Melissa Castro

Melissa Castro serves as the Group 4 Commissioner on the Coral Gables City Commission, a nonpartisan municipal office to which she was elected in April 2023 after winning a high-stakes runoff election with 58.5% of the vote against challenger Jorge L. Fors Jr. Prior to her election, she built a successful career as a local business owner, serving as the CEO of M. Castro & Associates, a permitting and zoning consulting firm, which followed an earlier career in evidence-based behavioral psychology interventions. She is a graduate of Florida International University, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master's degree in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. On the commission, Castro has built a prominent resident-first identity, frequently clashing with the mayoral voting bloc to advocate for strict neighborhood overdevelopment limits, fiscal efficiency, and maximum administrative accountability. Following a voter-approved city charter referendum on April 21, 2026, which synchronized city contests with national even-year elections, her initial term was shortened by five months. As a result, her Group 4 seat is now scheduled to be on the ballot for the upcoming November 3, 2026 municipal election cycle.

The Coral Gables City Commission is the governing legislative body of the City of Coral Gables, a municipal government in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Commissioners are responsible for setting city policy, adopting the municipal budget, enacting local ordinances, and overseeing the administration of city services.