Four lawyers vie to replace Pat Keon in Coral Gables Group Three commission race
More than 12,000 mail ballots have been sent to Coral Gables voters, and people are starting to make their choices on who they think should be the next mayor and who should fill two commission seats in the city’s April 13 election.
In the Group Three race to replace Commissioner Patricia Keon, voters will choose from among four candidates: Javier Baños, Alex Bucelo, Kirk Menendez and Phillip “P.J.” Mitchell.
All four candidates are lawyers who promise to stand up against over-development and ensure a more transparent government for residents of Coral Gables. Already, the race has attracted a host of political attacks, barbs and even a cameo by former Republican Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.
Javier Baños
Baños, who served for two years on the city’s pension board, has run a campaign largely focused on pension reform and fiscal stewardship, promising voters that his skills as a CPA will help the city avoid the overspending that he believes often plagues small governments.
He also takes issue with the city’s unfunded pension liability, and has promised to “take a fresh look” at ways to refinance the city’s debt and come up with a solution to reduce the burden on taxpayers while preserving city employees’ benefits.
He called the Coral Gables Retirement System— which cost the city about $29.2 million last year — one of the “worst funded plans in Florida,” and says if elected he would propose changing how much the city contributes to the plan and switching new employees outside of public safety positions to a defined contribution retirement plan.
Baños also has promised to limit special zoning privileges that allow developers to build bigger, denser buildings, and to replace crumbling infrastructure such as pumps, drains and sewers that affect the low lying community.
Baños, 39, received a degree in accounting Florida International University and a degree in law from University of Florida. He lives in Coral Gables with his wife and law partner, Vanessa and their two daughters.
He has also served on various committees within the city of South Miami, where he ran an unsuccessful campaign for a commission seat in 2010. He has served as a treasurer on a number of campaign and political committee accounts.
“For me, public service is a work of love,” he told the Miami Herald.
Alex Bucelo
Bucelo, the youngest candidate in the race at 27 years old, is a partner at his family’s law firm, and was born in Coral Gables. He also serves on the city’s Code Enforcement Board. He says he decided to run to give back to the community that raised him.
Bucelo has degrees from Miami-Dade College, Florida International University, and earned his law degree from St. Thomas University. He has raised the most money of any commission race, totaling $144,000, and is the son of longtime Miami political figure and attorney Armando Bucelo.
His family connections run deep, and Bucelo’s campaign recently began mailing ads featuring an image of him standing with Bush, a longtime Coral Gables resident and family friend: “Take it from someone who knows: Alex will be an asset to the Coral Gables Commission.”
Bucelo says his top priorities as a commissioner would be to ensure more transparency in government, something he says residents tell him they want more of, especially when it comes to development plans.
Bucelo said he would also prioritize environmental issues, and has suggested creating a a special fund to address the needs of homes below sea level by pursuing matching federal support. He also wants to expand electric charging stations in city parking garages.
“I have talked to hundreds of residents,” he said. “They want more involvement on the issues. I don’t want that feeling of being left out. They just want their voices to be heard more.”
P.J. Mitchell
Mitchell, who jumped into the race on the last day, has lived in the Gables for 20 years. He says his top issues are development, public safety and small businesses.
He says what sets him apart from other opponents, however, is that he does not have ties to so-called “special interest” or to the City of Miami — allusions to Baños’ work for Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo’s past campaigns, Bucelo’s support from former Miami City Manager Joe Arriola and Menendez’s career at Miami City Hall.
“I don’t have any of those ties,” he said. “I am an independent thinker, an independent business owner and a small business owner.”
Mitchell, who has a degree from Northwestern University and went to law school at the Florida Coastal School of Law, added that while he was not born in Coral Gables, he “chose to live here,” which he says shows his dedication to the city. He has also served on a number of boards within the city, including the Economic Development Board and the Emergency Management Board.
Kirk Menendez
Menendez is an attorney and longtime youth sports advocate who has worked at the city, state and federal level as an assistant city attorney in Miami. He has centered his campaign around his government affairs experience, saying it would help the Gables secure grant funding and matching dollars for various projects.
He is a longtime Gables resident who is well-known in the community due to his involvement at the Coral Gables Youth Center and the Church of the Little Flower.
He recalls how the community came together for him and his mother after his father died when he was 10, and that the compassion his neighbors showed then inspired him to go into community service.
“I learned quickly what the legacies of service is in Coral Gables,” he said. “I have dedicated my entire life to serving my community, especially children and families.”
Menendez, 58, went to Florida International University and St. Thomas University for his master’s in business administration and law degree.
One of Menendez’s top priorities is to expand the radius of public notice for various projects and says he also would give special attention to the community’s seniors and children. If elected, he says he would propose legislation to require developers to contribute to scholarship funds. He also wants to seek funds to deal with aging septic tanks, acquire more green spaces and expand the city’s trolley services throughout the city.
Attack ads introduced in the race
With the election looming, mail ballots aren’t the only election-related items hitting mailboxes. Attack mailers funded by mostly anonymous political committees have taken aim at candidate personal ties and financial support.
Ads targeting Mendendez and Bucelo were sent last week by Citizens for a Better Miami Dade Government. One ad portrayed Menendez giving a thumbs up to the hypothetical sale of his home to developers following a recent up-zoning of his neighborhood. Menendez lives in the city’s so-called Crafts section, which the city commission recently voted to upzone. Menendez, who supported the rezoning, said the neighborhood was always meant to be a mixed-use area, but he told the Miami Herald he is not selling his home of over 40 years.
The ad targeting Bucelo portrayed him as a puppet being controlled by his father and Arriola. The ad, which Bucelo said was laden with “lies and defamatory falsehoods,” also lists the contributions to Bucelo’s campaign from developers and construction companies.
Both candidates have pointed the finger at Baños, who denied any involvement in the advertisements — even though the PAC lists his email as its contact. He said as a CPA, “my email is free to have for a lot of PACs and a lot of institutions to use.”
Baños has been attacked, too. An paid for by the Communities First Project political committee run by GOP operative Christian Camara points out that Baños has lived and worked in other cities, and alleges that he was “forced to resign” from the Gables pension board.
Baños told the Herald he was not forced to resign from the board, and served his two-year term from beginning to end.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 7:00 AM.