On the heels of an opinion from the Florida Attorney General about the change in election year approved by city of Miami commissioner, Coral Gables Commissioner Melissa Castro wants to reverse a decision by the City Beautiful to move their municipal elections from April of 2027 to November of 2026, effectively shortening everyone’s terms by five months.
Castro, who voted against the May 20 “unconstitutional” ordinance that changed the election date, will introduce legislation at Tuesday’s commission meeting that would repeal the ordinance and restore the April election date. She said the change should be taken to voters and is leaning on a letter sent to the city of Miami last week from Attorney General James Uthmeier that challenges that city’s authority to make the change without taking it to voters first.
She has also asked Uthmeier to weigh in on the Gables decision.
“Let me be clear: Residents — not politicians — should decide when elections are held and how long elected officials serve,” Castro wrote in an email sent Monday to Coral Gables residents. She had urged the city attorney to seek Uthmeier’s opinion on the matter in May. “When that didn’t happen, I submitted a formal request myself,” Castro wrote in her email.
Read related: Coral Gables changes city elections to November, cuts terms by 5 months
Her letter to Uthmeier is dated June 23. Two days later, last Wednesday, the AG issued “a clear and forceful legal opinion directed at the City of Miami,” Castro wrote in her email. “Changing the date of its municipal elections or the terms of office for elected officials without a vote of the electors violates the County Charter and provisions of the 1885 Constitution.
“He further warned that if municipalities continue down this path, his office will take all available legal actions to stop it.”
Castro also quoted former Miami-Dade County Mayor Alex Penelas, a political analyst for NBC6, who said that any official who votes in favor of moving the election could risk suspension from office.
We should be so lucky.
Of course, Penelas was talking about the Miami commissioners before their final decision last week. But Castro says it could also apply to the Gables.
“These warnings were and remain clear, yet some elected officials on the Coral Gables Commission are still doubling down. Just because something is legally possible doesn’t mean it’s ethically or democratically right. In this case, it’s also illegal,” she wrote.
Mayor Vince Lago, who has tried for years to move the election (a similar move in 2023 failed), sponsored the ordinance. Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara, who was elected in April, also voted for it. Castro would need one of them to switch their votes and is likely hoping that the message from Uthmeier to the city of Miami would cause them to be more cautious. Commissioner Ariel Fernandez, who said it should go to voters, already voted against it.
Castro’s email also touched on the referendum ballot question that the commission did put on the ballot. She said there was “a lot of misinformation” because residents believe it is about moving the elections to November of even years. It is not. That’s been done, without any voter input. The language in the ballot question would prohibit any future commission from changing it back.
The exact language: “Prohibit changing the City’s general election date away from November of even-numbered years through the adoption of an ordinance by the City Commission, in so far as that prohibition is not in conflict with state law.”
“This ballot question only restricts future Commissions from doing what the Mayor and Commissioners just did,” Castro wrote.
“In short, it’s political smoke and mirrors,” she wrote. “The majority of this Commission moved the election date without your vote then turned around and put a ballot question on the ballot pretending to protect your rights after the fact. It’s hypocrisy at its finest. Coral Gables is following the same deceptive playbook we’ve seen in Miami.
“It’s vintage Miami Politics 101 and it doesn’t belong in our city.”
Read related: Miami commissioners should shorten their terms for election year change
Why do residents believe that they will have a say in the change? Because the ordinance that commissioners approved in May actually says so. Despite the ballot language that has been officially written, the ordinance passed by the commission 4-1 specifically has a clause stating that there will be a future election to “affirm” this change.
“WHEREAS, should this Ordinance be adopted by the City Commission, the City also wishes to send a question to the electors of the City for affirmation of this change during a special election to be held at a later date as determined by the City Commission.”
That does not sound like it is about future changes. That sounds like it is an “affirmation of this change.” This change.
City Attorney Cristina Suarez and spokeswoman Martha Pantin have stonewalled Ladra’s repeated questions about that “whereas” language in the ordinance. Instead, they repeats the same line about the state law allowing them to make the election date change without voter approval.
“Whether or not the question passes, elections remain in November,” Pantin wrote in an email. “As I explained below, the question being put to voters is about future changes to elections. They are not being asked about changing the election. Thery are being asked if in the future should a City Commission wants to move the election date, would they have to put the question to the voters. If they vote yes, future Commissions will need to send the question to the voters. If they vote no, future Commissions could change by ordinance, both scenarios provided they are not in conflict with state law.”
But that’s not what Ladra was asking. And that’s not what the ordinance says when the whereas states there will be a future vote of “affirmation of this change.”
Ladra asked outside attorneys what they thought about this discrepancies in the ballot language and the ordinance.
“I agree with you, they are asking for an affirmation of the current change to move elections to November and the ordinance is not written with wording for future changes requiring the vote of the residents. So you are correct,” said Ignacio Alvarez, who ran unsuccessfully for Miami-Dade Sheriff and has a practice in the Gables.
Calls and emails to Uthmeier’s office were not returned. Lago, Anderson and Lara also did not answer or return calls.
The city commission in Coral Gables starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 405 Biltmore Way, and can also be viewed online on the city’s website or on the city’s YouTube channel.
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