Looks like Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar is still allergic to her own constituents. Like other Republican lawmakers across the country who keep ducking the angry mobs that want to roast them over tariffs and immigration, Miami’s own absentee rep is no different.
Enter Richard Lamondin. Never heard of him? You’re not alone. He’s a Miami-born entrepreneur, an environmental guy with no political résumé, but plenty of chutzpah. And tomorrow night he’s stepping onto the stage Salazar won’t touch: an actual town hall.
That’s right. While La Elvira hides behind press releases and Fox News hits, this newbie is inviting people to St. James Baptist Church in Coconut Grove to talk about real issues — healthcare, housing, small business survival, immigration, all the stuff people have been wanting to scream at Salazar about but never get the chance because she won’t face them.
Lamondin’s pitch is simple: The difference in leadership has never been more clear. Salazar won’t show up. I will.
Read related: Cuban American congress members stay silent on TPS, immigrant detention
There could be another Democrat biting at the chance to face Salazar heading into an August primary with Lamondin. Robin Peguero, a former prosecutor who was a lawyer for the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol riot who lives in Coral Gables and teaches at St. Thomas University’s College of Law. Former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey, who lost a primary to Miami-Dade School Board Member Lucia Báez-Geller — who decided to try for Florida House District 106 against Rep. Fabián Basabe instead (more on that later) — withdrew from the race last month, three months after he announced, and endorsed Peguero.
“We need someone who understands the legal process inside and out, who comes from an immigrant family, who converses with ease in a district where people speak to you first in Spanish, then English,” Davey said. Peguero’s father is from the Dominican Republic and his mother is from Ecuador.
Now, are either of these political newbies ready for Congress? Who knows?
Salazar, a Cuban American, is one of three Republican congressional incumbents in Florida being targeted this cycle by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The other two are Cory Mills (District 7, Deltona) and Anna Paulina Luna (District 13, Seminole). But this is familiar territory for Salazar, who faced nationally-backed opponents each year since she beat Democratic U.S. Rep. Donna Shalala in 2020. Despite that, Salazar won re-election last year with more than 60% of the vote.
Lamondin’s green — and not just in the eco-business sense. But one thing’s certain: if he keeps showing up where Salazar won’t, voters are going to notice.
Read related: Internal poll has Richard Lamondin in striking distance vs Maria Elvira Salazar
And he already has lined up some key people to help him amplify his message, aside from uber political consultant Christian Ulvert, who is handling his campaign. Lamondin will be joined Tuesday by representatives from the ACLU of Florida, a group of pastors, and dozens of Miami residents who are tired of watching their congresswoman disappear when it’s getting hot in here.
The town hall is from 7 to 830 p.m. Tuesday at St. James Baptist Church, 3500 Charles Ave.
So maybe Lamondin isn’t just some political rookie tilting at windmills. Maybe he’s found Salazar’s weak spot: She can’t take the tough questions from the people she supposedly represents.
And if María Elvira Salazar won’t show up for her constituents, why should her constituents show up for her next November?

If you would like to see Ladra write more about next year’s midterms in Florida, consider making a contribution to Political Cortadito. And thank you for supporting independent, grassroots government watchdog journalism. 

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Dignity? In this bill? Don’t buy the branding
Isn’t it a little adorable when members of Congress dress up immigration bills like they’re offering you a free spa day instead of a seven-year parole sentence with no chance of freedom?
Actually, no. It’s sickening.
Under fire for having absolutely no spine when it comes to Donald Trump‘s  mass deportation fiesta in the U.S., Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar — a former TV host moonlighting as a lawmaker — is touting the “Dignity Act of 2025” like she’s Mother Theresa of the Migrants.
But she’s actually more like Maleficent.
According to Salazar and Democrat Congresswoman Veronica Escobar from Texas — who doesn’t realize she is being used — this “bipartisan breakthrough” would let some undocumented immigrants, only those who’ve been here since before 2021, apply for a shiny new seven-year temporary legal status. There’s no path to citizenship, no access to federal benefits, no skipping the long line of check-ins with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Oh, and the lucky immigrants get to pay restitution, too. Because clearly, working for years under the table in a field or kitchen or paying social security taxes for benefits they’re never going to get isn’t sacrificing enough.
