The Miami-Dade mayor’s desired request for proposals on the overhaul of both the Rickenbacker and Venetian causeways — a necessary step after getting an unsolicited proposal — could hit a snag Thursday. A number of commissioners and other stakeholders — including city officials in both Key Biscayne and Miami Beach — have questions and concerns.

The first is why were these city officials taken by surprise? Rickenbacker connects Miami mainland to Key Biscayne and the Venetian connects Miami to Miami Beach. Seems they should be in on the talks from the beginning.

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A Florida Senate bill “moving at the speed of light” would purge the permanent vote-by-mail request lists in every county by July — and could disenfranchise close to 100,000 Miami-Dade voters with elections this year in Virginia Gardens, Homestead, Miami, Miami Beach and Hialeah.

Not so fast, said the Miami-Dade Commission, which on Tuesday passed a resolution, sponsored by Commissioner Raquel Regalado, opposing SB90 and urging the legislature to — at the very least — change the effective date to Jan. 1, 2022.

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It’s no secret that former Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner has been waiting for Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez to be termed out or make his move so she can run for the district seat.
On Monday, she made those intentions clear when she filed documents Monday at the Miami-Dade Elections Department indicating she had opened a campaign account.
Read related: Cindy Lerner confronts Rubio, Bush on climate change
In a statement released Monday afternoon, Lerner — who has kept active on issues, particularly sea level rise and infrastructure — made reference to broken promises and traffic.
“I am pleased to announce that I am a candidate to represent the people of Miami-Dade County Commission District 7. I grew up in Miami-Dade County and raised my 3 children in District 7. During that time, I have fought to make our community a better and stronger place for people to live, work, raise their families and enjoy a quality of life. The time has now come to act and address the serious threats to our community that require bold action by the Miami- Dade County Commission.
For too long, leaders have danced around pressing issues from traffic gridlock causing frustrated residents and workers to spend too much time traveling to and from their homes, work places, schools and other activities. For too long they have paid lip service to the real threat from sea level rise and flooding. For too long they have ordered studies to deal with the real danger to our drinking water and public safety from failing infrastructure.
I am running to represent the people in Commission District 7 because we can no longer afford hollow promises that simply waste taxpayer dollars and provide little results. We need new leadership for the district. In my vision as a county commissioner, the Commission and County Government work together and collaborate with the leaders of the many municipalities to implement solutions to the threats we face in District 7 and in Miami-Dade County. I am running because the clock is ticking and it is Time for Action.”
This sets up a contest between Lerner, a popular Democrat who was also a state representative from 2000 to 2008, and former Miami-Dade School Board Member Raquel Regalado, a popular and moderate Republican who forced Mayor Carlos Gimenez into a runoff in 2016.
Read related: Political musical chairs: Recycled electeds vie for 2020 county seats
Regalado, who briefly ran for Florida Senate and then U.S. Congress last year before abandoning both, switched to the county commission bid and started fundraising in February. She has already raised $19,000 for her county commission bid, according to her last campaign reports. That includes notable small bundles like $2,000 from Norman Braman, $2,000 from lobbyist Jorge Luis Lopez and $3,000 from lobbyist Eric Zichella.
Of course, more candidates are expected in this open seat.
Scratch Coral Gables Commissioner Vince Lago off he list. He is said to be looking at a mayoral run in the City Beautiful in 2021. But former Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff is still in play.
District 7 runs from the southern tip of Brickell Avenue all the way to Miami-Dade College’s Kendall Campus. It includes all of Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, South Miami, Downtown Dadeland and Pinecrest as well as  large parts of Coral Gables and East Kendall near Baptist Hospital.
 

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Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez is not only running for mayor in 2020 (probably), he’s got a whole slate of commission candidates he is supporting.
“Ordinarily, it would seem a bit early to engage in those discussions,” Suarez said.
But this is no ordinary election. Term limits approved by voters in 2012 mean that five of the seven county commission seats on the 2020 ballot will be wide open. That makes for a unique opportunity to change the make up of the board — and its priorities — which has people coming out of the woodwork.
That “together with the announcement of various eminent candidates for the five open seats, compels me to make my own plans clear – beginning with what issue and which candidates are likely to advance the county in the right direction,” X said.

Read related: Carlos Gimenez taps commissioner to block return of 1/2 penny funds
Suarez, who announced his endorsements last week, naturally would want allies for his administration and indicated that these candidates will support his efforts to separate the half penny funds from operational and maintenance expenses and implement the S.M.A.R.T. plan.
“Winston Churchill defined ‘squandermania’ as diverting taxpayers’ money for useless or improper purposes,” Suarez said, hinting at a word we might see on the campaign trail. “The misuse of the half-cent for 17 years, totaling $1.8 billion, must end in 2020. I am committed to supporting five new commissioners who will see to that.”
Those candidates are:

