Ladra predicts State Rep. Vicky Lopez gets appointed
Ah, Miami-Dade County… where the candidates start lining up before the seat is even officially vacant.
With Commissioner Eileen Higgins heading into the mayoral runoff and leaving her District 5 seat, the race to see who replaces her has gone from sideline chatter to full-blown arena. And we have our players.
The deadline to apply, for those who want to be appointed, came and went Wednesday and there were five wannabes for D5. Fitting. And they are exactly who we thought they would be. Commission Auditor Adeyinka Majekodunmi told Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez in a memo Wednesday that there would be “background research and residency verification” of the candidates and that the commissioners would get a report by Monday, Nov. 17.
Read related: Let the jockeying begin to fill Eileen Higgins’ Miami-Dade commission seat
Commissioners are expected to make a decision the very next day. So, let’s give them some cliff notes they can get without the fancy audit, right? Here is some tiny basic background research on the five applicants for the District 5 commission seat:

Former Commissioner Joe Sanchez, the “veteran” law enforcement figure who lost the Republican primary for the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s office last year, has been lobbying commissioners hard even before he filed to run for the seat the day after Higgins won the first round with 36% Nov. 4. He keeps publicly saying there should be an election, but that’s only because he knows someone else has the inside track.
State Rep. Vicky Lopez, the one with the inside track, who is being pushed out by Tallahassee and seems to have most of the commissioners on board — Republicans as a favor to House Speaker Danny Perez, and Democrats because they think they can win the seat in a special election, which is not entirely impossible given the current climate (more on that later). But Lopez has excess baggage. It includes an indictment on 10 counts, including bribery and “honest services fraud,” when she was a Lee County commissioner in 1995 and served 15 months in federal prison until President Bill Clinton commuted her sentence. Later, a court vacated her conviction. More recently, she’s been accused of benefiting from the school bus camera legislation she championed last year after family members got lucrative jobs in the industry. But in Miami politics, that kind of baggage often just means “experienced.”
Former Miami-Dade Commissioner Bruno Barreiro, who had the seat before Higgins and resigned to run for Congress. He lost. He told Ladra earlier this month that he has the time now that he’s an empty-nester and he wants to bring stability to the commission. You know, the kind of stability that comes with 20 years on the board.
Former Miami Beach Commissioner and State Rep. David Richardson, who lost the Miami-Dade Tax Collector race last year and  filed to run for the seat has said he has already represented the same group of people in both the city of Miami Beach and the Florida House. His supporters make the case that, as the only Democrat in the running, he should replace Higgins because she, too, is a Democrat.
Anthony Javier Diaz, the only non retread, who likes to be called Tony Diaz because that’s how everybody knows him, he says. He was going to run for Miami Commission in the District 4 special election but withdrew (read: chickened out) before it started. Ladra will bet that he won’t run if he’s not appointed.

Nobody should be appointed. By county rules, the Commission has 30 days to either appoint someone or call a special election to fill the vacancy. They have appointed commissioners in the past — Natalie Milian Orbis and Danielle Cohen Higgins some to mind — and proponents will say that an appointment saves more than $1 million taxpayer dollars.
But it’s going to be hard to keep a straight face when they gave FIFA $46 million for, basically, World Cup parties and can always find funding for the pet projects their contributor contractors can build.
Read related: Lobbying starts to fill Eileen Higgins’ D5 Miami-Dade commission seat
Ladra was under the impression that there would be an election for the seat in August anyway, which could make spending $1.2 to $1.5 million on an election in a tight budget year hard to swallow But that’s not true. That’s only if the person is appointed. That’s what triggers the special election with the other county seats in August. This term has almost three years left on it. If someone is elected in a special election in, say, February, they would serve those three years.
There’s nothing else to consider. A special election is the only choice commissioners can make next week if they want the public to have any trust in them whatsoever.
Only five people applied for a seat in a district that covers such hot spots as Downtown Miami, Little Havana, Brickell and parts of Miami Beach because everyone knows the fix is in. (Remember, Ladra was the first to say Orbis would be appointed). The commissioners are leaning toward appointment, because it gives them more control. They already set up an online portal, asked for résumés, and had the auditor’s office prep for the process. In other words:
The setup is ready for the “we pick someone” scenario. And Ladra’s money is on Lopez.
District 5 is now a political chessboard. The players: institutional favorite Lopez, beggar Sánchez, and the whole commission watching who blinks first. Whether the process will be democratic (a special election) or managed (an appointment) is the question — and the answer could tell us a lot about how Miami-Dade really “does” democracy.
Ladra’s prediction: The appointment route wins out, the inside candidate takes the seat, and citizens roll their eyes. Unless the chambers are packed on Nov. 18 and the outrage meter gets high enough to force a special election.