Read related: Cuban American congress members stay silent on TPS, immigrant detention
“If you’ve been here more than five years and you do not have a criminal record, and you have been working and paying taxes, in construction, hospitality, agriculture, slaugter houses, uh, fisheries, dairies, you can come out of the shadows, and pay $7,000 over seven years plus one percent of your earnings for seven years. You can go home for Christmas or bury your mother, and you can come out and buy homes and continue contributing to the economy, paying taxes and working in those jobs that other Americans don’t want to participate in,” Salazar said on CBS News earlier this month.
Isn’t that generous?
She said it would be a special, separate “dignity status,” not a green card. “There’s no path to citizenship for seven years. And if you want to renew it for another seven, perfect!”
Perfect!
Let’s call this what it is — probation with a W-2. A legislative fig leaf trying to (1) cover up the chaos caused by masked ICE agents raiding workplaces and (2) tamp down the protests that have been sprouting up all across the U.S.
But you immigrants shouldn’t get too comfortable. While you’re paying taxes and contributing to the economy like a model guest at a dinner party you’re never invited to join, the bill also calls for a nationwide E-Verify mandate, just to make sure you never forget you’re being watched.
And, of course, there’s beefed-up border security, because the best way to get GOP support for the bill is to throw more money at the wall (figurative or literal). Salazar says, quickly and as often as she can, that this is not amnesty, because that’s a dirty word for Republicans, and touts the bill as the first “common sense” solution in decades.
“For 40 years, every president and Congress has looked the other way while millions have lived here illegally, many working in key industries that keep our economy running. It’s the Achilles’ heel no one wants to fix,” Salazar said in a statement. “The Dignity Act offers a commonsense solution: Certain undocumented immigrants can earn legal status — not citizenship — by working, paying taxes, and contributing to our country.
“No handouts. No shortcuts. Just accountability and a path to stability for our economy and our future.”
Handouts? Shortcuts? Ladra would argue that working your fingers to the bone in agriculture and food service for decades without papers or protection, paying federal taxes without getting benefits, and constantly looking over your shoulder scared you’re going to be ripped from your home is about the opposite of a shortcut.
Read related: Maria Elvira Salazar takes credit for judge extending TPS for Venezuelans
Salazar didn’t come up with this on her own and out of the goodness of her heart. She is taking a cue from her false God, Donald Trump, who popped up on Fox News last month to tease his own “sort of” plan for “temporary passes” — but only for agricultural, hotel and restaurant workers, because nobody else wants to pick our fruits and veggies or wash our dirty dishes. And while he’s still leading the charge to deport as many people as possible, he doesn’t want anyone messing with the production of U.S. tomatoes, because, ketchup.
Or cheap labor.
“We’re going to let the farmer sort of be in charge,” he said. So, feudalism is making a comeback? Or is it more like slavery?
Ladra is sort of surprised that Salazar, hasn’t proposed that the immigrants who are already in detention can work the fields. Hey, maybe the government can issue branded ankle monitors and call them “Freedom Bands.”
Meanwhile, ICE continues to raid facilities like it’s Black Friday at a big box store — the most recent example being two ag centers in Southern California where over 200 workers were arrested. Recent raids in Florida have targeted construction and landscaping businesses, resulting in the detention of more than 100 individuals at a Tallahassee worksite alone. At least six people detained at Alligator Alcatraz — the cruel and unusual punishment facility where detainees have report maggots in their food and being left out in the sun for six hours — have been rushed to a nearby hospital for medical care (more on that later).
All of this has prompted lawsuits, protests and violent clashes.
And so much dignity.
Actually, Salazar wouldn’t know dignity if it was lucky enough to slap her in the face. This is the same woman who toured Alligator Alcatraz and said it was just great. She sat on the beds and they were really soft! Everybody there said they were just chillin’, she told the press after her chaperone visit.
“They had three metal toilets with a little wall to cover people when they’re doing their business. They had two telephones where they can call their attorneys or loved ones… [and] some grass where they could run or do some exercise,” she told the media after her tour earlier this month. “It meets the highest standards.”
