Coral Gables elects Rhonda Anderson, Kirk Menendez in commission runoff
Rhonda Anderson and Kirk Menendez will be Coral Gables’ newest commissioners after beating their opponents in a Tuesday runoff election to determine the successor for two elected officials who gave up their seats to run for mayor.
Anderson will replace Commissioner Patricia Keon as the city’s Group III commissioner. And in the Group II race, Menendez will replace Mayor-elect Vince Lago, who defeated Keon in the April 13 mayor’s race.
The newcomers’ presence on the dais will change the tone of the commission, which requires three votes to approve projects and legislation.
Anderson, an attorney, captured about 73% of the vote with all precincts reporting but some mail ballots not yet counted Tuesday night, defeating retired banker José Valdés-Fauli.
Menendez, a local activist and former lawyer in the Miami city attorney’s office, won about 52% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections. He defeated attorney and CPA Javier Baños.
About 7,000 of 36,000 registered voters participated in Tuesday’s runoff election, which was required because no candidates received more than 50% of the votes cast in the Group II and Group III commission races on April 13.
The city’s commissioners serve four-year terms with a $37,921 annual salary.
“There’s a lot to accomplish,” said Anderson, who celebrated her victory among a group of friends, supporters, law partners and notable Gableites on a terrace at the Biltmore Hotel, overlooking the famous golf course.
“What residents want to see is what I’m going to be focusing on,” she said. “That is getting the tiger by the tail on development.”
Attendees included former Group II candidate Tania Cruz Gimenez and her husband, Carlos Gimenez Jr. and former City Commissioner Chip Withers.
Valdés-Fauli, who watched results among friends at his home, did not immediately return requests for comment Tuesday night.
Anderson, 61, is a defense attorney and one of the founders of the LeJeune Segovia Neighborhood Association. She formed the group in 2005 to tackle the increased traffic in the neighborhood from construction in the surrounding area. She has also served on the Coral Gables Public Safety Commission, the Sustainability Advisory Board and, most recently, the Planning and Zoning Board.
She carried the endorsements of a handful of former Gables commissioners and former mayor Jim Cason, as well as three of her four opponents who lost in the April 13 election.
Anderson has a degree in English from the University of Miami, a law degree from Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. She has practiced civil and criminal law for the past 33 years, with a special focus on representing small businesses.
Anderson and her husband, Eddie, raised their two daughters in Coral Gables.
Menendez celebrated his win at Pinch Me Gastrobar and Market in the Crafts section of the city, where Menendez lives.
He attributed his win to the connections he has built at the Coral Gables Youth Center, and during his decades of coaching youth sports.
“This journey started back then when I touched the lives of so many families and they enriched my life. Today is a continuation of that story,” he said. “My mission is to unify our community, make sure that everyone is heard and everyone feels that we care. I’ll be there for everyone.”
Baños, who watched results at his home, said “I have my life back.”
“I have no regrets,” he said. “I am eternally grateful for every neighbor, every voter, every person who entrusted me with their votes. C’est la vie. Congratulations to Mr. Kirk.”
Menendez, 58, is a former Miami assistant city attorney and longtime community activist. He is a lifelong Gables resident who is well-known in the community due to his involvement at the youth center and the Church of the Little Flower.
The two-week sprint from the April 13 to the Tuesday runoff was almost as heated as the first campaign itself. Nearly $60,000 worth of advertisements filled mailboxes and social media, attack ads were traded and, in one case, a candidate was sued over a mailer attacking a candidate who was no longer in the race.
Some voters said the mail and the attacks got to be “annoying” this time around, since many of them voted for the same two candidates in the runoff as they did on April 13.
Jim Anderson, a 30-year Gables resident, voted twice for both Rhonda Anderson and Javier Baños.
Anderson, who has no relation to the commissioner-elect, said his top concerns are development and construction, which he thinks are “going in the wrong direction” in Coral Gables.
“If you receive 100 mailers for one person, it’s not going to change your mind,” Anderson, 66, said before voting Tuesday at the Coral Gables War Memorial Youth Center. “I think the ones who have been around for a while understand the issues better. [Rhonda Anderson] is very much aware of the issues.”
Alberto Vadia, who has lived in Coral Gables for 51 years, had a common problem with the density and development many voters listed as their number one concern.
But he also said he worries about fiscal health of the city, which he says swayed his vote. The 73-year-old engineer and developer thinks the Gables should be more thoughtful in the way it spends taxpayer money.
“Not less, but better,” he said.
Anderson, Menendez and Mayor-elect Lago will be sworn in Friday at the Coral Gables police department.
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 8:37 PM.