Michael Pizzi makes it a three-way race in Miami Lakes

As expected, Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi qualified at the last minute, just before noon Wednesday to run for re-election, making this race a heated four-man contest.

Wait a minute, make that a three-way: Councilman Ceasar Mestre has withdrawn his candidacy. In a long Facebook post over the weekend, Mestre told his supporters that he had missed too much time with his loved ones, “missed family trips, birthday parties, school activities, movies” because of the campaign.

“I have always said my most important title is ‘dad’, yet it was becoming less important. When you are competitive, it’s easy to get caught up in the campaign and lose perspective,” Mestre wrote in the heartfelt post. “I kept saying only until November, but should I win, and become Mayor , it would only be worse.”

Read related story: Miami Lakes voters say ‘yes’ 10 times, and cut mayor’s powers

He said that the mayor’s post in Miami Lakes has “turned into more than a fulltime position as future political ambitions dictate the rhythm. To some, this may be o.k. To me it’s not. I have been blessed with a good career and a great family. The price to pay for this endeavor is something I am unwilling to give. I have observed what this can do to families and most times , it’s not a good result… So I have decided not to continue with this campaign.”

And as if to drive the point home, he posted the news with pictures while on a family vacation in Canada.

So that leaves Pizzi to fight off Councilman Manny Cid and founding mayor Wayne Slaton.

In a statement, Pizzi said he only decided to file for his third term after “hundreds of town residents flooded his law office this past week asking him to continue as mayor and help improve the town.” We doubt this. We predicted he would want to keep his job and also he would file last minute.

Pizzi also said, in the same statement, that he was “looking at an intense campaign ahead,” but that he was ready.

Read related story: Young GOP VIPs back Manny Cid for Miami Lakes mayor

“I love being mayor more than anything else because of the many great things I can get done for our Miami Lakes residents,” he said in his classic way of saying nothing. “It has been a great honor to serve as Miami Lake mayor these past eight years that’s why I have filed for re-election.”

Cid is considered the front runner, and more so now that Mestre dropped out (curiously it was after that big GOP VIP event for his colleague). But Manny better have his game on. Because, despite his caricature-like personality and seeming legal and ethical foibles, Pizzi has a solid group of people who blindly follow and adore him. Yes, it is kind of like a cult.

Pizzi may have really heavy baggage — a bribery arrest, suspension from office, a pricey legal battle to get back in office after acquittal and that hit and run with a tree in the middle of the night (read: dodged DUI). And all this is fresh baggage because he had old baggage ($200K stolen from his office, saying he wanted to plant drugs on a council member’s car) dogging him for years. But his supporters only see what they want to see.

Read related story: Michael Pizzi sues Miami Lakes for $3.2 million in legal fees

And Ladra would not be surprised if members of that cult were among the other eight candidates for the three council seats that are also on the ballot.

Councilman Tony Lama is challenged by attorney Elizabeth Delgado Mizrahi and Councilman Nelson Rodriguez has two opponents, attorney Alex Dehghani and Xiomara Pazos, who ran against Mestre in 2014 (64 to 36%).

There are three candidates vying for the seat vacated by Cid. They are Luis Collazo, Esther Colon and Nayib Hassan.

And we will learn more about all these people — and the cults they belong to — in weeks to come. Stay tuned.