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Just when you thought the dust had settled from Miami-Dade’s budget meltdown over nonprofit funding, the county commission is getting ready to cook up a permanent fix — and it’s one that could quietly take a bite out of every county contract.
Ladra’s calling it the CBO skim.
Thursday, the county’s appropriations committee will take up a new ordinance that would create a Community-Based Organization Trust Fund, a special pot of money meant to stabilize funding for nonprofits that provide human and social services — the same groups that got a last-minute $40 million reprieve during September’s hand-wringing budget circus.
It sounds noble. It’s being sold as a way to protect the safety net from political gamesmanship. But like so many things in county government, it’s not all that easy.
This conversation is about trust. And after the A3 Foundation fiasco, where The Miami Herald discovered the county was paying millions to a ghost non-profit with nothing to show in return — they’re gonna need a lot of it.
Read related: Shady charity with political ties gets $450K from Miami-Dade Commission
Under the plan, 2% of every eligible county contract — for goods, services, even construction — would be deducted and dropped into the new rainy-day fund. That means vendors doing business with Miami-Dade would get a 2% haircut on each invoice, the money quietly rerouted to help “the community.”
Who decides which nonprofits get the help? The same county commission, of course — or the mayor’s office, if the board delegates the power. But Ladra will bet that doesn’t happen.
Leading the charge are three commissioners who know the nonprofit world better than most: Kionne McGhee, Rene Garcia, and Marlene Bastien have sponsored the ordinance.
McGhee, the vice chair and former state lawmaker, runs his district like a social lab of pilot programs and small-business grants. He is also an employee of Children of Inmates, a charity that aims to keep adults in prison connected with their kids while they serve their sentences. Children of Inmates was poised to get $250,000 in 2026 from Miami-Dade County — just enough, maybe, to cover his salary and benefits. McGhee was also the loudest voice on the commission to restore non-profit funding and had his own budget town hall for the community based organizations.
Garcia, the Republican from Hialeah, has chaired more health and social service boards than some Democrats. He founded the resource referral non-profit H.O.P.E. Mission, and has his best friend serving as president.
And Bastien? She is the nonprofit world — founder of FANM, the Family Action Network Movement, and tireless champion for every social cause from affordable housing to immigration. She recently convinced the county to earlier this year to give away a county-owned property at 100 NE 84th Street to the non-profit she founded in 1991.
Read related:Miami-Dade considers giving property away to Marleine Bastien’s non-profit
So, yes, the CBO Trust Fund has plenty of heart. But it also has fingerprints all over it.
It sounds like a good idea: The measure would create a permanent, interest-bearing county fund dedicated solely to nonprofit grants. The 2% “CBO Deduction” would come out of county contracts — just like the User Access Program fee, which vendors have long called a hidden tax. It deducts 2% of all vendors through the procurement department to “defray procurement costs.”
There are exemptions to the proposed CBO deduction (read: loopholes), of course:

Small construction contracts under $500,000
Professional services and design contracts
Federally funded deals where the feds say no
Revenue-generating contracts
And anything the commission votes to waive by a two-thirds majority

The Mayor’s office would oversee the logistics and file an annual report on how much the fund collected and where it went.
Contractors are not going to love this.
Many of them already grumble about the User Access Program. Now they’ll see another 2% dip — one they’ll likely bake right back into their bid prices. So taxpayers might end up footing the bill anyway.
Read related: Miami-Dade budget restores 100% funds to non-profits = self preservation
Fiscal hawks will call it a backdoor tax. Procurement nerds will call it a nightmare. And some watchdogs (woof!) will say it’s a slush fund in the making, with commissioners picking winners and losers among nonprofits.
But for the hundreds of local groups that live and die by county grants every year, this is seen as nothing short of a lifeline — a chance to stop begging every budget season for money to keep their doors open. Expect them to show up en masse to encourage the passage of this measure.
Likewise, lobbyists and contractors will be urging commissioners to vote no. Because 2% of $9 billion dollars — the price tag put on the whole modernization of Miami International Airport — is $180 million.
It’s hard not to see this as a political insurance policy after the budget fiasco that nearly gutted Miami-Dade’s social service network. The commission doesn’t want to go through that again, with seniors and kids and domestic violence advocates showing up to protest.
So they’re setting up a rainy-day fund for nonprofits, paid for by taxpayers anyway because vendors will pass it along. The optics are interesting: three commissioners with deep ties to nonprofit circles creating a fund that could, one day, feed those same circles.
That doesn’t make it wrong — but it sure makes it worth watching.
If this passes committee, it’ll head to the full commission for approval, and you can bet Ladra will be looking to see who lines up for (maybe Keon Hardemon, Oliver Gilbert) or against it (Rob Gonzalez?). Because whether you call it a Trust Fund or a “Trust Us Fund,” this little ordinance could quietly change how social service money flows in Miami-Dade for years to come.
The appropriations committee begins at 11 a.m. Thursday Nov. 13 in commission chambers at County Hall, 111 Northwest First Street, and can be seen live on the county’s YouTube channel and online on their website.

