Shhhhh. The city of Coral Gables wants you to shut up.

If you’re a pesky citizen who asks too many questions, like North Gables activist and onetime commission candidate Ariel Fernandez, you get a weak ‘cease and desist’ letter from a fancy outside attorney (more on that later). If you’re an employee of the City Beautiful who talks to activists like Fernandez or city commissioners, giving them unfiltered information about city services or, maybe, police shortages or, um, theft of alarm fees, you could get fired.

And forget meetings in the afternoons so that more residents who have to work during the day can go and give commissioners their two cents on land use or development issues or the police shortages. Three of five commissioners have quashed that idea.

Maybe it should be called the City Bashful.

Information is so bottled up in Coral Gables that, as the Miami Herald just reported, there were no tweets or Facebook updates on the police department’s accounts during the recent shooting at the Village of Merrick Park. A policy change last year routes all tweets and Facebook posts through the red tape morass of the city manager’s office for approval — which sort of goes against the grain of the immediacy of police twitter alerts.

It seems that City Manager Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark wants to control all the information getting out -bnd keep as much of it from getting out as possible. Even to commissioners, who were shocked to learn this month that a former employee had been arrested in March for stealing $85,000 from the city by diverting false alarm fee checks to her own bank account.

Swanson-Rivenbark also sent an email out earlier this month as “an important reminder to all department directors that each of you are to communicate to our office and to the city commission through your assigned assistant city manger with the exception of finance, internal audit and communications, which reports directly to me.

“The reporting encompasses all written and verbal communication,” she wrote, careful to say that they should, of course, provide information when asked. She doesn’t want to get accused of being a Pat Salerno (ooops, too late).

Read related story: Coral Gables picks Cathy Swanson as top administrator

“In the event that a city commissioner reaches out directly to you for information, please provide the information to them and inforn your assistant city manager so our office may be kept informed and ensure proper follow-through,” she wrote ominously. Define proper follow-through, Ladra says.

“This includes attendance at meetings involving a city commissioner,” the city manager continued.

So now department directors must also report on commissioners’ attenance at meetings? Like a chivato?

“The purpose of this established reporting structure is to ensure the highest level of efficiencies, coordination and timely implementation.” Swanson-Rivenbark wrote. But that seems like a stretch. The twitter policy certainly isn’t more efficient or timely. More likely, this ensures that commissioners are kept in the dark and the manager is the only one who really knows what is going on — including whatever any of the commissioners know or said.

And Ladra suspects that it is meant to have a chilling effect. When she says, “In the event that a city commissioner reaches out directly to you for information,” it sounds an awful lot like, “Yeah, right. What would they be doing going to you? We will suspect you went to them no matter what.”

Ladra wonders if the commissioners have noticed any sudden stopgap in information after the May 4 email where Swanson-Rivenbark also asks department directors to share the policy with staff and confirm receipt of the email “so I know each of you are aware of the appropriate protocol.”

So, it sounds like a gag order and smells like a gag order and walks and talks like a gag order, but the city manager calls it protocol.

Read related story: Gables City Attorney says ‘There can only be one police chief’

This email comes on the heels of a letter sent by an outside counsel to Ariel Fernandez after he sent a series of emails to Assistant City Manager Frank Fernandez (no relation) about the police shortages and public safety, copying Swanson-Rivenbark and other city employees and commissioners. The letter from former Miami-Dade Judge Israel Reyes tells Fernandez that his words are “potentially libelous” because he is making inaccurate assertions (more on that later). But most of the assertions that Fernandez made in his emails, even the ones cited in the Reyes letter — which is not a formal cease and desist but has the same threatening tone and intends to have the same chilling effect — was information provided to him, in most cases, by city employees. Some of it might have been inaccurate. But some of it was not (like the police chief being undermined by the city manager’s office). And there is no doubt in Ladra’s mind that this is the kind of thing Swanson-Rivenbark wants to nip in the bud. 

It’s also protocol for all city commission meetings to be held at 9 a.m. — and don’t expect that to change anytime soon to make them more accessible to more people. Commissioner Vince Lago asked the city clerk to poll his colleagues to see if they would be willing to begin meetings at 5 p.m. once a month, or every other meeting, to give more residents the opportunity to partipate in the democratic process through municipal government. But it got shot down by three of the voting members on the commission.

According to a May 15 memo from City Clerk Walter Foeman, two members of the commission opposed the 5 p.m. start time for the second meeting of the month. “Another member of the commission said she preferred meetings to start at  9 a.m.,” Foeman wrote, and we can assume that is Commissioner Pat Keon, the only she on the dais now. “Another commissioner said that both times worked for him; and the requesting party voted yes, to have the meetings begin at 5 p.m.”

