Jesse Scheckner
Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago didn’t enjoy nearly as clear a path to re-election on Tuesday as he did two years ago, but the result was the same: Voters again picked him to serve as the city’s top elected official.
With all 16 precincts reporting, Lago had 55.5% of the vote to defeat challengers Kirk Menendez and Michael Anthony Abbott. Menendez, an outgoing City Commissioner who has increasingly sided against Lago on pivotal votes, took 37.7% of the vote. Abbott, a first-time candidate who has an open lawsuit against the city, took the remainder.
Lago told Florida Politics he viewed his victory as a “mandate” on rising incivility at City Hall. Tuesday’s outcome, he said, showed that residents want leadership at City Hall, not bickering and self-dealing.
“This has been a hard-fought battle. My family, city residents, my friends in the business community and I worked hard this year, and the people spoke,” he said. “Enough with the ridiculous circus that’s been happening over the last year, where you have three different City Managers in 10 months, where Commissioners are giving themselves 101% salary increases and voting against an Inspector General and moving elections to November.
People are looking to get back to a sense of normalcy, respect and dignity, which isn’t what the people elected two years ago brought.”
Lago said he hopes voters elect Richard Lara, his preferred candidate for the Group 3 seat Menendez must vacate, in an April 22 runoff. Lara’s win would realign the City Commission the Mayor’s way after two years of it leaning conversely.
The Mayor carried the advantage of incumbency and a significant funding edge into Election Day. But he was also more politically vulnerable than before due to a power shift following the 2023 election, when two outspoken critics of his — Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez — defeated Commission candidates he supported.
Since then, it’s been battle after battle at City Hall, with Menendez frequently siding with the five-member Commission’s newest members against Lago and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson, who also faced a pair of challengers Tuesday.
Menendez, among other things, cast tiebreaking votes to give City Commission members huge pay raises and to fire and hire a new City Manager last February without a national search.
Lago and Anderson voted against both decisions and vowed to donate their extra pay to charity, though neither provided proof of doing so when asked by the Miami Herald.
Things then grew uglier. Lago accused Menendez, Castro and Fernandez of assisting a failed citizen effort to recall him. A tense exchange he had with then-City Manager Amos Rojas Jr. in June led to a since-tossed accusation by Rojas that Lago assaulted him.
Lago came under further negative light this week after Coral Gables Police confirmed a private investigator, a former city cop, tailed Fernandez while he drove his son to school. Fernandez said he suspected Lago was behind the surveillance. He and Menendez also said their cars had been vandalized, with the latter intimating Lago was involved.
Lago denied involvement and said he’s repeatedly been the target of smears over the past two years. He is suing over one such incident involving Fernandez and is threatening to sue a local blog for reporting his lawyer called “false, libelous, and defamatory.”
These and other hostilities incensed some residents and spurred five non-officeholders to run this year on variously worded promises to restore decorum and respect at City Hall. But municipal issues also were top-of-mind, including the evergreen subject of overdevelopment, which all candidates opposed, but to different degrees.
“People spoke monumental lies, slander and were very disingenuous about the Vice Mayor and me, and the people of Coral Gables saw through it tonight,” Lago said. “They know who we are. They know our dedication, the amount of time, effort, and sweat that we give to this community, and they know our values. The people spoke, and it was a clear, firm mandate.”
Lago, a 48-year-old construction executive in private life, has served in the Coral Gables government since 2013, including as Vice Mayor. He’s a registered Republican, though the city’s elections are technically nonpartisan.
If re-elected, he promised to increase government transparency and public safety, support “smart development” commensurate with Coral Gables’ character, lower property taxes, and improve sustainability efforts, he cited the city’s lower crime rate, expanded green spaces and trolley services, open-door policy at City Hall, and effort to move elections to November among his accomplishments.
As in past elections, Lago proved a formidable fundraiser this cycle, racking up $472,500 by March 21 through his campaign account with ample contributions from developers, local businesses, and residents.
His political committee, Coral Gables First, had more than $149,000 left as of Dec. 31. Florida’s relatively new campaign finance rules don’t require the PC’s numbers through the end of last month until Thursday.
Another PC backing Lago, Accountable Coral Gables, has raised and spent about $90,000.
That’s more than double what Menendez, 62, raised this cycle.
A former Assistant Miami City Attorney turned public relations and real estate pro, Menendez won his City Commission seat the same year (2021) that Lago secured the mayoralty. He’s enjoyed having the swing vote on the panel since its membership changed in 2023.
Menendez, a Republican, ran on a promise to combat the influence of special interests at City Hall, though he, Castro and Fernandez last year voted against proposals to hire an Inspector General to examine alleged government corruption. They said they wanted to instead add the Inspector General through a charter amendment that hasn’t yet materialized.
Menendez told the Miami Herald that he wasn’t beholden to developers and other special interests and, as such, he could confidently back policies that “reinforce the pillars of our city government from attacks that undermine and destroy our community.”
His campaign account added $39,500 and spent more than half that sum by March 21. His political committee, The Coral Gables Way, reported no campaign finance activity through New Year’s Eve.
Abbott, a 60-year-old without party affiliation, is an accountant, logistics entrepreneur, and founding member of the Coral Gables Action Committee, which previously sought Lago’s resignation.
He told the Herald he wanted to tighten the city’s budget, “eradicate corruption,” and support development that doesn’t diminish the city’s special qualities. Improving civility at City Hall was also a priority.
According to Political Cortadito, Abbott was initially charged in 2020 with assault and battery on a law enforcement officer, but the charges were later dismissed. A confiscated memory card containing video he recorded of the encounter disappeared.
Abbott argued that the city infringed on his First and Fourth Amendment rights and sued.
Through March 21, he raised about $2,400 and spent most of it. The preponderance of his campaign funds came from his and his wife’s bank accounts.