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Did anybody really think a Carollo was gonna get bounced from a Miami election that easily?
In true Magic City fashion, Miami-Dade Judge Peter Lopez ruled Wednesday that Frank Carollo can stay on the Dec. 9 runoff ballot for the District 3 commission seat — despite that new voter-approved lifetime term limits referendum that was supposed to slam the revolving door on recycled politicians.
And just like that, the Carollo Conundrum lives on.
The ruling came just as county elections officials are finalizing ballots that include not just the District 3 runoff but also the mayoral matchup between Eileen Higgins and Emilio González. That means the vote-by-mail clock keeps ticking, and barring an appeal miracle, Frank’s name will be right there — next to the seat he once held and the one his older brother Joe Carollo is about to vacate.
Read related: Miami voters sue to keep Frank Carollo off the runoff ballot after term-limit win
The residents who brought the lawsuit — Oscar Elio Alejandro, Victor Milanes, and Alex Almirola — aren’t taking it lying down. They called the decision “deeply disappointing” and said it “disenfranchises” the more than 80% of Miami voters who approved Referendum 4 last week.
That measure wasn’t ambiguous, they said. It clearly said term limits apply retroactively and immediately. As in, right now. Not “whenever it’s politically convenient.”
“By failing to uphold the measure exactly as written,” their joint statement read, “the court has undermined the will of the voters and weakened the mandate for reform that Miami residents so clearly demanded at the ballot box.”
Translation: the people said eight years is enough — but the court said, maybe not for the Carollos.
Judge Lopez’s decision didn’t actually settle the broader issue of whether the new term limits will apply to future elections — just that it’s too late to yank Frank off this one. His lawyers had argued that removing him now would “disenfranchise” voters who already cast ballots for him and could trigger constitutional challenges.
But to the plaintiffs, that logic is backwards. They say letting a two-term commissioner stay on the ballot undermines the very reform that Miamians voted for. And don’t be surprised if they take this fight upstairs to the Third District Court of Appeal, like the judge himself predicted on Monday.
Attorney Juan Carlos “JC” Planas, a former state rep who ran for supervisor of elections in Miami-Dade last year, said he is still looking at options. He indicated that they may refile again.
“I am still reviewing the judge’s ruling to make sure it does not render hollow the votes of 79% of the city of Miami that voted to bar Frank Carollo and others from serving again in positions that they have already served for two terms,” Planas told Political Cortadito. “All options are legally on the table to preserve the will of the voters ass to lifetime term limits.”
Read related: Judge to decide this week if Frank Carollo stays on Miami D3 ballot
So, what happens now? Alejandro, who came in third in the first round Nov. 4, won’t get on the ballot and Rolando Escalona, who came in second, still gets to face Frank Carollo on Dec. 9 — even though the referendum technically says the former commissioner shouldn’t even be eligible.
It’s a classic Miami election déjà vu: same family name, same district, same chaos — and the same voters shaking their heads, wondering if anything ever changes in this town.
Meanwhile, the plaintiffs say they’ll keep pushing to “remind voters that Eight Years is Enough.” Maybe they should add a footnote: unless your last name is Carollo.
Once again, the people spoke, the lawyers spun, and the court punted.
So, the runoff goes on, and Miami voters get a choice that most of the city thought they’d already rejected. It’s a setback for reform, a win for the status quo, and another headline for the “Only in Miami” file.
Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned after decades of Suarezes, Carollos, and court rulings that come just in time for the ballot printers — it’s that in this city, power never really leaves. It just gets recycled.
Eight years might be enough for the voters. But for the Carollos? Apparently not.

