Jesse Scheckner
Local business owner Melissa Castro defied marked deficits in campaign cash, political backing and prior community service Tuesday to win the Group 4 seat on the Coral Gables Commission.
With all 25 precincts reporting, all early votes tallied and a full count of mail-in ballots at 8:15 p.m., Castro had 59% of the vote compared to 41% for government relations specialist Ivette Arango O’Doski, who enjoyed advantages in endorsements, funding and votes during the city’s General Election earlier this month.
About 17.5% the city’s 32,978 registered voters — 5,784 residents — participated in the runoff, which the city held after neither Castro nor O’Doski secured more than half of the vote in the regular election April 11, when they faced two others candidates running in Group 4.
Florida Politics has contacted Castro for comment and will update this story.
O’Doski said that while the outcome of the race is not what she wanted, she is proud of the campaign she ran.
“This election does not diminish my love for this community and my desire to do all that I can to see it thrive,” she said. “I wish Melissa all the best and nothing but success as she serves our city.”
Now with victory in hand, Castro will join Mayor Vince Lago and Commissioners Rhonda Anderson, Ariel Fernandez and Kirk Menendez on the City Commission.
Fernandez, a consultant and blogger, won the Group 5 seat April 11 after defeating lawyer Alex Bucelo, who like O’Doski carried more money and endorsements, including a nod from Lago, into Election Day.
Castro, meanwhile, enjoyed support from the Gables Neighbors Association, a 16,000-member resident activist group that opposes overdevelopment in the city — something both she and O’Doski said they are against.
The lead up
O’Doski and Castro — both first-time candidates — took 47% and 39% of the vote, respectively, during the city’s regular, biennial election two weeks prior, leaving just 14% remaining to be split evenly between also-ran candidates Jackson “Rip” Holmes and mortgage broker Sean Patrick McGrover.
The city’s election rules require a candidate must receive more than half the vote to win outright.
Castro, 38, boasted neither the community service bona fides nor the deep coffers her opponent had. She is a psychologist by training who in 2020 took over her late mother’s permit-expediting business.
This election, she leaned heavily into grassroots fundraising, amassing a little more than $19,000 between February and last week. Most of the money came through personal checks and around a dozen business contributions.
She also notched additional endorsements from documentary filmmaker Billy Corben, a noted critic of government corruption in Miami-Dade, and Political Cortadito, a local news and accountability blog.
O’Doski, 48, is a lawyer by training and registered lobbyist for the Greater Miami & The Beaches Hotel Association. She is a former vice president of the Miami-Dade Beacon Council, the county’s primary economic development arm, and has been a member of the state Board of Architecture and Interior Design. Her husband is Rhett O’Doski, vice president of state government relations for McGuireWoods.
In terms of campaign finances, she couldn’t be caught. Between when she filed to run in August and April 20, she raised nearly $224,000 through a blend of personal checks, corporate contributions and donations from political committees, as well as $6,000 of her own money.
In addition to the endorsement from Lago, who in February coasted into a second term unopposed, registered Republican O’Doski enjoyed the backing of Miami-Dade Commissioner Kevin Marino Cabrera, who defeated Fors in November to represent Coral Gables and other cities at County Hall.
David Lawrence Jr., a former publisher of the Miami Herald who since 1999 has chaired The Children’s Movement of Florida, called O’Doski “a natural for elected office.” Mark Trowbridge, president and CEO of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, described her as “a force” with “incredible insight into the political process but (who is also) very grounded and connected here in Miami-Dade County.”
Castro, who is registered without party affiliation, drew criticism last week after Florida Politics reported that April 11 marked the first time she’d ever voted. She called it one of her “highest regrets,” but said her previous abstinence from the electoral process was more due to her work and parenting responsibilities than apathy.
County voter records show O’Doski has voted about 40 times since registering in February 1997, including in the 2021 and 2023 Coral Gables elections and the 2022 Primary Election.
A pivotal time
Long insulated from development that threatened to reshape its skyline and clash with its Mediterranean aesthetic, Coral Gables in recent years has opened up to builders and expansion thanks to the policies of more permissive city leaders.
The changes have received varying reviews. A 10-story mobility hub near under development near US 1 has been lauded as a “gleaming” structure “designed for the future” but slow to rise due to high construction costs.
Another massive development has drawn comparisons to the opening scene from the Pixar movie “Up” for surrounding a small, single-family home whose owner refused to sell and move.
With the help of a newly composed Miami-Dade County Commission, the city is also advancing with previously quashed plans to annex the nearby unincorporated neighborhoods of Little Gables, High Pines and Ponce Davis.
A January poll of residents found that most Coral Gables voters are OK with the Little Gables annexation. But not all are jazzed about it. The Coral Gables firefighters union, which in January opted for arbitration after two years’ worth of contract negotiations went nowhere, said the annexations would further strain an already thinned department by adding 900 acres of serviceable area.
Platforms, messaging
Both candidates said they opposed overdevelopment in the city and promised to take a conservative approach to the issue if elected. They also highlighted support for first responders and improving residents’ quality of life as priorities.
Castro vowed to boost residential involvement in government, apply a data-oriented approach to budgeting, streamline the city’s permitting process and preserve historic sites.
O’Doski’s platform included mention of environmental protections, government transparency, improved senior services, reducing traffic and helping small businesses.
Unlike the Mayor, who serves two-year terms, Coral Gables Commissioners serve four-year, staggered terms.
Elections for Groups 2 and 3 will occur alongside the Mayoral race in April 2025.
