Gables candidates surpass $200,000 in election fundraising
With two races now contested, candidates in the April 2013 Coral Gables City Commission elections have raised nearly $210,000 in contributions, including almost $107,000 in the third quarter, according to campaign finance reports filed recently at the City Clerk’s office.
City Commissioner Ralph Cabrera, who formally filed to run for mayor on July 12, received $32,690 in his first three months of fundraising, according to his campaign treasurer’s report. Elected to the commission in 2001, Mr. Cabrera cannot seek re-election under the city’s term-limits ordinance.
Running for a second two-year term, Mayor Jim Cason has now raised $46,880 since filing for re-election in March. That total includes $24,775 that came in from July 1 through Sept. 30, according to his latest campaign treasurer’s report.
Two candidates are seeking the City Commission Group II seat being vacated by Mr. Cabrera:
• Marlin Ebbert, a longtime community volunteer who serves a number of arts, education and civic organizations. She filed to run on Oct. 1 and was not yet required to submit a campaign finance report.
• Vince Lago, an executive in the construction management and design industry and a member of the Coral Gables Planning and Zoning Board. Reporting $33,208 in his third-quarter filing, Mr. Lago has pushed his fundraising total to $91,673.
The Group III commission seat is held by Commissioner Maria Anderson, who also cannot seek re-election under the city’s term-limits ordinance.
Hoping to succeed her is Mary Young, director of the University of Miami School of Business Administration’s Ziff Graduate Career Services Center and a former chair of the Coral Gables Community Foundation. She has raised $38,498, including $16,028 July 1-Sept. 30, according to her treasurer’s report.
Municipal voters will go to the polls April 9, 2013, to fill the three seats. The mayor serves a two-year term at an annual salary of $34,736, while the commission seats are four-year terms at $28,225.60 annually.
In the April 2011 municipal election, 11 candidates raised over $900,000 in campaign donations. Voter turnout was 26.66% (7,922 ballots cast among 29,717 eligible voters).
Click here for more information about the candidates and the municipal elections.