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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Florida politicians love to talk about “family values.” But when it comes to helping parents — especially working moms — actually run for office, they’ve been leaving them high and dry.
That could finally change.
State Senator LaVon Bracy Davis (D–Ocoee) and State Rep. Kelly Skidmore (D–Boca Raton) have filed legislation — HB 361 and SB 414 — that would allow state and local candidates to use campaign funds to pay for childcare expenses directly related to campaign activities.
That means if you’re running for office and need to pay for a babysitter while you’re out knocking on doors, going to a debate, or attending a fundraiser — you can cover it with your campaign account.
You know, the same account folks use for yard signs and Facebook ads. The same accounts people like former disgraced Sen. Frank Artiles and former disgraced Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla use for food and booze and parties. Seems like common sense, right?
The Federal Elections Commission thought so. Back in 2018, it voted unanimously — bipartisan, mind you — to allow federal candidates to use campaign money for childcare. Since then, 38 states and D.C. have followed suit. Florida, as usual, is behind the curve. This will be the third year Skidmore tries to pass the legislation. In 2024, the Senate version of the bill, co-sponsored by Hollywood independent Sen. Jason Pizzo, advanced through two votes before stalling out in its third committee stop. But the House version died unhear. Last year, both the Senate and House proposals were unheard.
But in 2023, the legislature passed new rules that allowed for candidates to file campaign finance reports every three months, rather than monthly. Because that’s more important.
Read related: New Florida law gives us less campaign finance reporting, less transparency
This is not just about convenience. It’s about representation.
According to the Vote Mama Foundation, fewer than 7% of members of Congress are mothers of minor children, and just 7.9% of state legislators nationwide are mothers with kids under 18. The number of fathers of young kids isn’t even tracked, but let’s be real — they’re not showing up in droves either.
That’s because it’s nearly impossible for a working parent — especially a single parent or someone without deep pockets — to juggle the demands of campaigning and child-rearing without serious help. Not everybody has an abuelita standing by.
“Running for office should be about your ideas and your commitment to serve, not about whether you can afford childcare,” Skidmore said in a statement.
And Bracy Davis nailed it when she said this bill “opens doors for working parents, especially those from lower-income families, who too often must choose between providing for their children and participating in our democracy.”
Amen, sister.
So where are our South Florida legislators on this?
Because Ladra would love to see Miami-Dade’s delegation — Democrats and Republicans — get behind this one. If we’re serious about electing people who actually understand what working families go through, then we have to stop building systems that only work for retirees, the independently wealthy, and trust-fund candidates. If our local state senators and reps can use their campaign funds to pay for their cellphones and executive lunches, getting childcare for candidates is an easy yes.
Read related: In Miami-Dade, first day of school jitters come with ICE deportation fears
We’ve all seen it — campaigns dominated by people who can afford to run because they don’t have to worry about carpool, dinner, or daycare. Meanwhile, the people who should be in office — teachers, nurses, moms, dads, caretakers — are priced out before they even print their first yard sign.
That’s not democracy. That’s gatekeeping.
So, to our friends in the Miami-Dade delegation — Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, mother of two boys, I’m talking to you — and the rest of you who say you support families and opportunity, here’s your chance to prove it. Support HB 361 and SB 414. Vote yes to make politics a little more family-friendly.
Because it shouldn’t take a miracle — or a millionaire — to run for office in Florida.

