At Miami City Hall, protesters want Carollo thrown out of office, voluntarily or otherwise

A small group of people braved nasty weather to gather outside Miami City Hall on Tuesday morning to demand that Commissioner Joe Carollo resign or — barring that unlikely move — have him forced out from office by the governor.

That gathering of business owners, activists and residents came in the wake of big legal and political loss for the long-time and long controversial politician. Carollo was found liable in federal court last week of violating the First Amendment rights of two of Little Havana's largest commercial property owners. Jurors said the commissioner pressured code enforcement officers and police to harass William "Bill" Fuller and Martin Pinilla and force businesses on some of their properties to shut down or move., awarding them a staggering $63.5 million in damages.

Carollo, 68, and a fixture in City Hall for decades, has already announced he will appeal the decision while continuing on as a commissioner.

From a podium just outside Carollo's front entrance-facing office and under a small overhead covering keeping away the rain, two dozen men and women held signs calling for the commissioner to step down. Several of them also spoke to a small crowd and members of the media.

Marvin Tapia, president of Miami-Dade County's Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board — who was on the board of Little Havana's Viernes Culturales with Fuller before Carollo forced its departure from Domino Plaza — said the commissioner long-ago forgot how to act as a public servant.

"I’m here because we all deserve better," he said.

Also speaking Tuesday was Daniel Figueredo, a co-owner of Sanguich de Miami. It was a popular, free-standing Cuban sandwich restaurant on one of Fuller's properties in the heart of Calle Ocho, before Carollo became obsessed with shutting it down for lack of permitting. It has since moved about 10 blocks away.

"We instantly became a political pawn all because he had a bone to pick with our landlord," Figueredo said.

Coconut Grove activist and developer Andy Parrish called for the city to more than double the size of its current five districts. And resident Nathan Kurland asked for an independent counsel to look into the commission's actions. Former Florida State Sen. Annette Taddeo criticized Miami for a lack of leadership and recommended that commissioners "stop taking advice from an attorney who is part of the problem."

City Attorney Victoria Mendez has been a staunch supporter of Carollo, blaming the legal battle between the businessmen and Carollo and the trial squarely on Fuller and Pinilla. And though the city of Miami wasn't on trial, Mendez has agreed to pay Carollo's attorney fees, which according to city records, were at almost $2 million even before the trial began.

Attorney David Winker, arguing that Carollo's civil court loss should amount to criminal charges, read a letter to Gov. DeSantis from Ernesto Cuesta, managing director of the Brickell Homeowner's Association. In it, Cuesta argued that Carollo had breached the integrity and accountability his office demands.

"Given the proven evidence he should be removed from office. This action would serve as a demonstration of your commitment to upholding the principles of transparency, accountability, and public trust," Cuesta told DeSantis

Convincing the governor to remove Carollo is likely to be a tall order. Unlike North Miami Beach Mayor Anthony DeFillipo, who Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended from office Monday after he was charged with three counts of voter fraud, Carollo has not been charged with a crime in criminal court.

The governor has also removed others from office, including former Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, after criticism of the law enforcement response to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in 2018 and Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren in 2022 for allegedly refusing to prosecute certain state laws. DeSantis referred to Warren, a popular Democrat, as "woke."