Community Activities of
Tom Wells

Besides his work on the City’s Charter Review Committee and his advocacy for residents at Commission meetings, Tom is a member, and a former Senior Warden and Vestry member, of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. He is also a past-President of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants Miami-Dade Chapter and former Board of Governors member and was named CPA of the Year in 1999. He is a former Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Estate Tax Program at the University of Miami School of Law. In the past 18 months, Tom has spoken at 14 Commission and Townhall meetings on resident-focused issues including:

  • supporting continuing local elections in April as has been done for the past 100 years in Coral Gables to allow candidates to self-fund their campaign, avoid voter fatigue and reduce partisanship

  • urging the City to complete renovations of Burger Bob’s which is now Birdie Bistro

  • supporting the renewal of the City’s lease with Fritz & Franz

  • firing a former City Manager for failing to follow Commission direction and violating the City Code, the City Charter and the Citizens’ Bill of Rights for Miami-Dade County guaranteeing that all citizens receive truthful information from public servants

  • protecting the City’s budget by opposing the 2% ad valorem tax reduction which would have cut the budget by $2.65 million without any explanation as to services that we would lose and that primarily benefited large real estate companies

  • having an independent committee conduct a search to select a City Manager

Tom is an active Coral Gables resident. He plays tennis, golf and pickleball at the Biltmore, Salvador Park and the Coral Gables Memorial Youth Center. He is a member of the Coral Gables Country Club gym, where you will regularly find him working out between 5:30 am- 7:00 am. While his daughters were growing up in Coral Gables, Tom and his wife, Diane, spent much time with Kaitlyn and Drew (A) at the Youth Center in dance, art, after school games, soccer, baseball, softball and more, (B) in girl scouts, and (C) in church and school activities. Drew also got her USSF Soccer E coaching license and helped coach a U10 Coral Gables Storm girls soccer team at the Youth Center while in high school.

When Burger Bob’s closed in February, 2022, Diane, Tom’s wife for over 32 years, took on the role of representing Rita Tennyson and her family pro bono in their bids to lease the Burger Bob’s/Granada Snack Shop space and negotiations with the City to lease Birdie Bistro (formerly known as Burger Bob’s). She has also spoken at Commission and Townhall meetings advocating resident issues.