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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Either decision will likely be appealed
Will former Miami city commissioner Frank Carollo remain on the runoff ballot Dec. 9 or won’t he? We probably won’t know before absentee or mail-in ballots go out next week.
On Monday, Circuit Court Judge Peter Lopez heard arguments in yet another Miami election case. This one seeks to remove Frank Carollo, an accountant who came in first in last week’s District 3 race, from the Dec. 9 runoff, where he faces restaurant manager Rolando Escalona, who came in second with 17%. The lawsuit says keeping Carollo in play runs afoul of a charter amendment on lifetime term limits that voters overwhelmingly approved — by a whopping 79%— on the same Nov. 4 ballot as the City Commission races.
The new rule says anyone who’s served two terms as mayor or commissioner is done for life. No more revolving door, no more comeback tours.
Read related: Miami Voters get it right on the fine print referendums: Yes, No, Yes, Yes
It’s quite possible, and a little ironic, that some voters could have voted for the lifetime term limits and Frank Carollo, who already served two full terms representing District 3 from 2009 to 2017, before being replaced by — wait for it — his older brother, Commissioner Joe Carollo, who’s now termed out and lost a bid for mayor. So, little brother wants his old seat back.
That could mean 24 years of having a Carollo rule over D3 — exactly what the referendum aimed to stop.
Three residents, including third place finisher Oscar Alejandro, say that’s not happening and have sued to stop it. “On Nov. 3, Frank Carollo was a lawfully qualified candidate,” said their lawyer, Juan-Carlos “J.C.” Planas. “On Nov. 5, he was not.”
Planas says it’s simple: voters clearly said they want no more career commissioners, and Carollo’s two-term run means he’s automatically disqualified. The fix? Just swap Frank’s name out for Alejandro’s on the ballot and move on.
Carollo’s attorney, Robert Fernandez, called that idea crazy talk — and maybe unconstitutional. He argued that the referendum didn’t explicitly say it would apply to candidates on the same ballot. Removing Carollo now, Fernandez said, would “disenfranchise” the 2,570 voters who chose him last week and could violate both state and federal law.
But, wait. Wouldn’t leaving Frank Carollo on the ballot disenfranchise the 27,931 voters who passed lifetime term limits?
Read related: Miami voters sue to keep Frank Carollo off the runoff ballot after term-limit win
Judge Lopez didn’t sound thrilled about having to decide this political hot potato and he knows his decision will be challenged either way. “I’m not the last word on this,” he said. “Whatever I do, the Third DCA is going to have to chime in.” That’s why he promised a quick ruling Wednesday morning. Because everyone knows the losing side will appeal faster than you can say “vote-by-mail.”
Speaking of mail ballots — that’s another problem. Oren Rosenthal, attorney for the county elections office, warned that changing the ballot now would throw a wrench in the printing and mailing process. Ballots are already being prepped, envelopes stuffed, and the mail-out is set for Nov. 17. That’s Monday.
“It’s not as easy as just printing a new one,” Rosenthal told the judge. “They have to be programmed, tested, and quality-assured.”
Which means this isn’t just about District 3. The same ballots also include the Miami mayoral runoff between Eileen Higgins and Emilio González. Any delay could ripple into that race, too — and neither of those campaigns want to give voters another reason to roll their eyes at Miami’s perpetual chaos.
For those keeping score at home, Frank Carollo got 38% of the vote, Escalona came in second with 17%, and Alejandro was third with almost 12%. Interestingly enough, another candidate, Denise Galvez Turros, sued to try to get Escalona off the ballot, claiming he did not meet residency requirements. Planas represented Escalona in that case, and won.
Read related: ‘Winners & Losers’ from the Miami, Miami Beach and Hialeah elections
If Judge Lopez sides with the plaintiffs, it could make history — enforcing the city’s new lifetime ban before the ink on the ballots is even dry. If he sides with Carollo, it means the voters’ 79% “yes” might not take effect until the next election.
Either way, this is peak Miami politic: one brother out, another trying to sneak back in, the voters saying “enough already,” and the lawyers turning it all into a three-ring circus — all before the ballots even hit the mail.
Why it so hard to clear City Hall of all Carollos?

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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Even before a Mami-Dade Sheriff’s deputy was shot and killed last week, the Kendall Federation of Homeowners Associations had planned its annual celebration of first responders with pizza and speeches and awards. But the KFHA Police and Firefighter Awards night Wednesday will have special meaning since the death of Devin Jaramillo, 27.
“We talk about their dangerous work,” said KFHA President Michael Rosenberg. “But every day is ordinary, until it’s not ordinary. This was an ordinary day for him, an ordinary call and it turned out to be horrendous. Any call can end up like that.”
That’s true. But the most dangerous calls, according to policing organizations nationwide, are domestic violence calls and traffic stops.
Jaramillo had responded to a “minor” crash near the corner of Southwest 122nd Avenue and SW 128th Street just before 4 p.m. Friday. He got into a physical scuffle with the driver, who grabbed the officer’s gun and shot him up to seven times. The driver then ran to his car and took his own life.
There will likely be a moment of remembrance for him.
There will also be plaques and certificates from Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Commission Chair Anthony Rodriguez and Commissioner Raquel Regalado for some of the first responders in Kendall who should be recognized. That includes a firefighter who jumped into a lake to pull out the passenger of a vehicle that had become submerged. And four or five police officers who joined to lift a heavy vehicle off an injured person.
In the past, this evening has brought together emotional reunions between first responders and those they’ve saved. The KFHA also plans to honor hero dogs, K9 units assigned to Kendall officers.
“Our first responders are always there for us. Let’s show them that we are there for them,” Rosenberg said.
So, the evening starts at 6 p.m. with Italian food by Mike’s Italian at the that small little clubhouse room at 8625 SW 124th Ave., and the event moves at 7 p.m. to the Regal Cinema movie theater next door for the presentation of the awards And if anyone wants to stay, the Regal will be showing the new movies, Sarah’s Oil — based on the true story of an African American girl who became a millionaire in Oklahoma after she discovered oil on her land.
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