Ladra’s sources say that newly elected Commissioner Mike Mena was the one who didn’t care one way or another and that Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli and Commissioner Frank Quesada were against it. Keon said it would be too hard on staff, who had to report the next day at 8 a.m. But a lot of other small cities have night meetings and it would definitely increase the number of people who could participate.

Ahhh. There it is, ladies and gents. Ladra cannot help but think that the true intention of not having meetings at 5 p.m. is to thwart participation. And it’s a pattern.

Because if you live or work in Coral Gables, the city administration and three of the electeds don’t want to hear from you.

So, shhhhhhh.

Cedric McMinn kicks campaign off with a bang of backing

Longtime Democrat activist Cedric McMinn, the public outreach director for Miami-Dade School Board Member Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall, is running for state rep to replace Rep. Cynthia Stafford, who is termed out next year. And he’s got Stafford’s blessing.

Stafford is one of the many heavyweight hosts for McMinn’s kick-off campaign event Thursday. Bendross-Mindingall is also on the host committee, naturally. It would be weird if she wasn’t.

Others on the committee in formation (aren’t they all?) include Sens. Oscar Braynon II and Jose Javier Rodriguez, State Reps. David Richardson and Nick Duran, North Miami Councilman Alix Desulme, former Sen. Dwight Bullard, former South Miami Commissioner Brian Beasley, former Hallandale Beach Commissioner Alexander Lewy and a smattering of lobbyist/consultants like Ron Book, Jose Fuentes and Chris Norwood.

It’s an impressive list of endorsements for a first-time candidate — and there’s a guide for giving to the campaign. Hosts write checks for the $1,000 maximum contribution, “supporters” spend $109, “young professionals” are urged to donate $50 and the student discount is steep, for $20.18.

That’s how wide McMinn’s expected support base will be in a district that is predominantly black and Democrat and poor. It includes sections of Miami, Hialeah, Miami Gardens and Opa-locka.

He must have been 12 when he started volunteering for local, state and national political campaigns, including Mindingall’s, Braynon’s, Kendrick Meek’s (congressional and senatorial), John Kerry’s (2004) and Barack Obama’s (2008 and 2012). It was just a matter of time.

Based on the strength of the host committee, Ladra will say that former State Rep. James Bush III, who has run for everything from congress to leadership at the UTD and lost a bid last year to get on the Miami-Dade School Board, is going to face another uphill battle. If each host at McMinn’s shindig gives the suggested $1,000 contribution, the kid starts off with at least $25,000 raised the first month. Bush has only raised a little more than $1,000 since January.

Bush served in that same district two separate times. He was first elected in 1992 and termed out in 2000. Then, he returned in 2008, but left two years later to run against Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (he lost).

Oh, maybe that’s why he doesn’t have the heavyweight host committee.

Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez is termed out and cannot run for another term. So says a lawsuit filed Monday by a former mayor that seeks to keep him off the ballot this November.

Hernandez was council president and automatically became the mayor when former Mayor Julio Robaina resigned  in May 2011 to run for Miami-Dade mayor. The city charter says he is to serve the remainder of that term until a special election is called to fill the vacancy. That happened in November of 2011, when voters chose Hernandez over both former Mayor Raul Martinez and former Sen. Rudy Garcia.

Because Robaina won that term in 2009, Hernandez had to run for re-election again two years later in 2013. He won again, handily, getting 81 percent against former Mayor Julio “The Other” Martinez and Juan Santana.

The lawsuit filed Monday by attorney Jose “Pepe” Herrera on behalf of Julio Martinez says the city charter, which states “no person shall serve as mayor for more than two consecutive terms.” It doesn’t say two “full” terms, the lawsuit says. It doesn’t say two whole terms. In fact, it doesn’t have any adjectives at all. Just two conservative terms. Which Hernandez has served.

Read related story: Hialeah hoodlums recruit from the Carlos Gimenez gang

“Simply put, a term is a term, and absent any durational adjective, section 2.01 of the city charter must be construed to its plain meaning and grammatical syntax,” the lawsuit states, adding that Hernandez’s argument that a partial term cannot be counted could be intentionally manipulated to “avoid the intent of the electorate” that passed term limits in 1996 and who didn’t include the word “full” when describing the two terms.

That would indicate that Hernandez, who launched his re-election campaign in March, can’t run again.

The lawsuit was filed against Hernandez, Hilaeah City Clerk Marbelys Rubio-Fatjo and Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Christina White. There will be a press conference Tuesday morning at Herrera’s office, 2350 Coral Way, Suite 201. Herrera is representing Julio Martinez pro-bono. “I like protecting the public interest and dislike bullies. It’s why I went to law school,” Herrera told Ladra.

