Only in Miami can you snatch someone’s phone out of their hands in front of the city commission, city manager, the sergeant-at-arms, and a room full of witnesses — and still get your two minutes at the podium for public comment.
Maybe it’s only because the phone-snatcher was Maria “Beba” Sardiña Mann, who is protected as president of the Crazy Joe Pollo Carollo Fan Club. Or maybe it’s because her victim was Miami activist and award-winning filmmaker Billy Corben, who’s been documenting dysfunction at City Hall longer than four of the five commissioners have been up on the dais.
Because you know if it was reversed, this would be a different story. And it would end with someone in jail.
It’s all captured on video (posted below, courtesy of Corben).
And it was ugly enough for Miami Police to open an investigation to determine if Sardiña Mann committed a “robbery by snatching” when she grabbed Corben’s cellphone. Corben filed a complaint the very same day it happened and Ladra was able to confirm it has been transferred from the Det. Jeremy Kluman in the violent crimes unit to someone in robbery.
Should be an open and shut case.
The Silver Bluff resident confessed to taking his camera, depriving him of his property, later in the meeting. “No, that was not assault,” she said, responding to Corben or someone calling her out for her physical overreaction. “I took his camera. I took his camera. That’s not assault.”
Just robbery, then?
Read related: Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo loses appeal on $63.5 million jury award
The little scuffle took place on May 30 at a sunshine meeting called by Commissioner Miguel Gabela about the weaponizing of government departments after Commissioner Joe Carollo tried to get the city to investigate alleged code violations on his property. Corben noticed Mann as she yapped at activist Thomas Kennedy in line for the podium and started recording it. Corben knows when something is about to go down. It’s an instinct.

But so did Mann. At first, she smiles and waves hello. But then she reaches out — with surprising speed and strength — to intentionally grab the phone he is using to document the corruption and slam it on the dais nearby. She may or may not have struck City Clerk Todd Hannon with it by accident.
Mann was afraid, and rightfully so, that she’d be the next star of a Because Miami web video.
“He has a tendency, just as he has done here with the chicken, to mock people,” she said of Corben, when she was allowed to speak after the scuffle. “I will get an attorney and sue him for harassment.”
This was after she was escorted out and let back in to make public comments. That’s strange because people have been ejected from City Hall for the whole day for much less. Ask Kennedy.
Between crocodile tears and excuses, Sardiña Mann insulted Corben and Kennedy, using Carollo’s own language to try to belittle them, and praised her commissioner, which she is indebted to for getting illegal street closures in her neighborhood and trying to get them again (they were removed after the county took the city to court).
“What he has done for us is unbelievable,” Sardiña Mann said. And she is right about one thing. It is, indeed, unbelievable that Carollo would violate the county law to make her neighborhood a gated one.
Read related: Street wars: Judge orders Silver Bluff barricades removed, streets opened
She also took aim at the other commissioners.
“I don’t see anyone here talking about the things that Mr. Carollo does. All I see is the same people speaking, same time, every time, at the commission before it becomes a circus. Beginning with our elected officials that act, appear like immature children. This is a professional post that you are elected to have, not to sit here and completely derail everything for little snaps at each other. Please, let’s all grow up.”
Yeah, because nothing screams “mature adult behavior” like a weepy defense of a wife-beating habitual violator of the first amendment who abuses political power and a scolding of the very people who just witnessed your possibly criminal tantrum.
Beba, the circus called. They want their clown back.
“Carollo has done more than anybody has done for my district, which is District 3, which has been totally neglected,” Mann said.
You know what else has been neglected? The law. Fairness. Because if that situation had been reversed, if Corben or Kennedy had snatched the phone out of Mann’s hand, they would have been arrested on the spot. Carollo would have insisted on them being cuffed in public and we would have had a perp walk and official statements on social media.
Instead, crickets. Nobody has come out to condemn Beba’s exaggerated outburst turned attempted robbery.
