The next Miami Lakes town council election is 22 months away, but one candidate is not waiting to launch his campaign for a seat on the dais.
Angelo Garcia Cuadra filed paperwork to challenge incumbent Councilman Carlos O. Alvarez for Seat 6.
Alvarez is up for reelection in 2022. He told The Miami Laker he is planning to seek public office again but has yet to open a campaign account.
“I will be running for Seat 6 against Angelo Garcia,” Alvarez told The Miami Laker in an email.
Cuadra, 60, a town resident for 21 years, said he’s running for office for the first time because of what he says are promises broken by previous councils.
Cuadra said residents are still complaining about potholes and the storm water drainage problem.
Though the National Weather Service categorized Tropical Storm Eta as a once-in-a-decade rain event and there are on-going drainage projects on the west side of town, Cuadra said the massive flooding from the storm proves the town is not fixing the problem.
Cuadra also said the town has failed to lower taxes over the years or fix the traffic congestion.
“The council has never addressed those issues and that’s why I am running,” Cuadra said. “When I say I am going to do something, believe me I will do it.”
He is a member of the Miami Lakes Blasting Advisory Board.
Cuadra has made two contributions to his campaign totaling $1,515.
Running against Alvarez wasn’t a personal decision, he said.
Council seats are at-large positions; residents may run for office regardless of where in town they may live.
“I don’t look at names when I’m running,” Cuadra said. “I have nothing against Mr. Alvarez. It’s just a seat and at the end of the day it’s a position.”
Cuadra said he sold his International Bartending School in Miami several years ago and is an electrical technician for a private company.
He is married to Hope Garcia and they have three grown children.
Alvarez, 44, is principal at COHEA, Career & Collegiate Academy, a charter school in Hialeah.
He won a town council seat in 2018.
Alvarez said he has lived in Miami Lakes for 16 years.
He said some of his accomplishments include public safety initiatives; infrastructure projects; newsletter communication with outcomes of new business items; making austerity measures to balance the budget during a challenging fiscal year and ensuring completion of the Miami Lakes West Lake tree restoration project, which will happen this year.
He is married to Hazel Alvarez and they have three small children.
So far, Cuadra is the only candidate who has thrown his hat in the ring for a council seat in 2022.
Councilmembers Jeffrey Rodriguez and Joshua Dieguez are also facing reelection in two years but as of Jan. 29, had not opened campaign accounts.