Three metal toilets with a little wall just scream high standard and oh-so-much dignity. At least she didn’t say what Gov. Ron DeSantis said — that these conditions are better than what the detainees have at home. Es un ignorante.
Meanwhile, Democrat lawmakers who visited the makehift plastic prison in the Everglades said that detainees begged them to be let out of this nightmare. One man shouted that he was an American citizen. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz called the facility an “internment camp” and said “apalling” conditions inside were completely inhumane.
“They are essentially packed into cages,” Wasserman Schultz said of the detainees. “These are really disturbing, vile conditions and this place needs to be shut down.”
This can’t just be a partisan disconnect. Who’s lying?
Ladra’s money is on Salazar, who lied about keeping TPS protection for Venezuelans when it was really a California judge who did that. And she just keeps digging a deeper hole, making herself more vulnerable for next year’s midterms.
Read related: Internal poll has Richard Lamondin in striking distance vs Maria Elvira Salazar
Richard Lamondin, a environmental tech entrepreneur who has filed to run to replace the congresswoman, said her proposal is more political theater than it is true reform. “Just more broken promises for families who have lived, worked, and contributed to our communities for decades,” he called it.
“And while my opponent blames immigrants, it’s Washington’s failure to tackle inflation and bad policies like tariffs that are hurting our economy,” Lamondin said in a statement. “As a business-owner, I’ve seen it firsthand: tariff-driven price hikes have disrupted supply chains and made key products harder to find — with constant uncertainty making it harder for businesses to grow, plan, and hire.
“We need comprehensive immigration reform that honors our values, strengthens our economy, and includes a real path to citizenship. And we need leaders who understand the stakes and deliver results – not more political stunts that trade dignity for headlines,” Lamondin said, adding that she has introduced this same legislation twice before and each time failed to even get the bill out of committee.
So, while Salazar and Escobar slap a bipartisan bow on their undignified, halfway house of a proposal, vamos a hablar claro: This isn’t a path forward — it’s a temporary hall pass for people to keep doing the dirty work no one else wants to do, while pretending they’re not in legal limbo.
Ladra knows a PR campaign when she sees one. And calling this a “Dignity Act” is like calling a cage at Alligator Alcatraz a “tiny home.”
Maybe next time, Salazar should try honesty and real dignity instead of branding.
The post Maria Elvira Salazar’s ‘Dignity Act’ is about zero dignity and all a big act appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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An internal poll shows that Richard Lamondin, one of the Democrats hoping to challenge Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar in District 27, is “within striking distance,” which is closer than one might expect for a newbie with no name recognition. The numbers indicate Lamondin is trailing the incumbent by just three points, which is within the margin of error.
This is good news for his campaign because (1) voters still don’t know who this guy is, (2) the election is almost 18 months away, which is plenty of time to introduce him to them, and (3) a closer look shows the results could be more an indication of how disliked Salazar is, as her unfavorable ratings seem to grow.
Read related: Maria Elvira Salazar may already have a 2026 opponent in Richard Lamondin
And only a little more than 10% were undecided. Again, 18 months out!

Lamondin is a first-time candidate and environmental entrepreneur whose company boasts saving more than 10 billion gallons of water and preventing over 300,000 metric tons of carbon emissions. He is one of two Democrats running for the chance to challenge Salazar next year. Former Key Biscayne Mayor Mike Davey — who lost in last year’s primary against former School Board Member Lucia Baez-Geller — announced he would try again earlier this month. Salazar beat Baez-Geller by more than 20 points, but she was riding Trump’s coattails, which won’t be picking up hitchhikers in 2026.
Read related: Democrat Mike Davey aims to try again for congressional seat in District 27
Furthermore, the poll shows that voters, like those nationwide, are increasingly disapproving of President Donald Trump. A majority of the respondents believe that Congress is doing “poor to very poor” in addressing affordability and quality of life and nearly 50% strongly disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy. Only a third gave him high marks for that.