Corben did not want to answer too many questions because it is, or was, an “open and ongoing investigation.” Witnesses were still being interviewed. But he did say that however many times the two may disagree, “we can’t put our hands on each other.
“We have to draw a line somewhere,” he told Political Cortadito. “She crossed that line.”
A Miami New Times story published a comment from Corben: “I was there to engage our government as a citizen and cover the meeting as a documentarian and journalist. My phone is the tool I was using to exercise my First Amendment as a member of the press and keep our community informed. It was out of line and a possible crime for the suspect to violently deprive me of that tool.”
He was just doing his job, documenting shenanigans at City Hall, and particularly Carollo’s hypocrisy. And now he’s documenting potential robbery, courtesy of Carollo’s biggest fan.
Sardiña Mann did not return multiple calls for comment. But that police interview is going to be a fascinating read.
Ladra also can’t help but wonder if she will be at Thursday’s commission meeting. Keep a firm grip on your phones.

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Meanwhile FIFA still gets $46M from taxpayers
Say goodbye to addiction outreach teams, and hello to more overdoses and addicts, if Miami-Dade commissioners approve the 2025-2026 budget proposed this week by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. It proposes a number of cuts to fill the $402 million budget shortfall that the county is facing now that all our federal COVID cash has dried up.
Abuelito‘s subsidized lunch? No más, as three food programs for seniors are on the chopping block. Two senior day care centers — one in Little River and one in South Dade — could be closed.
Also, everybody may have to pay $5 to park at Tropical Park or A.D. Barnes Park. And if you go to a public county pool, well, swim at your own risk or take your own personal lifeguard. But mosquitos and rats will get their time to shine as the county cuts down on landscaping in public areas.
And there are about $40 million in cuts to non-profit grants, some of which may be justified but others that will definitely affect safety nets for thousands of people who live and work in Miami-Dade and fall through the government cracks.
Meanwhile, FIFA still gets $46 million from the taxpayers in cash and in-kind services for their World Cup. Because, you know, priorities.
Read related: Miami-Dade could cut back services, give millions to FIFA for World Cup
Subsidies for billion dollar brands and “economic incentives” do not seem to be as expendable as park programming or, say. senior meals when it comes to the recommended cuts to the $402 million budget shortfall that the county is facing now that all our federal COVID cash has dried up.
The proposed budget “reflects the needs of our community, with responsible, accountable fiscal leadership,” Levine Cava said, with a straight face, in a press conference at County Hall Tuesday that looked more like a funeral. She was flanked by her bloated cabinet of chiefs of this and that, including Public Safety Chief James Reyes — who is doing what, exactly, now that we have a sheriff? — and Chief Operating Officer Jimmy Morales, who was hiding behind the sign language interpreter in the corner.
None of them looked very happy.
It seems they should be smiling more if they are really “building a stronger, more secure Miami-Dade for tomorrow and delivering essential services, spending every single taxpayer dollar efficiently and being accountable to the residents we serve,” as Levine Cava said.
The mayor bragged long-delayed improvements made to Miami International Airport — which still has a long way to go (more on that later) — increased investments in law enforcement and the public transit system, residential and business assistance programs and a spike in the county’s bond rating, which saves more than $500 million over the life of the bonds. She also said these investments made Miami-Dade “one of fastest recovering economies in the country” after the pandemic.
Levine Cava thanked the commission for two consecutive years of decreases in the county’s millage, or tax rate, bringing it to its lowest since 1982, and “easing the burden for many families in our community who are struggling to help ends meet.”
“But today, we are facing a new and difficult fiscal reality,” Levine Cava said. “This budget year brings extraordinary challenges.”
This year’s proposed flat rate will mean that almost everybody pays higher taxes due to increased property values (more on that later).
La Alcaldesa laid the blame for nearly half of the shortfall on the five constitutional offices for the elected county sheriff, supervisor of elections, clerk, property appraiser and tax collector, which are now separate entities, the result of a “mandate,” which is what she called the state charter amendment that was passed by 58% of county voters in 2018.
