this event perfectly aligns with our mission,” Manon said in an email response to Downtown Neighbors Alliance President James Torres, who has been sounding the alarm about the agency’s bloated budget since the beginning of the year and has advocated for it’s dissolution.
“This is a millionaires’ event, not a community event,” Torres said. “We as the DNA are not happy if indeed taxpayers dollars are spent on this, when it could go to the community for street cleaning, re-striping of streets, sidewalk cleaning, more police.”
Manon says the E1 races will attract hundreds of spectators, global media coverage, and new partnerships across hospitality, tech, and sustainability sectors. Manon says the event positions Miami as a leader in the “blue economy,” supporting ocean technology, clean energy and waterfront activation. Manon says that the event will “boost our brand” with global broadcasts and paparazzi following celebrity team owners. Manon says the event keeps Miami as the number one sports market in America.
All of that for $10,000? Or is it just as likely that all of that would happen anyway, without the taxpayers chipping in? Same as the international media coverage and the hotel bookings and restaurant activity. All of that was gonna happen without our little contribution.
She also included “what we’re getting for $10K,” citing a panel discussion (oh goodie!) and “public access to E1 experiences and activations along the Bayfront.” But tickets are priced at over $1,000 each day, so any public access, like from the park or the highway, would exist anyway. Also, 10% of the ticket sales through a code offered via the DDA will go to homeless services.
Wouldn’t it just be easier to give $10,000 directly to those homeless services? The event seems to be sold out already anyway. Ladra can’t wait to see how much of those proceeds actually went to the DDA.
Read related: Downtown, Brickell residents still question Miami DDA benefits, future
Manon mentioned other benefits that do seem worthy: 15 kids will be able to watch the race from Southside Prep with their parents on Saturday, and 10 kids from the School at the Children’s Museum will be able to watch the race with their parents, creating long-lasting memories. But Ladra thinks Tom Brady and Marc Anthony could have thrown that little perk in themselves.
This is not smart. It comes on the heels of some major hand-wringing over the DDA’s future. It has been criticized for the other unnecessary giveaways and the bloated salaries for duplicate positions that make it look like a multi-million dollar slush fund. Newly elected Commissioner Ralph Rosado, who was made chairman of the DDA, said he would reign in this kind of superfluous spending. What happened? Was this check moving too fast? Like a speedboat?
The city is hearing more and more rumblings from residents who say it’s time to pull the plug on the DDA altogether. After all, if the agency’s idea of economic development is sponsoring Marc Anthony’s boat, maybe it’s time we cut off the current.
Because downtown doesn’t need another race. It needs an audit.

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

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The day after Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins got into the runoff for Miami mayor Tuesday, the race to fill her county District 5 seat really began in earnest.
First, Antonio “Tony” Diaz, who withdrew from the special election in Miami’s District 4 last June, filed his intention to run for the seat, which isn’t officially open until 2026, the day after the election. Former Miami Commissioner Joe Sanchez, a Florida Highway Patrol spokesman who lost the Republican primary for Miami-Dade Sheriff last year, also filed on Thursday.
Read related: Eileen and Emilio headed to Miami mayoral runoff as voters end the circus
Sanchez, who’s lived in the area for decades and logged 36 years in law enforcement — currently as the FHP’s South Florida public information officer — announced this week that he wants to serve the residents of District 5.
“District 5 is my home: I’ve raised my children here, watched my mother grow old here, and seen this community grow,” Sanchez said in a statement that hit all the right notes of nostalgia and neighborly pride. “Our residents deserve to be represented by one of their own.”
He even added a little populist flair: “I’m advocating for a special election in District 5,” he said. “Not just for my candidacy, but because it’s the most democratic choice. Every voice in our community deserves to be heard, and it’s worth every dollar to let the people — not the politicians — decide who represents us.”
Read related: Lobbying starts to fill Eileen Higgins’ D5 Miami-Dade commission seat
This is likely his position because he knows that State Rep. Vicky Lopez is the favorite in an appointment scenario. Weeks ago, Sanchez was meeting individually with commissioners and lobbying for an appointment. Now he wants a special election.
Ladra agrees that a special election would be the fairest way to go. But don’t hold your breath. Commissioners have a funny way of suddenly becoming allergic to democracy when it costs money or risks losing control. An election wouldn’t happen until February and there would have to be another election in August. Watch them try to justify just appointing someone in the meantime.
The clock is ticking. By county rules, the commission has 30 days to either appoint a replacement or call for an election to fill the vacancy. And with Higgins now in a runoff for Miami mayor against former city manager Emilio González, that seat will be empty for a few months — unless the 12 remaining commissioners can agree on a name faster than usual.
And we all know how fast that can happen. The county commission will consider the process of either appointing someone or calling for a special election at their Nov. 18 meeting.
“District 5 plays a vital role in the fabric of our county,” said Chairman Anthony Rodriguez in a statement. “It’s important that residents and businesses in every community continue to have a voice in the decisions that shape Miami-Dade’s future.”
That’s not really going to happen, however, if they appoint someone.
And Rodriguez has asked the Commission auditor to prepare for the potential appointment process. Translation: start collecting résumés. The county has already launched an online portal where interested District 5 residents can apply to be considered for appointment. The portal will stay open until noon on Wednesday, November 12.
A special election remains on the table, at least officially. The Board’s November 18 discussion will include both options — an appointment or a special election — along with the timelines, costs, and political implications of each.
But let’s be real: if history is any guide, commissioners tend to pick one of their own. The last time a vacancy opened up, the process was about as “public” as a private-club lunch at Joe’s Stone Crab.
Read related: David Richardson seeks to replace Eileen Higgins on county commission
District 5 — which covers the southern portion of Miami Beach and parts of the City of Miami, including Downtown, Little Havana, and Brickell — is shaping up to be the next political hot zone. And Sanchez isn’t the only one circling.
So far, the four people who’ve publicly expressed interest:

