Coral Gables fires city manager. Mayor says ‘personal vendettas’ are to blame

In a decision that the Coral Gables mayor said was fueled by “personal vendettas,” the City Commission voted Tuesday to fire City Manager Peter Iglesias.

Commissioner Kirk Menendez made the tiebreaker vote, ending the will-he-or-won’t-he questions swirling around City Hall for the past week. Menendez also made a new proposal Tuesday: that Iglesias be replaced by Ralph Cutié, director and CEO of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department. Menendez said Cutié has expressed to him that he is “ready, willing and able” to begin those discussions.

Assistant City Manager Alberto Parjus took over Tuesday as acting city manager.

Mayor Vince Lago and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson voted against firing Iglesias, who began hugging employees in City Hall on Tuesday afternoon during a break before the commission officially voted to terminate him. After the final vote, Iglesias walked out to standing applause in the City Hall chambers, where several employees were crying.

Commissioners Ariel Fernandez and Melissa Castro joined Menendez in voting to fire Iglesias.

Tuesday’s vote is perhaps the clearest indicator yet of the shifting power dynamics on the City Commission following the April election where Castro and Fernandez defeated two candidates who had been endorsed by the mayor and other members of the city’s political establishment.

Iglesias, an engineer by trade, was hired by the city of Coral Gables in 2016. He became the city manager in 2018 and earned a salary of $282,824. Before he became city manager, Iglesias was the assistant city manager of operations and infrastructure. Prior to that, he worked in the city of Miami as the senior director of building, planning and zoning.

The proposal to fire Iglesias was prompted by Fernandez, who accused Iglesias of insubordination in part because of comments the city manager made when he expressed opposition to renewing the lease for Fritz & Franz, a popular German bierhaus.

“The message is clear: He only answers to those who voted to keep him in office,” Fernandez said Tuesday. He added that, after watching last month’s meeting back, he realized last week that “we could not continue to allow this toxicity to pollute our City Hall.”

Iglesias denied Fernandez’s characterization in a statement last week, reaffirming that he follows the will of the commission.

Anderson called Fernandez’s claims of insubordination “frivolous.”

“He works night and day tirelessly, including managing projects. ... He’s more than a city manager,” she said.

Anderson added that it will be difficult to hire someone qualified for the position and that there is “a lot of competition out there.”

“This is not where you say ‘off with his head’ like an Alice in Wonderland movie,” she said.

Lago thanked Iglesias for his service to the city and said the community was honored to have him as city manager.

“I think it’s a shame to let this man go,” the mayor said, adding: “After a 40-year career as a professional, this is not the way that you deserve to leave.”

Lago later said the termination sets a “dangerous precedent.”

“It seems we have come to a day where the very principles that should guide us are overshadowed by personal vendettas and irrational, impulsive decision making,” Lago said.

‘Very weird things have been happening’

The firing of Iglesias took place at a meeting where three elected officials were escorted by police because they said they feared for their safety after recent incidents. One commissioner said she spotted a drone outside her condo balcony and another reported slashed tires to police.

Commissioners Menendez, Castro and Fernandez said they have received threats in recent months that they suspect may be politically motivated, especially with Menendez joining the pair on a series of contentious split votes about increasing commissioners’ salaries, changing election dates and censuring the mayor.

“Threats, intimidation and mafia-like thuggery have no place in Coral Gables,” Menendez said Tuesday. “There are some who think they can plot and lash out and harm others while hiding in the shadows. But I’m letting you know now that a light is coming — a light that shines brighter than the sun. And those who remain in the shadows purposely, causing harm to others, will be revealed.”

On Jan. 8 — the day before the first City Commission meeting of the year — Menendez reported to police that both tires on the driver’s side of his wife’s vehicle had been deflated, according to a police report. Speaking to the Herald on Tuesday, Menendez said there were puncture holes visible in the tires.

“I think the fact that there had been so many heated votes — the possibility exists that someone somewhere has taken this personally,” he said.

Menendez said he asked police to escort him to the meeting because of “the nature of today’s agenda.”

Castro told the Herald that in December, she saw a drone hovering outside the 17th-story balcony of her condo. She said she was so close to the drone that she waved at it.

“Very weird things have been happening,” Castro said. She added that she asked for a police escort Tuesday because she was scared for her safety, adding that she had her daughter stay home from school.

Fernandez called the alleged incidents “scare tactics.”

“The establishment will stop at nothing to hold onto power,” Fernandez said from the dais.

Lago said threats and intimidation will not be tolerated, and he ordered Police Chief Ed Hudak to investigate.

“I want immediate action,” Lago said. “I don’t want action tomorrow. I want action now.”

Hudak said that the police department has taken the threats seriously “from beginning to end” and that there have been “no major connections” between the reported incidents and the commissioners’ jobs at City Hall.

‘Do the right thing’

For more than two hours, community members and former city officials spoke for and against firing Iglesias on Tuesday.

Coral Gables resident and lawyer Tom Wells said Iglesias had acted in a way that was “grossly insubordinate.”

“I have never seen such insubordination go unpunished as shown by Peter Iglesias in the last commission meeting,” Wells said. “Such insolence cannot be tolerated or condoned.”

Architect and Gables resident Willy Bermello said it would be “disastrous” for the city to lose Iglesias.

“This item, I will tell you, is galvanizing a silent majority that was asleep,” Bermello said. “They’re now awake. So please hear our voices.”

Former Vice Mayor Mike Mena, who worked with Iglesias until he left elected office last year, also spoke in Iglesias’ defense, gearing some of his commentary toward Menendez directly.

“You’re a good man, Commissioner Menendez,” Mena said. “You know better. Being a good man and a man of faith — it’s about walking the walk every day, no matter how hard it is. ... Do the right thing.”

Dorothy Thomson, the city’s first and only female mayor, called Iglesias an “icon” and a “fine gentleman.”

However, Thomson said she wasn’t taking sides Tuesday. Instead, she encouraged Fernandez to hash out his issues with the city manager behind closed doors.

The majority of people who spoke during public comment Tuesday were in support of Iglesias. But resident Saralane Conde suggested many of them are connected to the development industry, directly or indirectly.

“I think we need a city manager that’s responsible to all of the residents — not just those who are connected,” Conde said.

Resident Carl Leon Prime said removing Iglesias “would plunge the city in a state of catastrophic chaos.”

Yet another resident, Javier Banos, said some people who spoke against firing Iglesias were over-exaggerating potential fallout that would result from his ouster.

“Elections do have consequences. It is the most natural things that happens in many municipalities,” Banos said. “There’s nothing overly dramatic that is going on here today.”