“The expansion of essentially one county government into six has come at a great cost,” Levine Cava said.
She also said that there has been an increase in the demand for services as well as in the cost of goods and services that affect the government just like it affects families. This has created what she called “the perfect storm.” And like any household, the county has had to tighten its belt, “making sure that every single taxpayer cent is spent” wisely.
Read related: Miami-Dade elected officials say they went to Panama on their own dime
Departments have cut their budgets between 10 and 35 percent, Levine Cava said, adding that some would merge to streamline services, combine functions and create savings while maintaining services. Some park programming would be sacrificed and grants to nonprofits, which has become a controversial process recently, are also going to be “scaled back,” she said.
While Metro Connect — an on-demand, shared-ride service designed to fill the “first mile, last mile” gap in public transportation — will also be scaled back, there are no proposed cuts to Metro Rail, Metro Mover and Metro Bus. In fact, the county expects to launch the South Dade Bus Rapid Transit line later this year. Seniors can also continue to get their Golden Passport for free, which allows them to ride for free.
Maybe they can go get something to eat.
“We did everything possible to protect essential services and employees,” Levine Cava said. Really? Ladra knows where you can find $46 million.
Miami-Dade Commissioners seemed surprised by the proposed budget at Wednesday’s meeting, where they were tasked with setting the tax rate. But each of them have met with the mayor or someone from her office. Commission Chairman Anthony Rodriguez said said he met with Levine Cava weekly on the budget and that she told him more than once that “she’s lost a lot of sleep” over it. “As have I,” Rodriguez said.
So, they knew this was coming. It’s not a surprise. Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez issued a statement that said the county commission had misplaced the blame.
“Miami-Dade County had seven full years to prepare for this transition—to plan, budget, and make sure everything was ready. But they failed to act,” Fernandez said, referring to the lack of preparation following the voter-mandated transition to constitutional offices in 2018, which was approved by 58% of the voters in Miami-Dade.
“Miami-Dade County does not have a revenue problem,” said Fernandez, a Republican. “It has a spending problem.”
The county commission was also split pretty much along partisan lines: Republicans like Roberto Gonzalez are suddenly fiscal hawks, accusing the mayor of being too generous with other people’s money. This is rich, coming from the guy who spent $1 million of other people’s money getting a second district office because the first one didn’t meet his standards.
Read related: Miami-Dade taxpayers fund $1 mil move for Commissioner Rob Gonzalez
Commissioner Raquel Regalado called the proposed budget a “work in progress” and wanted the commission to cut the tax rate by the tiniest percentage, again. It’s just a habit with her. She does it every year.
“I understand that this is a painful year,” Regalado said, agreeing with the tax collector on the constitutional offices. “We started talking about the impact of the constitutional offices five years ago. And three years ago we established a fund and started talking about what we needed to put away.”
She suggested that the commission have an appropriations committee meeting in August “to go line by line” and find more places to cut. “I don’t think this is a budget we can leave until the week before the budget hearing.
“This is not a year when we can just disagree with the mayor’s recommendation,” Regalado added. “This is a year where we have to provide alternatives to her.
“This year and next year are going to be very different and we’ve known that for a very, very, very long time. We either have to reduce services or we have to reduce growth.”
Newly-appointed Commissioner Natalie Milian Orbis agreed that the tax rate should go down. “The proposal as it stands today, asks working families to pay more while getting less,” she said, adding that she was concerned about landscaping cuts leading to illegal dumping and the increased park fees.
“That’s one of the free and safe places families can go and spend time together,” Milian Orbis said.”Our budget reflects our values and this one right now sends the wrong message.”
Commissioner Juan Carlos “JC” Bermudez said he would also make himself available to find efficiencies but he didn’t want to shrink the tax rate just a tad to save few dollars at the expense of more service cuts.
