Nestor Menendez, a first-time candidate for the Coral Gables Commission’s Group 4 seat, is touting an early fundraising surge.

He reported raising $30,500 in his first quarter running for the seat now held by Ariel Fernandez, a frequent foil of Mayor Vince Lago at City Hall.

Menendez’s gains came through 42 personal checks between Oct. 20 and Dec. 29. All were from donors listing Coral Gables addresses, according to his campaign’s filings.

In a statement announcing the haul, Menendez — a lawyer at DiFalco Fernandez LLLP in an of-counsel capacity — framed the promising start as a neighborhood-backed campaign rather than an outside-funded effort.

“This city means so much to my family and me, and I am humbled by the strong support of friends and neighbors throughout the community,” he said.

“That trust strengthens my resolve to represent every resident with integrity and dedication.”

For now, Menendez has the field to himself. The City Clerk’s candidate list for the 2027 municipal cycle currently shows him as the only Group 4 candidate.

Menendez, who turns 50 on Jan. 26, is pitching himself as a civility-and-stability candidate in a city where political tensions have routinely spilled beyond the dais in recent years.

On his campaign website, he says he is running “with a clear mission: restore civility at City Hall, put families and residents first, and strengthen the community values that make Coral Gables the City Beautiful.”

The campaign is also leaning heavily on Menendez’s résumé inside city government. A University of Miami-trained lawyer, he has served on the city’s Planning & Zoning Board and Charter Review Committee.

State voter records show Menendez is a registered Republican and voted every year between 2022 and 2025. He also cast ballots in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

He first claimed Coral Gables as his primary city of residence between 2021 and 2022, state records show.

Coral Gables’ biennial election is on April 13, 2027 — for now. Voters are set to decide this April whether to shift the city’s 2027 election to November 2026 so it coincides with federal and state races, a move proponents say will boost turnout while lowering costs.

A House subcommittee is backing a proposed task force that would monitor and track antisemitic acts in Florida.

The 15-member House Government Operations Subcommittee gave unanimous support to the proposed Antisemitism Task Force measure (HB 111). The bill is sponsored by Rep. Mike Gottlieb, a Davie Democrat who spoke before the subcommittee and said the proposed panel has become necessary as hate crimes against Jewish residents have increased.

“From approximately 2014 to 2024 antisemitic incidents have increased by roughly 893%” across the United States, according to figures from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Gottlieb told the subcommittee. “That has to be 1,000% at least, because that number is reported incidents and we all know that there are incidents that are not reported.”

In 2024 alone, Gottlieb said, there were more than 9,000 antisemitic incidents in America, according to ADL figures.

Gottlieb’s bill proposes that the Task Force would be an offshoot of the Florida Office of Civil Rights and that office would provide support staff and other administrative services.

The Antisemitism Task Force would be composed of 18 members from across the state. Those panelists would be appointed by various agencies and officials, including the Legislature, Attorney General’s Office, Florida law enforcement and several other organizations. Each member would serve two-year terms.

The panel would also be expected to monitor antisemitic hate crimes and advise the state on possible changes in laws governing hate crimes. The Task Force would automatically disband Oct. 1, 2029, unless lawmakers approve an extension.

Rep. Susan Valdés, a Tampa Republican, asked Gottlieb if the Task Force would only be monitoring incidents of antisemitism or “hate in general.”

Gottlieb said it would be broader.

“The answer would be yes,” Gottlieb said. “You can’t only have one metric, one data point, because you’re going to compare it to other hate, other types of prejudice and racism.”

The bill is next slated to be considered by the House State Affairs Committee.

The measure has a companion bill (SB 1072) ready for consideration in the Senate that is sponsored by Alexis Calatayud, a Miami Republican.

Bills from Jacksonville Republicans that would relax rules for students who volunteer at polling places cleared their first committee hurdles by unanimous votes.

The legislation (SB 564, HB 461), sponsored by Sen. Clay Yarborough and Rep. Kiyan Michael, says the ban on privately-funded election-related expenses would not bar high school students who are registered or preregistered to vote from voluntarily helping poll workers in exchange for community service hours that apply to Bright Futures scholarships.

Students can preregister to vote beginning when they turn 16.

The bill would take effect July 1, meaning that eligible students could begin participating in the process during the August Primaries this year if it becomes law.

Yarborough told the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee that this bill, if passed, “will be one of the greatest firsthand civics lessons, which they can experience as they go along, of one of our greatest rights and what it takes to conduct elections.”

Michael told the House Government Operations Subcommittee the bill allowed students to volunteer on weekends, addressing a potential shortage of volunteers, driving engagement and teaching a “civic lesson.”

“We’re always talking about, ‘We need to have our kids doing something positive,’ and this gives them the ability to volunteer at our polling locations,” she said.

Asked about potential dangers to the young volunteers from violence by Republican Rep. Paula Stark, Michael expressed confidence that the lead poll worker and the Supervisor of Elections could handle any issues.

Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland spoke on behalf of the bill in both committees.

He said his grandson was looking for community service opportunities, and said volunteering would help students understand the process and get “exposed” to the role and “maybe come back and be part of our team in the future.”

“Maybe in the future, I’ll have a future poll worker,” he said in the House committee.

He also said that in the case of liability issues, the Supervisor of Elections would be responsible, just as with anyone else in a polling location.

The bills, which are identical, each have two committee stops ahead.

The League of Women Voters and the Southern Poverty Law Center support the legislation.