May I suggest a vote for Melissa Castro in the runoff election for the upcoming Coral Gables Commission election? The reasons haven’t changed from my earlier recommendation: although Ivette Arango O’Doski is the sort of youngish, smart, person it is good to see get involved in local politics, she’s running with, and bankrolled by, the wrong crowd–her supporters and backers are more pro-development than I feel comfortable with. Plus, while the election in the first round of Ariel Fernandez to the seat in Group V is a blow to the attempt to create a pro-development Mayoral electoral and money machine, it would be good to finish the job.
Absentee ballots have dropped. If you are planning to vote by mail, I’d send yours back right away given the state of the mails. Far better, though, I think to vote early, or drop off your ballot in person at the early voting site. The early voting and early drop-off opportunities are at the War Memorial Youth Center, 405 University Drive. Early voting and dropoff will be next weekend only: Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23 from 7a.m. to 7p.m. I’m very happy to report that instead of hiding the drop box on the back side of the building as they had done a year ago, for the first round of voting this year at least it was right on the front side, just a bit East of the main entrance, on University Drive. Much easier to find!
If you plan to vote in person on election day April 25, 2023, here is the Coral Gables General Biennial Runoff Election Polling Place List.
Turnout in the main election was an uninspiring 20.92%. Normally turnout drops significantly in run-offs. That means that if you do vote, your ballot counts that much more than usual.
I know that it’s 2023, that Fidel Castro died 7ish years ago, and that Melissa Castro likely has no relation to Fidel Castro (and almost certainly less than the Diaz-Balart brothers have), but I never thought I would see the day when someone in South Florida would start a political endorsement article with “Vote Castro”. LOL
I’ll take Ivette Arango O’Doski! She is “the sort of youngish, smart, person it is good to see get involved in local politics” -as you said- and she has no connections to real estate. That is what is troubling Coral Gables and Melissa Castro is a PERMIT EXPEDITER for developers. Her biggest accomplishment, by her own admission / advertisement on her company website for MED Expeditors is she was the exclusive permit expeditor for Merrick Park, which is what kick started us down this overdevelopment pathway years ago. VOTE FOR IVETTE ARANGO!
“No connection to real estate”? Well, not exactly. Leaving aside what it means to have been an exec with the Beacon Council, which is not exactly anti-real estate, there’s the fact that the pro-development interests are major bankroll for the campaign, and she is/was part of the Lago slate, which is certainly for more of what we’ve been getting. So, there’s a pretty strong connection right there, isn’t there?
a couple of screenshots of me and they meet melissa
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a family permit company because it’s not her own… she started working with the community 3 years ago, and for her the problem is the permits… lol
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