Jesse Scheckner
If it’s unconstitutional for Miami to reschedule its elections without voter approval — as Attorney General James Uthmeier is arguing — it was illegal for Coral Gables to do the same last month, according to Commissioner Melissa Castro, who just filed legislation to reverse the change.
The Coral Gables Commission voted 3-2 on May 20 for an ordinance Mayor Vince Lago sponsored to move the city’s elections from April in odd-numbered years to November in even-numbered years.
The change, which Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara backed, all but guaranteed greater voter turnout and lower costs, since the city’s elections would then coincide with national races. It also slashed five months off current elected officials’ terms.
Castro and Commissioner Ariel Fernandez voted “no,” arguing voters should make the decision.
In communications this month to Miami Mayor Francis Suarez and Commissioner Miguel Gabela, Uthmeier said circumventing the “direct role” voters have in amending the city’s charter to change election dates violates both the Florida Constitution and Miami-Dade County Home Rule Charter.
He warned this week that the state will take legal action if Miami moves forward with the plan, which Miami City Attorney George Wysong contends is legal.
On Thursday — the same day Miami is scheduled for a final vote on the matter — Castro introduced a measure to repeal Lago’s ordinance and restore Coral Gables’ original election schedule. She also contacted Uthmeier’s Office for a formal legal opinion and messaged him on X, where he’d posted his latest letter to Miami.
“Residents, not politicians, should decide when their elections are held and how long their elected officials serve,” Castro told Florida Politics. “I’m standing up for transparency and fighting to make sure Coral Gables residents — not the commission — determine the future of our democracy.”
Castro said it doesn’t matter whether election rescheduling adds or subtracts from current officials’ terms. In Miami, current officeholders stand to gain an extra year in office under the proposed change.
“We are not the people who put us in office. It’s our constituents who did that,” she said. “What gives us the right to determine how long we serve? It’s completely wrong.”
Uthmeier did not immediately respond to Castro.
Lago told Florida Politics that Coral Gables began talks of moving its elections to November more than two years ago, and at no point during the process did Uthmeier or his predecessor, Ashley Moody, raise any legal concerns about the issue.
“In fact, there is widespread precedent across Miami-Dade County and the State of Florida for municipalities aligning their elections with the state’s general election, as expressly allowed under Florida Statute,” he said.
Wysong cited one such instance in a June 12 memo to Miami officials, the 2023 case Medina v. City of North Miami, in which a court sided with North Miami for moving its elections from May 2022 to November 2024, to support his opinion.
He also pointed to Florida Statute 101.75(3), which provides, “Notwithstanding any provision of local law or municipal charter, the governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, move the date of any municipal election to a date concurrent with any statewide or countywide election.”
Uthmeier rejected both points, noting that Medina was a “trial decision” in which the court and involved parties did raise Miami-Dade’s home rule protections, which under the Florida Constitution guards it from certain state preemption. Article VI, Section 6.03 of Miami-Dade’s charter requires any change to the charter of a municipality within its bounds — including a permanent shift of election dates — to be approved by voters.
Like Lago, Wysong noted that no Attorneys General “dating back nearly a quarter century” argued for Uthmeier’s position, which he described as “the opinion that the Miami-Dade County Charter trumps (state law).”
Lago called the election change “a common-sense reform.”
“Quite frankly, the current controversy is a manufactured non-issue — driven not by legal merit but by politicians and aspiring politicians looking to settle personal or political scores at the expense of our voters and our democracy,” he said.
Fernandez said his position is unchanged.
“I voted against it because, like the Attorney General, I believe it is a decision the voter should make, not politicians,” he said. “This is a question that should be on the ballot for voters to figure out if they want the election to move.”
Florida Politics contacted Anderson and Lara for comment but received none by press time.
Castro’s ordinance is up for a vote Tuesday.