“If we are going to lower it to be the equivalent of a Happy Meal at McDonald’s for our residents and hurt the services provided to the residents of  Miami-Dade County, that smacks to me of politics, it doesn’t smack to me of practicality,” Bermudez said.
Commissioner Senator Rene Garcia agreed with a special meeting to try to lower the flat rate and that the timing was perfect for it. “It’s important for all of us to really take a deep dive and find savings,” he said.
Read related: René García ditches Hialeah mayoral race — after stirring the political pot
But Wednesday’s meeting was eight hours long. How long will a line-by-line review of the budget take? Ladra would guess around three days..
The Democrats on the dais were already shocked at the cuts that are already proposed and are unlikely to support more “adjustments” to services. Commissioner Marleine Bastien called it “a budget without soul.” Commissioner Kionne McGhee said “working families are left out.”
Commissioner Oliver Gilbert, who still doesn’t realize he is no longer the chair, urged the commission to pass the flat rate because they can always reduce it later. They can’t increase it. He said he feared that “base services” like transportation and parks would be hit harder if any more cuts were needed.
“When people talk about austerity and talk about ‘tighten your belt,’ it’s figurative. They’re saying it, but they’re not actually literal. This isn’t one of the talk shows like MSNBC or CNN or FOX. This isn’t any radio show. This isn’t a newspaper. This isn’t a speech in congress. This isn’t a speech in Tallahassee.”
No, but apparently it is a speech at Miami-Dade Government Center.
Gilbert said he was willing to meet in August to work on reductions. “But I think it’s prudent for us to make sure we can at least staff and fund the government at this level,” he said. “When we take in less money, we have to provide fewer services. when we provide those fewer services, typically that accompanies layoffs.”
La Alcaldesa insists she is cutting where she can without eliminating bus routes, firing employees or closing entire parks — yet.
“They were all very hard choices, but they were the right choices,” she told commissioners at Wednesday’s meeting, asking them not to cut the tax rate. “Making any millage cuts now when we have prepared a far balanced budget despite unprecendedn financial restraints would be fiscally irresponsible and would only cause residents to experience deeper service adjustments.”
Meanwhile, residents are left asking why abuelito can’t get his meals delivered but we’re still footing the bill for international soccer.
There will have a chance to ask at two public budget hearings, Sept. 4 and Sept. 18. The appropriations committee when commissioners go line by line, with one of those combs for lice, to find more savings will likely be Aug. 20. Regalado wanted to have it sooner but the mayor said she won’t be here.
Find more information about the 2025-26 budget and the budget process here.
To support Ladra and keep Political Cortadito brewing, make a contribution to watchdog journalism here.
The post Facing $400M budget shortfall, Miami-Dade cuts senior meals, lifeguards, more appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Looks like Little Havana’s favorite strongman in a suit, Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo, just took another legal chancletazo — this time from the U.S. Court of Appeals, which politely (but firmly) told him, “Nananina.”
In a ruling Thursday, the appellate court affirmed the district court’s decision to deny Carollo’s desperate motion for a mistrial on the federal jury award of $63.5 million to Bill Fuller and Martin Pinilla, the two businessmen behind Ball & Chain and Taquerias El Mexicano and owners of a bunch of other Little Havana properties. The jury found what everyone else in Miami already knew: that Carollo used and abused city resources to wage a personal and political vendetta against the pair just because they supported his opponent in the 2017 election.
Basically, Carollo weaponized city government like it was his own personal revenge machine. And now a federal court agrees.
Then, just por las moscas, tossed out the rest of his appeal for “lack of appellate jurisdiction.”
In other words: Don’t waste our time, bruh.
Read related: Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo to lose appeal on $63.5 million judgement
In a joint statement that came with the tone of “told ya so,” Fuller and Pinilla said they were “encouraged but not surprised” by the court’s rejection of Carollo’s “baseless appeal.” And they didn’t hold back:

“The court’s sharp questioning and the overwhelming evidence presented at trial reaffirm what we have maintained from day one: Carollo abused his public office to wage a relentless campaign of political retaliation against us simply because we supported his opponent.
