In yet another dose of misinformation fed to voters in Coral Gables, commission candidate Alex Bucelo‘s campaign sent out a text message Monday that intentionally makes it look like he is endorsed by the city’s police and fire unions.
He’s not.
This year, both the Coral Gables FOP Lodge No. 7 and the Coral Gables Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 1210 decided to stay out of the commission races. For good reason, too. They keep picking losers and then have to deal with the consequences from bitter winners.
“As the President of the Coral Gables FOP Lodge 7, I am proud to announce that all the candidates running for the upcoming Coral Gables City Commission are pro-police! We are fortunate to have a group of individuals who recognize the value of our brave officers and the importance of their role in maintain the safety and security of our community,” FOP Prez Christopher Challenger posted on Instagram Monday afternoon, adding that they were not — repeat, not — going to endorse anybody.
The post is in response to the Bucelo campaign pushing a text message that makes it look like he’s their choice.
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“I told him flat out we weren’t endorsing this year. And he is acting like we did,” Challenger told Ladra Monday. “It does rub me the wrong way, the way he says it.”
This is the way the text message says it:
“Alex Bucelo is the only candidate who stands with the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect and serve our community.
As our champion at City Hall, Alex will always work to ensure that our heroes in law enforcement and first responders have the tools and resources necessary to keep our community safe.
“Our brave police officers and firefighters know that Alex will always have their back the same way they have ours.”
¡Que descarado!
It seems to be paid by Bucelo’s political action committee, Friends of the Gables, which raised $19,500 in February. They even use an istockphoto or shutterstock picture of a fake police officer with a kid that looks just like Bucelo. Not Bucelo’s kid, if he had one, which he doesn’t. The kid looks like a little mini Bucelo. Ladra reverse google searched the image and found it has been used a bunch.
He’s also left his endorsement from the IAFF from 2021 on his Facebook page.
How can voters trust anyone who would use such devious smoke and mirrors to try to fool them? What else would Bucelo go to great lengths to fake or hide?
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This is just one more reason that Coral Gables voters should choose Ariel Fernandez, longtime activist and publisher of the Gables Insider. Fernandez isn’t going to be a puppet for the mayor and he isn’t posting any fake endorsements.
He does post a bunch of “endorsements that matter” from Coral Gables residents on his Facebook page. There’s even one from retired Gables Firefighter and former Miami Lakes Councilman Nelson Rodriguez.
Fernandez told Ladra that both he and Bucelo signed pledges committing not to mislead voters. “As a resident and as a commissioner, my commitment is and will continue to be to the facts and to keeping residents first.
“As to his allegations, nothing could be further from the truth,” Fernandez said. “Actions speak louder than words, and my record speaks for itself. As the proud son-in-law of a decorated 30-plus-year police offices, I have and always will support our first responders.
“If he is attempting to mislead voters now, what can we expect from him as a commissioner? Using our community’s support for our first responders to confuse voters is unacceptable,” said Fernandez, who has supported Gables police for more than 10 years. He was also instrumental in the appointment of Ed Hudak as chief and the restructuring of the police administration after the city got rid of Frank Fernandez (no relation).
Where was Bucelo then? Probably at a frat party.
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