Even Police Chief Ed Hudak has gotten involved
The Group 5 race in Coral Gables has gotten increasingly heated with fake magazine covers, more text attacks and calls from the chief of police.
Say what?
Yes, that’s right. Police Chief Ed Hudak has apparently called several voters on behalf of attorney Alex Bucelo, who is also Mayor Vince Lago‘s pick. Bucelo is running against longtime activist Ariel Fernandez, publisher of Gables Insider, for an open seat.
“He called me, we’re friends. But he also called two other people I know,” said Maria Cruz, an active North Gables resident, referring to the chief. “He said not to vote for Ariel. That if Ariel wins, it would most likely accelerate his retirement.”
Really? Well, maybe he should accelerate his retirement. Because a police chief should not be making calls to residents’ homes to warn them against voting for someone. That sounds like a scary thing. And does he really feel that way or is he doing the mayor’s bidding?
Hudak did not return calls and texts from Ladra over the course of three days. He’s probably embarrassed.
Read related: For independence in Coral Gables, vote Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez
This week, voters also got a text with Fernandez on a fake cover of Coral Gables Magazine, calling him a liar and linking to a 2021 story in the magazine that is critical of Gables Insider and Community Newspaper for questioning the sale of a city lot on LeJeune to Commissioner Mike Mena‘s employers.
Not cool, Bucelo people. Prefieren pedir perdon que pedir permiso. They have done nothing but misinform and attempt to fool voters from Day 1. Bucelo is trying to distance himself by using a dark money political action committee called Getting Things Done. It is separate from his own Friends of the Gables PAC and is one of the repeatedly nasty committees out there. But he knows it’s happening.
The fake Coral Gables Magazine cover is one of the most egregious examples.
Magazine editor James Faber said he would reach out to their attorney about the use of their image.
“We had nothing to do with that fake cover,” Faber said in an email to Cruz, who, of course, complained. We called the Bucelo campaign folks and told them to stop and they said they had nothing to do with it. We are having our lawyer investigate what amounts to illegal use of our trademark.”
But then the magazine — which is associated with Cuba Trade Magazine (and Faber is apparently proud of it) — has endorsed Bucelo, instead. With lies. He says that Fernandez used the terms “perverted tactics” and “developer-puppet” in an email blast against Bucelo.
Ladra searched for those terms. Couldn’t find them.
In his endorsement article, Faber also lies when he says that Fernandez has no government experience. Ariel was working his first job in government — as an intern for then Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen — when Bucelo was still in diapers. Pull-ups, maybe.
The ridiculous paid article also says that Bucelo has more experience because he served on the planning and zoning board, code enforcement board and the mayor’s council. But Fernandez has served on the emergency management board, the property advisory board and chaired the school community relations committee. He also served on the county’s film and entertainment advisory board.
Read related: Faker Alex Bucelo wants voters to think he has police & fire support; he does not
Pound for pound, that’s more government experience than Bucelo, who only became active two years ago when he lost his first bid at council.
Could this endorsement be part of what the city pays for in its monthly subsidies to the magazine, to the tune of between $1,500 and $1,975 a month? It categorizes the cost as a full page ad, but it most likely pays for positive coverage like the current cover story on Mayor Lago’s sustainability efforts and the “Mike Mena is a parks star” piece that used some of the same photos the city used in their goodbye slideshow to the outgoing commissioner Tuesday.
That’s why the magazine editors and/or writers have monthly meetings with the city’s PR guru, Martha Pantin, whose lobbyist son, btw, is Les Pantin, who donates heavily to the Lago and Bucelo campaigns. Pantin gave $10,000 to Bucelo’s PAC earlier this year.
Surely, they’d hate to lose that monthly stipend. But they may anyway. Last year, the city stopped advertising with Gables Insider (Political Cortadito gets no love!) because it did not want to seem like it was going to support one candidate over another, since Fernandez gets involved in elections. Ladra will suppose that the city will have to stop its relationship with the magazine now that it’s gotten involved in this election.
Lago loves to say that website blogs and twitter critics are bought and paid for, but he’s the one with all smiles on the cover of the April Coral Gables Magazine, buying press coverage and endorsements for his rubber stampers — all on the taxpayers’ dime.
Dear Political Cortadito Gables reader: The city does not provide Political Cortadito with any monthly payments for advertising. Nor does the lobbyist son of the city’s PR guru provide any support. No $10K check for Ladra. It’s up to you to keep this grassroots watchdog journalism alive. Please donate generously. At least it’s not taxpayer money.
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