“For years, he weaponized city resources to intimidate, harass, and try to destroy our businesses and reputations. A federal jury saw through that and awarded us a historic verdict. Now, the appellate court has all but confirmed that the ruling will stand.
“This isn’t just a legal victory—it’s a win for every resident and business owner who believes in fairness, democracy, and the First Amendment. We’re grateful to our families, legal team, and the community that stood by us through years of this abuse of power.
“We look forward to putting this chapter behind us and continuing our work to uplift Little Havana.”

Ladra can almost hear the champagne corks popping over at Ball & Chain, a live music staple with food and cocktails in the heart of Little Havana.
Carollo, as usual, did not pick up or return Ladra’s call. But he made his points on his radio show Monday morning on America Radio, calling the ruling unfair and saying to “no proof existed” that he did anything. ¡Pero, por supuesto!
His main argument was that there was jury tampering when one of Fuller’s business partners, Zack Bush, rode in the same elevator with a juror and said he was following her when she asked him what floor he was going to. He didn’t say he was following her like a menace. He just didn’t need to press any buttons because she already did.
The judge in the case was informed. He interviewed the juror, who told him she was not swayed. And the appeals court said that was enough. Carollo said in his radio show that the “simple fact that it happened,” should have been enough for a mistrial. “You have to assume it did affect the jury.”
Read related: Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo can keep his house for now, but no new trial
But, in the appeals court ruling, the three-judge panel made it clear that there was no there there.
“The contact between Bush and Juror 3 had no connection to the subject matter of the trial,” they wrote, and the entire 19-page ruling is posted below. “None of the jurors, including Juror 3, felt that the incident affected their ability to be fair and impartial in any way. And the district court emphasized that the jury should disregard the incident and remain fair and impartial to both sides.
“On these facts, the presumption of prejudice has been rebutted. The contact between Bush and Juror 3 was harmless. Carollo’s arguments to the contrary are meritless,” the judges wrote.
Well, Carollo’s middle name is meritless.
The commissioner whined on the radio about the trial being in Broward and the jury not being his peers. “Many of the people who went to live in Broward are there because they don’t want to live with us,” he said, adding that not one was Cuban and that two of them were transplants from California! And we all know what liberal lefties they are, Carollo said.
He was also upset that the court would not hear the other four arguments that his attorneys wanted to make. “They washed their hands of it,” he said.
Lucky them. Miami could be stuck with Carollo for another year if a judge doesn’t stop the cancellation of the November election (more on this week’s court hearing on that later).
But it’s not all over yet. Their attorney, Jeff Gutches, said that now comes the fun part: collection of that $63.5 mil. “We will now proceed to collect that judgment from both the commissioner and the insurers for the City who enabled the conduct,” he said in a statement.
That’s right: taxpayers have been footing the legal bills for Carollo’s indefensible acts. Last year, the commission agreed to pay $12.5 million to settle the lawsuit as a partial resolution.
And taxpayers may be on the hook again. There’s a second lawsuit from Fuller and Pinilla — a civil complaint, this time, for $2.4 million in damages.
U.S. Court of Appeals ruling against Joe Carollo by Political Cortadito on Scribd

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Questions raised about intimidating senior voters
Newly-elected Miami Commissioner Ralph “Pinky” Rosado was elected with a lot of help from his friends, mostly two veteran politicians who poured around $1.6 million into his campaign for a special election last month that drew 5,346 people — or 11% of the District 4 registered voters.
According to the most recent campaign finance reports, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez spent almost $1.1 million from his political action committee, including $900,000 that went directly to Rosado’s PAC, Citizens for Ethics in Government, and another $170,000 that went to the mayor’s political consultant, Jesse Manzano.
Commissioner Joe Carollo spent $547,000 from his PAC, Miami First, just since May, including more than $311,000 in TV ads (and it’s a safe bet to say Carollo made a commission on those), $34,976 in radio spots (which he also makes commission on) and at least $34,131 in mailers.