Salazar has come under fire recently for her silence and complicity as Trump rolls out his mass detentions and deportations of illegal immigrants, many of whom live in our community, or her district. She was blasted for taking credit when a federal judge stopped the removal of temporary protective status of 350,000 Venezuelan nationals, something her president’s administration appealed. ¡Que cínica! (The Supreme Court on Monday let the Trump Administration go ahead and remove TPS.)
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has put Salazar in the list of vulnerable Republicans and have targeted her in Florida, along with Congress members Cory Mills (CD07 in New Smyrna Beach) and Anna Paulina Luna (CD13 in St. Petersburg).
District 27 covers parts of Miami, Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, North Bay Village, South Miami, West Miami and several unincorporated areas of Miami-Dade.
Read related: Maria Elvira Salazar takes credit for judge extending TPS for Venezuelans
It may seem a bit early for polls about next November’s congressional races, but political consultant Christian Ulvert might be underwhelmed with nothing much to do these days. So he commissioned this poll in mid April. His buddy Michael Worley, at MDW Communications, sampled 555 voters from across District 27 over four days, April 9th to the 12th. The demographic breakdown was 63% Hispanic, 30% White, 2% Black/Caribbean, and 5% other. And 33% of the respondents identified as Democrats, 41% as Republicans and 26% as no party affiliation or NPAs.
“This data affirms what we are hearing on the ground: voters are fed up with the status quo and ready for a change,” Ulvert said in a statement. “Richard Lamondin’s message of economic fairness, green job creation, and common-sense leadership is resonating. With national momentum building and local frustration deepening, FL-27 is firmly in play.”
Ulvert and his team are also encouraged by other flips across the country, including in Florida, where Dems in Escambia County recently beat Republican candidates by over 20 points. The special elections last month in Florida’s 1st and 6th congressional districts were won by Republicans but by vastly smaller margins than Trump won in November.
And because Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava — Ulvert’s highest profile client right now — could run for governor in 2026, the poll also shows her favorability as super high, with almost 57% approving her job as mayor and less than 20% having strong disapproval. That’s less than half of the 45% that have strong disapproval of both Trump and Elon Musk.
Only 45% for Musk? That’s the surest sign this poll could be flawed.
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Environmental entrepreneur Richard Lamondin Jr. — a Miami native and self-made water conservation businessman — announced Wednesday that he is “considering” a run next year against Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar in Florida District 27 after much “encouragement.” This may seem early, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee recently just put Salazar on its national list of vulnerable GOP-held “Districts in Play” targets in 2026.
What makes Lamondin think he can do any better than former State Sen. Annette Taddeo, who lost to Salazar in 2022 (57% to 43%), or former Miami-Dade School Board Member Lucia Baez-Geller, who just lost against Salazar by 20 points in the Trump Train November election? Answer: Democratic political consultant extraordinaire Christian Ulvert, who will likely be Lamondin’s campaign manager.
Ulvert authored an optimistic memo this week that highlights recent victories by Democrats across the state and country, results that he says indicate there are opportunities for the Democratic Party.
“April 1st was no April Fool’s Day as election results across the nation showed voters from all parties reject extremism and embrace pragmatic, balanced leadership,” Ulvert wrote.
From a Chicago suburb council turning Democratic majority to the historic victory of Susan Crawford against Elon Musk‘s money in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race to the two special elections in Florida’ 1st and 6th Congressional District , which were both lost to Republicans but marked significant gains in Republican strongholds, Ulvert and other Democrats suggest these results show that flipping the House in 2026 is within reach.
One prominent example was how Gay Valimont, who lost the race for Floridas 1st Congressional District to Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (57 to 42, won by three points in Escambia county, which went to Donald Trump by 19 points in November. That’s a 16-point gain. And Trump endorsed Patronis.
“Democrats must seize this moment by recruiting and supporting young, pragmatic candidates who are not afraid to speak up and speak out,” Ulvert said.
And Lamondin, who has been hitting Salazar on the platform formerly known as twitter since late March, might be the perfect example of that.
Read related: Cuban American congress members stay silent on TPS, immigrant detention
The 36-year-old is co-founder and CEO of ecofi, environmental services company dedicated to demonstrating that sustainability is beneficial for business, which he and his brother built from the ground up. The company boasts saving over 10 billion gallons of freshwater and preventing more than 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions while saving property owners $100 million in utility costs. He started in 2012 with a company called CondoSavers that aimed to reduce the water costs for condominium owners. Basically, they installed efficient toilets.