District 1: Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert, a “dogged champion and architect of Miami Garden’s renaissance as the eminently livable city in the northernmost region of the county. Recently selected chairman of the Transportation Planning Organization, he has fought for prioritizing the northern corridor of the S.M.A.R.T. Plan and to recoup municipal powers over the site of Hard Rock Stadium.”
District 3: Miami Commissioner Keon Hardeman, who “has distinguished himself as chairman of both the Miami City Commission and the SE Overtown C.R.A. His relentless pursuit of tax increment bond monies resulted in $60 million of financing, including affordable housing and commercial/cultural development, that have already transformed NW 3rd Avenue into one of the most desirable places to live, work, and play in the urban core.
District 7: Former Miami-Dade School Board Member and one-time mayoral candidate Raquel Regalado, who “led the effort to complete and promote MAST Academy, as well as bringing the school system to its present ‘A’ rating. She is a vocal critic of ‘squandermania’ of the half-cent surcharge funds and a strong proponent of the S.M.A.R.T. Plan using rail, as presented to the voters in 2002.”
In District 9: State Rep. and Minority Leader Kionne McGhee., considered “the emotional leader of the battle to bring rail to the South Dade transitway. He, too, is a vocal critic of ‘squandermania’ of the half-cent surcharge funds, testifying before the CITT in the 2017 board meeting that led to the resolution calling for the unwinding of unification by 2019.”
In District 13: Former State Sen. Rene Garcia, “one of the most respected legislators ever to serve our county. He is committed to using the half-cent surcharge for its proper purposes. He has been a steadfast supporter of Medicaid expansion in Florida. Like the others in this slate, he believes that a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens.”

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Summer is coming.

As we enter the last full week of May, we realize that the usual summer political doldrums should not hold true this year, since we have the special eletion in Senate District 40 to keep us entertained as well as municipal elections in the county’s four largest cities just gearing up.

But Miami-Dade County is already suspiciously quiet. So we’ll have to get by with a big meeting in Doral and club gatherings and candidate events — even Roger Stone telling stories — to pass the time meanwhile.

Did Ladra miss something? Get me the 411 on your 305 government and club meetings, campaign fundraisers and political powwows and get in the calendar. How? By sending an email to edevalle@gmail.com or inviting me on Facebook or hitting me up on twitter like some of these people did.

MONDAY — May 22

6:30-8:30 p.m. — Roger Stone is back again. Must have to sell those books. This time, he is the guest speaker for the Women’s Republican Club of Miami Federated’s May Forum features Stone — billed as author of “The Making Of the President 2016: How Donald Trump Orchestrated a Revolution — Monday evening at John Martin’s Irish Pub, 253 Miracle Mile. He’s an interesting guy and tells great stories, for sure. But you have to guess what’s true and what’s gibberish or part of his delusions. Ladra can’t go but boy do I wish they would Facebook live it.

TUESDAY — May 23

8:30 a.m. — The Miami Beach Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club continues its candidate parade with another candidate for commission. They’ve already had five other commission and both mayoral candidates on the podium. They’re going to run out of candidates soon if more people don’t file. This week, we will hear from commission candidate Mark Samuelian, who also leads the actvist group Miami Beach United. Former Mayor Matti Bower, who is still so far not running for anything, serves as moderator at the morning meetings, which are at Puerto Sagua Restaurant, 700 Collins Ave. Questions can be submitted in advance via Facebook or email TuesdayMorningBreakfastClub@gmail.com.

6:30-8:30 p.m. — The Miami Young Republicans will kick off their Leadership Speaker Series with a bang. First, former Miami-Dade School Board Member and onetime county mayoral hopeful Raquel Regalado “will make a special announcement.” Ladra suspects she will formally announce her candidacy for congress. Then they are having a panel discusssion on “Women Impacting Miami” about leadership development and journeys in business, public policy, and philanthropy with Diana Arteaga, director of Government Relations at the city of Miami, Cuban American Bar Association Vice President Maria D. Garcia, a partner at ZP&W Law, and Isis Pacheco, a vice president at Interamerican Bank. The disussion will be moderated by Jessica Fernanez and Rey Anthony and it is at CubaOcho Museum and Performing Arts Center, 1465 SW 8th Street.

6:30-8p.m. — Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Grieco, who is running for mayor, is having a “friend-raising” reception meet and greet at the Mondrian Hotel, 1100 West Ave., Tuesday evening. “Food and drink will be served,” the Facebook invite says, but Ladra doubts its open bar, so take some cash (but not for the candidate; he can only take checks).

WEDNESDAY — May 24

5 p.m. — The Doral City Council will to consider a proposal to develop a park in the north part of the city and a variance request from Miami-Dade to put a second monument within 100 feet of the first at its new Pet Adoption Center.  They will also look at expanding different zoning categories that can be combined in mixed use districts (like downtown), establishing parking requirements for assisted living facilities, a possible moratorium on workforce housing and changing the zoning from business and office residential to high density residential for 10 acres north of 41st Street between 107th and 109th avenues. It’s gonna be a busy night at City Hall, 8401 NW 53rd Terr.

THURSDAY — May 25

5-6:30 p.m. — A campaign kick-off event for Cedric McMinn‘s bid for state rep in District 109, where Rep. Cynthia Stafford terms out next year, will start at 5 p.m. at Jackson Soul Food, 950 NW 3rd Ave. McMinn, who has been chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party and works now as community outreach director for Miami-Dade School Board Member Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, filed the paperwork earlier this month. He will be running in the Democratic primary against former State Rep. James Bush III, a schoolteacher who filed in January and raised $1,000.