While the last contribution to Suarez’s PAC was $1 million made by Citadel Founder Ken Griffin in 2023 — which was supposed to go to the mayor’s fat chance presidential bid — much of the money donated to Miami First in the second quarter comes from real estate and development interests in the city, like:

$100,000 from affordable housing developer Mabruk USA
$100,000 from the owners of a vacant lot valued at $6 million at 191 SW 12th Street. The address is associated with a larger development project called 1 Southside Park, which includes residential units, office space, a hotel, and retail.
$50,000 from Mastec, which is owned by Jorge Mas, who is developing Miami Freedom Park.
$50,000 from 5 South River LLC, owned by renowned restaurateur Roman Jones, who wants to create a dining destination along the Miami River and has a vacant lot across from Kiki’s on the River, his Mediterranean restaurant that caters to a jet-setting crowd on the outskirts of downtown Miami.
$25,000 from real estate investor and developer Arnaud Karsenti.
$25,000 from Aabad Melwani, the operator of the Rickenbacker Marina, who was allegedly shaken down for a contract extension by former Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, according to a civil lawsuit brought by lobbyist and former State Rep. Manny Prieguez.

In total, Team Rosado outspent Regalado by more than 10-1, flooding the airwaves with attack spots and carpet-bombing the district with mailers that will haunt the abuelitas dreams for weeks.
When you add other moneys contributed to Rosado’s campaign and his PAC — including $100,000 of his own money — Rosado raised more than $2 million to beat Jose Francisco Regalado, the son of the former Miami mayor, current Miami-Dade Property Appraiser Tomás Regalado, and brother to Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado. Rosado got just over 55%, or 2,938 ballots cast in his favor.
That comes out to about $709 per vote.
And for a 532-vote margin!
That’s quite an investment. And certainly not a grassroots campaign. It’s more like artificial turf.
Read related: Ralph Rosado is a fraud, liar, puppet trying to become Miami commissioner
Rosado has kept telling everyone that he will be an independent voice on the commission. But it looks more like he’s a sock puppet with two hands all up in it. In fact, one of his first acts was to abolish the Bayfront Park Management Trust, which Carollo failed to do back in February but Rosado handled it for him last week. Rosado also voted for the change in election year, which effectively cancels the election for mayor and two commission seats, giving Suarez and Carollo an extra year in office. It’s easier for Suarez to raise money for a 2026 campaign for governor as a sitting mayor than a former mayor. And Carollo wants the city to keep paying his legal bills.
But that’s not even the worse part.
In May, Joe Carollo was spotted directing Ralph Rosado recording a TV ad. Rosado lied about it.
Las malas lenguas say that senior residents at the city’s public housing buildings, like Smathers Plaza, were told that their rent assistance, home-delivered meals or other city services would end if they voted for Regalado and not Rosado. They were told that both Suarez and Carollo were supporting Rosado — for different reasons, of course — and would be angry if he didn’t win.
Now Ladra’s going to say what candidates and their attorneys usually love to say: “These are baseless allegations.” But they could be legit. And they should be investigated, though Ladra could not independently confirm that it would be. And we know that Carollo, who represents District 3, had a Mother’s Day event at Smathers — which is in District 4. Sure, he says he might run for mayor. But he didn’t have events in other districts. Just where the special election was going to be within a month.
Read related: Is Miami’s Joe Carollo using District 3 public money to campaign in District 4?
To coin a phrase of the moment, this is what democracy looks like — in Miami, anyway: low turnout, no debates, lies, attack content written by political operatives and questions about intimidation of elderly voters. Just another campaign in the Magic City. That’s how we sendup with a commissioner elected by 2,938 people out of nearly 47,000.
That’s not a mandate. That’s a marketing scam. And this wasn’t an election. It was the sale and purchase of a commission seat.
