After the first five episodes of Politics in Paradise, my curiosity regarding the politics of other communities in South Florida has increasingly grown. I guess that’s natural with my Political Science degree… Thanks Flagler College!
All jokes aside, I soon started looking into the ongoing issues facing one of our neighbors, the City of Doral. What I discovered was eerily reminiscent of the current political landscape of Coral Gables.
In January of this past year, members of the Doral city council fired their City Manager, Barbie Hernandez, despite overwhelming and vocal support from a mass of residents. You can see the minutes from the meeting here and count how many of the residents who spoke during public comments were in support of City Manager Hernandez. This started a chain reaction of situations that, from an outside perspective, closely mirror the political antics of Menendez, Castro, and Fernandez. Although many members of our community may be unfamiliar with the issues facing the City of Doral, I felt it was important to bring light to the things I discovered. I think many of you will soon see why.
With that, I invited Mayor Christi Fraga on to this episode of Politics in Paradise so we could discuss some of the issues facing the City of Doral and the similarities these issues have with those facing the City of Coral Gables.
In an effort to provide each of you with the relevant background information, you can visit the following links to have a better understanding of the timeline of events in Doral. If you find yourself with some spare time, I also encourage you to watch the January 31st, February 14th (specifically, item F. 24-5490, in which Mayor Fraga single-handedly catches her colleagues in a blatant lie and disregard for transparency), February 20th, and September 30th city council meetings from Doral to witness firsthand the ongoing issues Mayor Fraga is enduring. Enjoy the episode! (I think Doral needs an Aesop.)
January 31st - City of Doral fires City Manager Barbie Hernandez: https://www.local10.com/news/local/2024/01/31/doral-council-fires-city-manager-over-several-questionable-decisions/
June 5th – City of Doral Hires New City Manager:
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/doral/article288973720.html
October 1st - Doral City Manager Resigns: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/doral/article293299769.html
Politics in Paradise: Episode 6 - Mayor Christi Fraga