SATURDAY — May 27

10 a.m.-2 p.m. — Annette Taddeo‘s “campaign canvass kick-off” for the Democrat nomination to the Senate 40 District race begins at 10 a.m. in West Perrine, 17490 SW 104 Avenue. Taddeo and her team will be canvassing the neighborhood until 2 p.m. For more information, call Manuel Gutierrez, 786-973-9067.

It has to be the biggest host committee in formation list that Ladra has ever seen and far too many people to name them all here.

But among the most notable “young professionals” hosting a fundraiser Thursday night for Commissioner Francis Suarez‘s bid for Miami mayor are Congressman Carlos Curbelo, Coral Gables Commissioners Vince Lago, Mike Mena and Frank Quesada (careful with the Sunshine Law, boys), Miami Lakes Mayor Manny Cid, Hialeah Councilman Paul Hernandez, Miami Beach Commissioner Micky Steinberg, Aventura Commissioner Denise Landman, Coral Springs Vice Mayor Dan Daley, State Reps. Nick Duran and Jose Felix Diaz, former State Rep. Marcelo Llorente and even Jebby Bush. Yes, the son of our former guv who ran recently for POTUS. Him. Former State Rep. Erik Fresen was on an earlier version of the host committee, before he pleaded guilty earlier this month to “willfully failing to file a tax return” for one of the nine years he skipped. He has since been conspicuously removed from the list.

There’s also a large contingency of Miami-Dade Carlos Gimenez people, starting with the fundraising guru Brian Goldmeier and including his lobbyist son, C.J. Gimenez, and his wife, Tania Cruz, as well as one-time G-man J.C. Flores.

Throw in Democrat operatives like Christian Ulvert and Ben Pollara rubbing elbows with Republican lobbyists like Michael Cantens and onetime House candidate Daniel Diaz Leyva and former House staffers turned campaigners like Javi Correoso and it’s a huge and rather diverse (read: bipartisan) crowd at the event in Wynwood Walls, the hippest place in Miami for young professionals to be.

Read related story: Francis Suarez says definite maybe to Miami mayoral race

“These are the people cutting their teeth to make the city great today and they are the people who will be making the city great tomorrow,” Suarez told Ladra Wednesday. “These are people who often feel ignored, disenfranchised and dismissed.”

Um, did he see the list? I don’t think the sons of mayors and presidential candidates feel disenfranchised too much.

“It’s important to engage these young people,” Francis “The Future” Suarez added. He is 39 years old, which is three years older than his father was when Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez became the first Cuban mayor elected in Miami in 1985. “It’s a generational passing of the baton or turning of the page. The city needs an infusion of youth and enegy and technological know-how. Not every fundraiser has to be a big money event. It is great to incorporate new people.”

The suggested donation for this event is $100, a low ask considering the crowd. But Baby X can afford to low ball. He doesn’t really need the money.

Suarez has raised close to $2.6 million and still has more than $2 million on hand between his campaign account and his political action committee, Miami’s Future. This, despite the fact that he doesn’t really have an opponent. Not yet anyway. Sure, there are three other guys with no name and no money who have filed paperwork that shows they intend to run, but Suarez is not sweating them.

“It’s a minor miracle that I’ve gotten this far without any opposition,” Suarez said. “And it may sound like a cliche but I pray for the best and prepare for the worst. So I’m working very hard, assuming there’s going to be competition.”

The elephant in the room — or not in the room, as it were — is Commissioner Frank Carollo, who is termed out but still hasn’t jumped into the mayoral contest. At least not officially. Political observers think that it becomes less likely with every passing day. But he could surprise everybody. And he is raising money for something. Someone at the Related Companies sent out an email last moth to raise money for Carollo’s re-election campaign until, ooops, a second email made a correction saying it would be for whatever Carollo’s future entails.

In its first month, the brand new PAC that checks were solicited for, United for Good Goverment, raised $107,000, according to the campaign finance report.

Read related story: Beleaguered Francis Suarez drops out of Miami mayoral race

“Frank has to decide what he wants to do,” said Suarez, who abandoned his attempt to run for mayor in 2013 against Mayor Tomas Regalado. after several setbacks by campaign staffers, including two arrests for filling out absentee ballot forms online, a situation that was completely unintentional and that really should have been handled differently by the State Attorney’s Office because nobody was defrauded. “I get along with Frank. We have taken strides not to fall into the same Carollo Suarez dynamic and it’s been positive.”

The other possibility that has been pretty much squashed now is former Miami-Dade School Board Member and county mayoral candidate Raquel Regalado, who is the current Miami mayor’s daughter. While Ladra has been saying for months that she had no interest in running for the city seat, her recent foray into a congressional bid to replace the retiring Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has shut people up — for now anyway.

“If she didn’t have that opportunity, there would be rumors about there still being a possibility,” Suarez acknowledged.

That may free up more “young professionals” who might have been hard-pressed to pick between the two to join host committees.