So now, District 4 has a commissioner who says he’s working for the people — while being ushered into office by the same two guys who want to control every inch of power left in Miami government before their scandals catch up to them.
The only thing worse than the low turnout in Miami is the low bar.
The post Francis Suarez, Joe Carollo spend $1.6 million to elect Ralph Rosado in D4 appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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The latest campaign finance reports for the Coral Gables election show that newly-elected Commissioner Richard Lara spent more than three quarters of a million dollars to win the race for Group 3, which went into a runoff in April against activist and attorney Tom Wells. Between his own campaign account and Coral Gables First, which is Mayor Vince Lago‘s political action committee, Lara raised more than $813,000 and spent at least $753,650, according to the reports.
Lara won with 55% of the vote. He had 4,359 of the city’s registered voters cast ballots for him. That means he spent $173 on each vote. At least it’s less than in Miami’s special election last month to replace the late commissioner Manolo Reyes, where Ralph Rosado’s campaign spent about $545 per vote (more on that later).
Meanwhile, in the City Beautiful, Wells spent about $5.50 a vote.
Money doesn’t always win these races. We’ve seen that in the Gables with the 2023 election of commissioners Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez, who were outspent by their opponents, both of whom also got the support of the mayor’s PAC. But this year, the dollars did count.
Lara spent almost $200,000 on advertising through consultant Alex Miranda. He also gave Nicolas Cabrera, son of former Commissioner Ralph Cabrera, $1,500 as a campaign consultant, but he was really a body man, which is a personal assistant who provides close, on-the-ground support, handling logistical and personal needs. Maybe Cabrera posted the pics on Instagram. But he was not the campaign consultant.
That honor goes to Jesse Mazano, Lago’s own political consultant, whose firm Berthier Group got paid $76,747 from the Gables First PAC. More than $35,000 of that was for text messaging. Voters told Ladra they were getting texts daily at one point.
The PAC also spent almost $34,000 on direct mail, which were reportedly also arriving daily toward the end of the runoff.
That’s almost twice as much as Wells spent on his entire campaign, which was $19,421 — all out of his own pocket. Wells spent $5,656 on mail-outs, $3,080 on yard signs and a whole $244.57 on text messaging, according to his report.
But who really paid for Lara’s victory? Well, a quick analysis of the latest contribution show that developers and lobbyists were particularly generous. Between the PAC and the bundles of maximum $1,000 checks to the campaign, the big donors include:

Developer Stuart Miller, executive chairman and co-chief executive officer of Lennar Corporation, gave $50,000
Dagrosa Capital Partners, the real estate developing firm where Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is senior partner, gave $25,000.
Developer Tomas Cabrerizo, who sold his Gables home in March for $14 million, gave at least $25,000 — $20K to the PAC and $5,000 in bundled checks to the Lara campaign.
Benjamin Leon, the medicare mogul recently appointed ambassador to Spain by President Donald Trump, and a serial campaign contributor, gave at least $17,000 through his companies and relatives to both the PAC and the Lara campaign.
Developer Allan Morris, whose firm is building the luxury residential Ponce Park Residences tower, gave $10,000 to the PAC
Jorge Mas, the developer of, among other things, Miami Freedom Park, gave $15,000 from his multiple companies.
Companies linked to developer Armando Codina gave $10,000 between the PAC and the Lara campaign
Lobbyist Manny Kadre gave $10,000 to the PAC between his own money and his firm’s.
Alex Pirez, who owns MOCCA Construction, gave $8,000
Saulo Perez, real estate investor and broker, gave $5,000.
Developer Ignazio Caltagirone, who is building a luxury townhome project on Palermo Avenue, gave $5,000.
Tatiana Pino, the widow of developer Sergio Pino — who committed suicide last year during a police investigation about hiring a hitman to kill his wife — gave $3,000 through the companies she now controls.
Developer Rogelio Tovar gave $3,000 in bundled checks to the Lara campaign.

