Who's running in Coral Gables? See the candidates for mayor, commissioner
Election season is here, Coral Gables.
Gables voters in November will decide whether to give incumbents Mayor Vince Lago and Commissioner Melissa Castro another term in office. They’ll also pick the successor for outgoing Commissioner Ariel Fernandez.
Friday was the deadline for residents to qualify to run for one of the available seats on the Coral Gables City Commission.
Here’s what to know:
When is the next Gables election?
The next election — which was previously scheduled for April 2027 — is now set for Nov. 3, 2026.
Gables voters earlier this year approved moving elections from April in odd-numbered years to November of even years to coincide with state and national elections.
Who is on the ballot?
Gables voters will weigh in on three city races, including:
Coral Gables mayor: It’s a crowded race for mayor. Voters can choose to reelect Lago for a fourth and final term as mayor, or vote in attorney Laureano Cancio or resident Jackson Rip Holmes.
Cancio in 2025 ran for the Group 2 commission seat. He previously served five consecutive terms as president of the Hispanic Business & Professional Association of Bergen County in New Jersey.
Another contender is Holmes, a frequent attendee at commission meetings who owns property on Miracle Mile and describes himself as a “perennially losing candidate.” Holmes has previously run for the positions of mayor and commissioner.
Lago, who has served as mayor of the City Beautiful since April 2021, is term-limited under the city’s charter. He’s been a member of the City Commission for over a decade and previously served as vice mayor and commissioner.
The mayor of Coral Gables serves a two-year term.
Commissioner, Group IV seat: Castro, who was elected to the commission in April 2023, will be facing off against first-time candidate Nestor Menendez, an of-counsel attorney at DiFalco and Fernandez LLLP, for her Group IV seat.
Menendez was appointed by Commissioner Richard Lara to serve on the city’s charter review committee board and recently resigned from the city’s planning and zoning board to run for office. He also previously served on the city’s transportation advisory board.
Menendez said he decided to run because he wants to “build a community for my daughters and their generation and affect public policy in the most direct and effective way.” He is not related to former Gables Commissioner Kirk Menendez.
Commissioners serve a four-year term.
Commissioner, Group V seat: Two candidates are vying to take over the Group V seat from Fernandez, who recently announced plans to step down once his term ends.
The first is Dominique “Nikki” Whiting, a fundraiser at Florida International University who wants to bring “young leadership” and a “fresh new perspective” to the city. Whiting, the youngest of the candidates at 33, was appointed by Lara to serve on the city’s property advisory board and previously served on the city’s communications committee.
She has an extensive political resume. She previously held senior positions in the executive office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida Department of Health, and with former lieutenant governor and current FIU president Jeannette Nuñez. She also worked for former Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Esteban “Steve” Bovo when he was a Miami-Dade County commissioner.
She currently raises money for FIU in D.C., a program that gives students the opportunity do a semester in D.C. while participating in paid internship opportunities on Capitol Hill, and for the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom, a nonpartisan think tank.
The second candidate is real estate investor Gonzalo Sanabria. He’s the president of Real Estate Works, Inc. and was appointed by City Manager Peter Iglesias to the city’s planning and zoning board.
Sanabria, who previously served on the Coral Gables Waterfront Communities Homeowner’s Association Board, is a familiar face in the Gables and previously ran for Group 4 commissioner in 2011 and Group 3 commissioner in 2009. He’s been involved with many organizations across South Florida through the years, including formerly serving as vice chair of the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and on the board of directors of Doctors Hospital and the Baptist Foundation.
Resident Jose A. Riera, who had been eyeing Fernandez’s seat, told the Miami Herald on Friday morning that he withdrew his candidacy and no longer plans to run.
Background
If it feels like you’re voting earlier than usual for the Gables commission, it’s because you are. The decision to move elections to November shaved several months off the existing terms of the mayor, vice mayor and commissioners. Commissioner Lara and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson are not on the ballot as their terms are still ongoing.
All city residents who are eligible voters can vote in the three November races, regardless of which neighborhood they live in.
So far, there are no city-specific referendums scheduled to be on the ballot, though city commissioners have until late July to add any.
Will there be early voting? What about in-person voting and runoff races?
Both in-person voting and vote-by-mail will be available for this election.
This time around, since city elections will be held at the same time as other state and county races, Gables voters will be able to go to any Miami-Dade County precinct to cast their ballot during the county’s two weeks of early voting, according to City Clerk Billy Urquia. Once early voting ends, voters will need to go to their designated precinct to cast a ballot on Election Day, Nov. 3.
For people who prefer to vote by mail, remember that you will need to sign up to receive a ballot if you haven’t already. The deadline to request a vote-by-mail ballot is Oct. 22.
Gables voters earlier this year agreed that they still want runoff races to happen for city elections, if needed. That means if a runoff election is needed for any of the city races, it will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
How to register to vote or update information
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 5. Visit Miami-Dade County’s Elections website to register to vote, update your address or find other information.
This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 12:52 PM.