Joe Sanchez: See above. A longtime resident , 36 years in law-enforcement, eight years in the U.S. Army Reserves, 11 years as Miami City Commissioner, awarded a Medal of Valor for his role in the ValueJet crash recovery, and he ran for Miami-Dade Sheriff in 2024 finishing a close second in the Republican primary.
Bruno Barreiro: The former longtime commissioner in that district who left in 2018 to run for Congress, and lost.
David Richardson: A forensic accountant who’s served as both a state rep and as Miami Beach commissioner and lost a bid last year to be the Miami-Dade tax collector to Dariel Fernandez. Richardson has been filed for the seat when it was on the 2028 ballot since April.
Vicky Lopez: A state rep with a penchant for getting jobs for her family members through projects and programs she supports.

Will the county commission appoint one of these four — or someone else entirely? Will they call a special election despite the cost and drama? Ladra’s betting we’ll see a lot of back-room deals before we ever see “vote here” signs.

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It’s that time again, when Ladra separates the winners from the whiners, the power players from the posers, and the ones still pretending they didn’t lose from the ones already measuring the drapes at City Hall. No, not the candidates, silly. We’re talking about the hangers on. The consultants, activists and/or special interests that also won or lost on Tuesday.
Between Miami, Miami Beach, and Hialeah, we got a buffet of storylines this week: comebacks, meltdowns, family feuds, and at least one political obituary. So grab your cafecito (make it a double), because it’s time for the traditional Political Cortadito post-election hangover winners and losers list.
THE WINNERS ARE:

Political underdogs and fresh faces. From Bryan Calvo’s upset in Hialeah — the youngest to win the mayor’s seat, and in the first round —  to Monica Matteo-Salinas topping the field in Miami Beach’s open commission race and a restaurant manager named Rolando Escalona getting into a coveted runoff in Miami’s District 3, voters made it clear they’re tired of the same names, same faces, same donor lists. New blood is in, old guard is out — and it’s about damn time.
Political consultant Christian Ulvert. He has bounced back after a blistering year where he lost every single Miami-Dade constitutional office race to a Republican, winning handily the two incumbent seats in Miami Beach for commissioners Laura Dominguez and Alex Fernandez — who got a whopping 84% — and propelling Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins into the lead position heading into the Miami mayoral runoff. He also helped Escalona. And he dabbled a little on two of the Miami referendums — the redistricting committee and lifetime term limits — that won with almost 80% of the vote,
Veteran campaign operative Emiliano Antunez. He worked on both Calvo’s campaign and also for Team Escalona, so now he can rub that in the face of others who couldn’t work with him.
Miami-Dade Democrats. They get a much-needed boost with Eileen Higgins big lead, especially after they sent mailers on her behalf. But there’s nothing they can do about Hialeah.
Law-and-Order messaging. This seemed to work, at least in two races. Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner barely held on to his seat with his “crime is down” mantra and some creative math about spring break “cleanup.” And former Miami City Manager Emilio González, who got into the Miami mayoral runoff with Higgins, is a retired Army colonel with a lot of police endorsements. It worked. Voters still love a guy who says he’s keeping the streets safe — even if the streets sometimes disagree.
Miami voters. They were smart enough to pass the right charter amendments, like lifetime term limits, without falling for the one that wanted to sell public land without a public vote. And it’s not really a terrible choice between Higgins and Gonzalez. Both have their baggage and concerns, but either one is capable. And voters have escaped the clutches of former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who didn’t reach 6% of the vote, and Commissioner Joe Carollo, who came in fourth and has announced his retirement from politics. We should all get on our knees and praise the lord.
The universe. Because really — Carollo retiring? After 46 years of drama, lawsuits, arrests, meltdowns, vendettas, and lawsuits about the vendettas? Ladra almost doesn’t know what to do with all this peace and quiet. Almost.