Everybody knows that there is now way that Lara would have raised more than $813,000 all by himself. He would not have gotten most of those campaign funds if not for L’Ego, who pushed him to run.
Well, so far, Lara has been nothing but an echo for both the mayor and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson. He hasn’t added anything new to the conversation about anything or offered any new and different ideas.
It seems people got what they paid for.
The post Coral Gables: Developers, lobbyists lead, giving $753K to elect Richard Lara appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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After what turned out to be yet another City Hall cage match between Miami commissioners Joe Carollo and Miguel Gabela, the commission voted to abolish the Bayfront Park Management Trust. Not right now. But by January of next year.
This was Commissioner Damian Pardo‘s brilliant idea. Both he and Gabela folded fast like a pair of vinyl strap lawn chairs. And they didn”t have to. It looked early on like they could have killed the whole concept of ending the Trust with a 2-2 vote because Commission Chairwoman Christine King had to leave after the lunch break. Carollo even said he didn’t want to take up the item because he knew it could be killed with a tie. Didn’t they get it? And when Commissioner Ralph Rosado said he wanted to hear the item, they had the opportunity to do just that.
And they blew it. Damn newbies!
Read related: Miami’s Ralph Rosado aims to kill the Bayfront Park Trust for Joe Carollo
In the end, the Trust was finished with a surprising 3-1 vote. Surprising because Carollo voted against it and Pardo and the new Bayfront Trust chair, Gabela — who had been fighting for the Trust’s survival somewhat aggressively — voted for the abolition. Next year, the management of both Bayfront Park and Maurice Ferre Park — and the millions that Bayfront takes in from vendors and events — will be in the control of the city manager’s office.
Or something. They have six months to figure it out. Maybe they can vote to reinstate the Trust, instead.
Rosado, elected last month to replace the late Manolo Reyes, was the one who sponsored this item. But alert readers might recognize it as a stunt Carollo pulled in February. That was one month after he and the city were sued by two whistleblowers who were forced to resign from the Trust after they found financial discrepancies that indicate fraud and abuse by Carollo, who was the chairman for the past seven years. There is no way the two things are not related.
Rosado said it was his own idea. He’s been watching the Bayfront Park Trust for years and it’s an embarrassment, he said. It’s a distraction and a black eye on the city of Miami.
But Carollo first proposed this in February, right after he was accused of using the Trust funds as his own personal political piggy bank. And his accusers have the receipts.
Also, Rosado he had just told the commissioners to give the Miami Downtown Development Authority a chance to address issues that were brought by residents who don’t want to be taxed anymore so that the agency can just give the money away to billionaire brands like the UFC and FC Barcelona, while paying bloated salaries for duplicated position.
So, the DDA, which was established in 1967, deserves another chance. But the Bayfront Trust, created 20 years later in 1987, does not? Check.
Carollo, who was removed as chair earlier this year after the allegations of his abuse of the funds surfaced, claims the park flourished under his management. Millions in revenue! Events galore! The fountain danced! And the grass practically trimmed itself!
Read related: Commissioner Miguel Gabela set to expose more Bayfront Park Trust issues
But Gabela has launched an investigation and financial audit into the Trust’s finances under Carollo’s leadership, which might be why he wants it abolished now, not later. It’s hard to interview witnesses if they are scattered to the winds.
It was hard to watch Gabela cave in to Carollo, especially after he was so vehemently against the abolition. Turning up the volume and getting personal with jabs — he flashed a picture of Joe in his wifebeater shirt and reminded folks about that arrest — it almost seemed at one point that he was going to throw a chair.
Carollo accused Gabela of trying to politicize the Trust and stage a personal vendetta. Gabela countered by pointing out the pile of lawsuits, the whispers of mismanagement, and the fact that an actual forensic audit is in motion something that would normally make most public officials go quiet, but not Carollo, whose middle name might as well be “Litigation.”
It’s all gotten so familiar, you could almost set your watch to the shouting.
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