Three is the magic number in Corral Gables as that is how many candidates officially qualified for the April Coral Gables election.
Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson will face Felix Pardo and Laureano Cancio while three other candidates vie for the open seat left by Commissioner Kirk Menendez, who is running for mayor. They are Richard Lara, the hand-picked candidate by Mayor Vince Lago, Claudia Miro, a transportation lobbyist who lost a commission race in 2021, and attorney Thomas “Tom” Wells, an active speaker at commission meetings who sits on the charter review board.
But everybody is going to be looking at and taking about the mayor’s race between Lago and Menendez. A third candidate, Michael Abbott, doesn’t really count.
Speaking of count, turnout is going to be key in this race. There are just over 37,200 registered voters in Coral Gables, according to the city clerk. As of last week, there were 3,135 requests for absentee or vote-by-mail ballots, according to Miami-Dade Elections spokesperson Roberto Rodriguez.
That’s a huge increase from the 204 VBM requests on file as of Jan. 16. But not a huge surprise, Rodriguez said.
“Our office has been sending text messages and emails to voters who had a vote-by-mail request on file and provided contact information,” Rodriguez told Political Cortadito, adding that election specific messages would be sent to voters who have upcoming elections.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot for the April 8 election is March 27. The deadline to register to vote in the municipal election is March 10.
The post Candidates are set for Coral Gables election April 8 as voters request ABs appeared first on Political Cortadito.
Read MorePolitical Cortadito