THE LOSERS ARE:

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And a golf cart got arrested on Election Day
The two incumbents in the Miami Beach commission elections Tuesday, Laura Dominguez and Alex Fernandez, held on to their seats with a firm grip — but not without some of that special Beach-brand political drama we’ve come to expect.
Dominguez survived a nasty, personal campaign from developer ally Fred Karlton, who tried to paint her as a sellout to special interests. The attacks didn’t stick, though — voters gave Dominguez a resounding 61% of the vote, sending Karlton packing along with his campaign sign thieves. Yes, sign thieves.
Read related: Incumbent Mayor Steve Meiner holds on in Miami Beach — but just barely
In the latest case of a quita y pon political sign squad, City Commissioner David Suarez’s brother-in-law was arrested in the wee hours Tuesday — driving an unregistered golf cart that reportedly belongs to Suarez — after being caught on video removing Dominguez’s campaign signs and replacing them with Karlton’s.
Because nothing says “good government” like a misdemeanor on wheels.
Dennis Luis Collazo, Jr., was charged only with failure to have a vehicle registration. Not theft. Or vandalism.
At first, Collazo told the cops that he and a friend were just placing Karlton signs up for his brother-in-law, the commissioner. But when officers checked the “multiple video recordings” provided by the complainant, which showed Collazo removing a Dominguez sign and replacing it with one for Karlton.
Funny notation on the arrest report: The complainant showed “a video of a third subject tossing a campaign sign over a gate, then entering a black vehicle, and driving away,” the officer wrote. “Furthermore, the complainant advised that the same black vehicle was currently behind him, which was later determined to be driven by Commissioner David Suarez.”
So, wait. Commissioner Suarez was also on the quita y pon squad? Was he armed? Remember, a judge ordered him to temporarily surrender at least a dozen guns and his concealed weapons permit to police in 2020 after photographs showed his young child “in close proximity to a variety of different weapons while in the care of his father,” according to court records.
This sure promises more than a few awkward moments at the next commission meeting, no?
Dominguez, who was elected to the City Commission in 2022 to succeed her life partner, the late Mark Samuelian, was polite in her victory statement. “I am deeply humbled and grateful for the trust residents have placed in me once again. Serving as your Commissioner in Group 2 has been one of the greatest honors of my life,” she posted on Instagram, adding that the victory was shared “by every neighbor who believes in putting residents first and keeping our city safe, resilient, and strong.”
Read related: Laura Dominguez wins Miami Beach seat vacated by late commissioner
She thanked her supporters and volunteers “and every voter who made their voice heard in this election. The work doesn’t stop here. I will continue listening, solving problems, and fighting for the people who make Miami Beach the incredible community we are proud to call home.
Meanwhile, Fernandez cruised to reelection in Group III with a whopping 84% of the vote, proving that in Miami Beach, loyalty and name recognition still go a long way — especially when your opponent, Luidgi Mary, ran a campaign that barely made a ripple.
“My heart is overwhelmed with gratitude for the trust our community has placed in me,” Fernandez, who had the endorsement of The Miami Herald and Save, among others, said in a statement, noting the historic nature of his win. “No mayor or commissioner in my lifetime has ever received as many votes and no commissioner in our city’s history has been elected with such a high percentage. This was truly a record breaking victory and it belongs to you – the people of Miami Beach – who believe in steady, respectful, thoughtful, and compassionate leadership that puts people first.
“I was raised to believe that public service is both a privilege and a responsibility. Over these past four years, our work has proven that progress comes not from division but from collaboration, listening, and respect. Together, we’ve made our neighborhoods safer, protected tenants and homeowners, advanced long-delayed flood-prevention projects, brought renewed focus to the health of our waterways, and fought to preserve thearchitectural character and history that make Miami Beach unlike anywhere else.”
Fernandez is running for mayor next. You heard it here first.
Read related: Miami Beach commission candidate is daughter of cop-turned-serial-killer
But the real suspense is in the Group I race, where six candidates battled for the open seat vacated by term-limited Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, who very narrowly lost her bid for mayor to incumbent Steven Meiner.
The runoff is now set for Dec. 9 between Monica Matteo-Salinas, a city staffer and former aide to both Fernandez and Rosen Gonzalez, and Monique Pardo Pope, a lawyer and vice president of the Women’s Cancer Association of the University of Miami. Matteo-Salinas finished first with 23% of the vote; Pardo Pope edged out Brian Ehrlich with 20%, which was less than one percent more to claim the second spot.
And in classic Miami Beach style, this race comes with a dose of tabloid-worthy backstory.
Pardo Pope has spent the last few months battling headlines about her father — Manuel Pardo, the ex–Sweetwater cop turned convicted serial killer executed by the state in 2012. In old social media posts, she called him her “hero,” prompting a wave of outrage and gawking curiosity. But Pardo Pope struck a note of redemption, telling voters she’s “confident they will look past the sins of my father.”
“I had to make a conscious decision, between myself and God, to forgive him,” she wrote.
Whether voters are willing to do the same remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure — the runoff is going to be muy interesante.
So, to recap: A sitting commissioner wins reelection despite a sign-stealing scandal involving a colleague’s family member. Another coasts to victory with numbers that makes his head swell. And the open-seat runoff features a former aide to two commissioners versus the daughter of a serial killer.
If you thought Miami Beach elections were boring, you haven’t been paying attention.
Ladra’s advice? Grab your popcorn — and maybe wear a body cam.

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