This evolved into ecofi after he and his brother Lawrence realized that “the high cost of utilities, particularly water & sewer, presented an opportunity to do great things for the environment while benefiting businesses and residents,” Richard Lamondin said in a Medium interview published last summer. “We slimmed down our services. We focused on water conservation…
“Today, we have grown to be much more than just an energy and water conservation company. We are now the sustainability team for the real estate industry, supporting them in whatever they need on their journey,” Richard Lamondin said.
These are good campaign points. It also seems to be a possible source of campaign funding.
Richard Lamondin in a Miami Community News podcast posted on YouTube four years ago.
Another good campaign point is his Italian immigrant wife, Martina Spolini, who is executive director of Rebuilding Together Miami-Dade, a non-profit that helps low-income, vulnerable homeowners, small business owners, and community organizations by providing critical home repair and accessibility modifications at no cost. One of its principal aims is to preserve current affordable housing. The couple have a 3-year-old son.
All of this is campaign gold.
A graduate of the University of Southern California with a degree in international relations, Lamondin has been recognized as Endeavor Miami’s Entrepreneur of the Year and named one of South Florida Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. He serves on multiple nonprofit boards focused on community development and youth empowerment, including Project Transforming Hope, Engage Miami, and the ADAPT Foundation.
He sounds like a Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava appointment.
“As a proud native Miamian and firm believer in the power of our democracy, the promise of the American Dream, and the duty we have to protect one another, I’m grateful for the encouragement to run for Congress,” Lamondin said in a statement. “Our communities are calling for action, not empty political slogans.
“It’s time to focus on making life more affordable, protecting our neighbors, and giving small businesses and working families a real chance to rise. My success didn’t happen overnight. Like many of my neighbors, I have struggled with medical debt and the rising costs of insurance, housing, and childcare,” Lamondin said. “It doesn’t have to be this way.
“In the coming weeks, I’ll be having serious conversations about the issues that truly matter, and how I can use my decade of entrepreneurial experience and community work to better support the people of South Florida. It’s time for new leaders who show up, work hard, stand up for what’s right, and find common ground.”

Salazar has recently come under fire for misrepresenting herself — again — when she took credit and thanked the Trump administration for reversing the suspension of temporary protected status for Venezuelans, who were on the verge of being deported before a federal judge, not the White House, stopped it. The Trump administration has actually appealed.
Read related: Maria Elvira Salazar takes credit for judge extending TPS for Venezuelans
The congresswoman, a former journalist who once fawned over Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, has a habit of misrepresenting herself. Last year, she took credit for local federal appropriations — even though she had voted against it in Washington.
The daughter of Cuban political exiles, as she likes to remind everyone all the time, and champion of democracy in Latin America has been basically complicit in the Trump administration’s mass deportation of immigrants, wether they are criminals or not. She is one of four Cuban-American Republicans targeted in a billboard campaign funded by the Miami-Dade Democratic Hispanic Caucus and called a “traitor” for her complicity.
And, yet, she will be difficult to beat. Especially by a nobody Johnny Come Lately.
Ulvert doesn’t think so.
“Voters want to see Democrats lead with a bold economic agenda that puts families first, protects every aspect of the American Dream, and advances a foreign policy agenda that truly puts America First by leading with mutual respect, which has been done since our nation was founded nearly 250 years ago,” Ulvert wrote in his memo. “In Miami-Dade, Congressional districts like CD-27 can very much be in play and lead to a competitive environment given that the incumbent congresswoman has carried the district over the last three cycles by an average margin of 12 points.
“Given the numbers we’ve seen over the last two months… Democrats are over-performing by an average of 18 points.”
He says there is just one thing missing: Money.
“Now, it’s up to the national and state parties, along with the party committees to invest swiftly to create the environment Democrats need to win in November,” Ulvert wrote in what sounds like a pitch for his firm to get some Democratic Party money.
“Let’s not wait until the 11th hour to fumble the ball.”
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