Looks to Ladra like he’s got a case. Could we finally get rid of Hernandez based on a technicality?

“He paid Grodnick, but he can’t pay me off,” said former Mayor Julio “The Other” Martinez (photographed), referring to former Hialeah City Attorney William Grodnick, who apparenty provided an opinion to the mayor before he retired some months ago that says he does have the right to run again.

Funny enough, Grodnick had the exact opposite opinion in 2008 when then-Councilman Esteban Bovo wanted to run for a fourth term. Bovo, who was elected to fill out the term vacated by the indicted former Councilwoman Maria Rovira in 1999, had not served three full terms — the limit in the charter — but only two and a half. Grodnick told Bovo back then that he could not run again.

Read related story: Carlos Hernandez lies again — under oath this time

“He contradicted himself.  But when you are three months away from retirement and Carlos tells him to do something… it’s just n opinion. A city attorney can do that and be wrong,” Martinez told Ladra. “You can’t buy me off. Now, we are going to a real judge.”

Martinez, bless his soul, doesn’t want to run for office. “No, I’m not going to run for shit. I just don’t want him to run,” he said, pardoning his own French. “We in Hialeah voted for our mayors to be limited in office to eight years. Now he is going to be there for 11? No. I don’t think so.”

Which of these ballot bandidos will run for Hialeah mayor if Carlos Hernandez can’t?

While Martinez won’t run himself, he has plenty of ideas for who might be interested in an open seat once Hernandez is barred by a court from the ballot: Bovo himself, though Ladra thinks he is eyeing the county mayor’s seat, Sen. Rene Garcia, who is termed out, Council President Luis Gonzalez — who, las malas lenguas say, got peeved that Hernandez wasn’t giving him the seat, as promised — and even Councilwoman Isis “Gavelgirl” Garcia-Martinez, who was on the outs with Hernandez at the end of last year but seems to have patched things up because she won’t return anyone’s calls.

Ladra hears former State Rep. Eddy Gonzalez, who has threatened to run for Hialeah mayor like the boy who cried wolf, is making too much money in the private sector, lobbying and “consulting” in government affairs.

Someone has to be thinking about it already. Herrera, who is on a roll recently, has a case here and Hernandez is due some cosmic karma.

Our only fear is that he would run for county commission or — dare I say it? — senate. God help Hialeah.

Summer is coming.

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

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

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

MONDAY — May 22

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

TUESDAY — May 23

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

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

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

WEDNESDAY — May 24

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

THURSDAY — May 25

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

SATURDAY — May 27

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

Holding up signs that said “Liar, liar” and “Resign now” in both English and Spanish, a group of Republicans protested in front of Democrat State Rep. Daisy Baez‘s Coral Gables home Monday morning — the one that sits outside the district she was elected in — and demanded she resign from office.

Baez lives in House District 112 instead of 114 where she was elected. She admitted to Ladra on Saturday that she was sleeping at her old house in Malaga Avenue and would not tell me if she had slept even one night at the apartment on Anderson Road, where she changed her voter’s registration to a week before the election.

That’s ticked some Republicans off. Like Mauricio Pons, an FIU student who worked on the campaign for John Couriel, who lost to Baez in a very close race last November (51 to 49 percent).

“There are only two things required of our state representatives. One is that they live in the district. The other is that they vote on the budget. That’s it. She failed at both,” Pons said, noting that Baez missed the May 8 vote on the state budget, the one vote the legislature must make.

“She doesn’t live in the district. What more proof do you need as proof than her leaving her house in her blue Mercedes at 8:30 a.m.,” said Pons, 20, who happens to live in 112.

Baez definitely is required to live in the district she represents. She does not. She only Saturday put an offer on a property in District 114, she said. Only now do we see the “For Rent” sign that was leaning against a wall in her porch on Saturday, on the front lawn.

Read related story: Daisy Baez should resign, not just drop out of other race

And while she isn’t really required as an individual member to vote on the budget, passing the budget is literally the only thing the legislature is required to do. And she did skip that part. Records show she neither voted yay nor nay on that. Baez told Ladra via text message that she “had permission from the speaker to return to Miami to be with my mother, who was hospitalized.” She didn’t want to be out that day because she also wanted to vote against the controversial education bill, she said.

Ladra has already said that Baez should resign just on the residency thing. She basically lied to voters when she said she represented District 114 as a voter and elector, as required. She also lied on her voter’s registration form, which is a third degree felony and she could be charged with a crime.

Miami-Dade Republian Party Chairman Nelson Diaz said Baez “failed us as a state representative” and should pay another way — by refunding her salary of about $85 a day.

“She owes us $15,000.”