And how much is this about a nearby private school?
Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago has been in office for 12 years — first as a city commissioner, then as mayor — and never once raised an eyebrow about the Coral Gables War Memorial Youth Center Association, the entity charged with the stewardship of the property, which also gives scholarships for its athletic programs.
But all of a sudden, just a few months after he solidly beat former Commissioner Kirk Menéndez — who is also the president of the association — in the mayoral race, Lago is on what looks more like a stop on his revenge tour than a transparency crusade.
Las malas lenguas say this could also be related to the expansion plans of Somerset Academy across the street, which approached the city last year about expanding from 260 to 700 students?
Read related: Election fallout: Coral Gables Mayor Lago takes aim at Youth Center group
On Tuesday, the mayor dragged the commission into a one-hour debate before pushing through a 3–1 vote to hire outside counsel to chase financial records from the private nonprofit that has overseen the Youth Center for decades.
Records he isn’t entitled to, by the way.
He said the association had to follow the same Sunshine rules as the city — but that’s actually not true. Some non profits tied to governments, like the garage associations the mayor and commissioners are on, do have to adhere to Florida’s Government in the Sunshine laws. Key word: Government.
The association already responded to a letter from the city attorney, handing over the basics: annual corporate renewals, tax filings for the last three years, the deed with that ironclad reverter clause that says the property goes back to the association’s full control if it is used in any other way except a youth center, and the judiciary decision that reaffirmed that in YEAR. All documents the city could have found on its own because they are in the public domain.
Which was probably the point association attorney Jane Muir was trying to make: This is what you’re entitled to. Goodbye.
But Lago wants so much more: bank statements, board elections, minutes. “I want to see 10 years of bank records,” he said at the meeting, as if he was in charge of that. But private nonprofits don’t owe the city their checkbooks. That’s not how this works.
So why does Lago suddenly care? He says it’s about protecting a $200 million asset. Ladra thinks it smells more like settling old scores. He went out of his way to slam Menéndez for running the association while he served as commissioner, raised unnecessary suspicion and called it nepotism because his wife and children are also on the board. But that’s also a stretch. Private non-profits can have family members on their boards and often do. It’s a legacy thing. Even public non-profits can legally have family members on the board as long as 51% are not related.
Lago can’t be expected to know this because he is not an attorney. But City Attorney Cristina Suarez should know. And so should Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara, because they are both attorneys. But first, they are boot lickers. Lara even said that Muir was a competent attorney he had known for years. But he still wants a fight.
Read related: Post-election Vince Lago revenge tour in Coral Gables = political retaliation
This is so very obviously targeting Menendez for having the guts to challenge him in the mayoral race. Because where was all this fake outrage back when Menendez was his colleague? Now, after beating him, Lago is clutching his pearls.
The sudden change of relationship status was not lost on longtime activist Maria Cruz, who also used to be friendly with Lago way back when. She got to speak even though Vice Mayor Anderson didn’t want to take public comment. “Kirk Menendez was a wonderful person when he agreed with the mayor. Kirk Menendez could walk on water.
“All of a sudden,” Cruz said, “he’s a criminal.”
And if we’re going to play the “show us your books” game, shouldn’t the mayor start at home? How about the bank records, invoices, client lists and investment docs from his for profit company, BID Construction, which he now admits he owns 33% of, or that coffee house franchise he owns 25% of? Or his real estate partnership with the cousin of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez? What about Capital Equity, the real estate boutique he owned for just one year with former Hialeah Council Member Oscar de la Rosa? That’s the one that rented that vacant storefront on Ponce de Leon to developer Rishi Kapoor for more than a year. And how did he pay off the $616,000 mortgage loan he got from Frank Quesada in 2022 in 12 months? Can we see those 12 months of bank records, please?
Read related: Developer who paid Miami mayor also rents from Gables Mayor Vince Lago
If this is about transparency, Lago can lead by example.
He can’t say that those things have no bearing on the city. They certainly could have more impact than the War Memorial Youth Center Association that doesn’t ask for any funds and spends its return on investments — managed by Morgan Stanley — on scholarships and trophies.
Maite Halley, the Gables Pickleball Queen, seemed to understand it better than the commissioners. “It’s a private entity,” she told them via Zoom at Tuesday’s meeting. “It’d be like asking me for all my tax returns because you don’t like how I’m handling my finances. You have no right to do that. There’s no legal standing.”
Commissioner Melissa Castro tried to pump the brakes. She reminded everyone that the association is a private entity and not subject to public records law. She warned them not to spend taxpayer money to fight a losing battle.
That’s the real dereliction of duty, Mr. Mayor. Letting your ‘roid rage weaponize the city to go after your real or perceived enemies. But Lago, Anderson and Lara charged ahead anyway. Commissioner Ariel Fernández skipped the show entirely, again, and some are beginning to wonder if he’s ever coming back (more on that later). Castro was the lone no.
Lago said this legal action wasn’t about the reverter clause. But his favorite sidekick wondered out loud if it was even in effect anymore if the association’s non profit had lapsed — an accusation with no basis. The state corporate records show the association filing annual reports since at least 1996 with only two reinstatements, in 2002 and 2006. But it was never inactive for more than two years. Anderson also mentioned that the city had “made significant investments in the land,” and that the documents requested would help the city tell the story of the War Memorial Youth Center. But really? You don’t need bank records and an investment portfolio to tell the facility’s history.
In fact, the city could get oral histories from some of the other notable board members, which have included other electeds at one time or another. People like former Coral Gables Mayors Robert Knight and Keith Phillips, and U.S. Southern District Court Judge C. Clyde Atkins. Ladra believes both Bill Kerdyks have served on the board. Former Mayor Don Slesnick served on one of the association’s committees. Have all of them had a conflict of interest?
Read related: Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago scores trifecta on post-election revenge tour
Lago insists his only goal is to “protect the asset.” Ladra calls BS. Because if this is about protecting taxpayer interests, then why are we paying lawyers to chase paperwork we can’t compel?
The mayor ended the heated exchange by insisting his intentions were pure. “The end goal is to protect the asset,” he said. “It’s in the best interest of the city to make sure we immortalize this and ensure we have a tradition. or is Kirk planning on on being there posthumously. Is he going to be like a mummy? Is he going to be there forever?”
See? It’s personal.
Ladra smells a long, expensive legal tug-of-war brewing — and you know who always pays the lawyers in the end: the taxpayers.
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