UPDATED: A little birdie with inside info told Ladra this afternoon that Ballard Partners, a firm that is desperate to strengthen their new Miami office, stole Chip from the county with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Ballard is the number one lobbying firm in the state, according to Florida Trend, and is currently working on the Genting casino project. Iglesias wouldn’t confirm Wednesday but he did give Ladra a short telephone interview that will be posted shortly.
We’ve been hearing about the pending departure for weeks.
But on Wednesday, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez 
officially announced that his longtime confidante and three-time Chief of Staff, Deputy Mayor Genaro “Chip” Iglesias, had resigned. He is the second top aide with a six figure salary to leave the mayor in a week.
Iglesias’ last day is July 31, which means he is walking out the door more or less at the same time as one-time senior policy advisor and current Chief of Staff Lisa Martinez, who replaced him as COS in the spring in a sudden change of pecking order last March. Martinez resigned last week.
Gimenez, who choked up at the county farewell for Martinez, said he accepted Iglesias’ resignation (as if there was a choice?) “with mixed emotions.” “Chip has an exemplary record of public service to our community that dates back several decades,” Gimenez said about his fellow fireman who served as Chief of Stafff to Gimenez when he was city of Miami manager. Iglesias followed Gimenez to the county where he served as chief of staff for him as a commissioner before Gimenez was elected mayor in 2011 and he served a dual role as deputy mayor and chief of staff. Ladra has a feeling some of one “mixed emotions” the mayor is feeling is relief: Iglesias left that position months ago under suspicion that he and Gimenez had butted heads over labor negotiations. Martinez replaced him. But, apparently, she could only take the heat for a few months. Because she also left but without, allegedly, the certainty of another job.
Read related story: Outgoing COS Lisa Martinez gets her very own day
- And some staffers, employees and political observers have said it looks like rats leaving a sinking ship. These back-to-back resignations of the mayor’s two top aides follows the departures of two of the mayor’s spokespeople, Suzy Trutie and Fernando Figueredo. Now, the mayor has Alex Ferro as his chief of staff and former Miami-Dade Democratic Party Hispanic Affairs Director and Young Democrats Policy Director Michael Hernandez as his spokesman. Bets are already coming in on how long they will last. Ladra’s money is on Hernandez going first. if only because Ferro is more used to the politics of the job — having worked with Gimenez since the 2011 campaign — and may also be more invested: He is cousin to former State Rep. Marcelo Llorente and son of land use zoning lobbyist Simon Ferro.
Read related story: New Gimenez COS Alex Ferro started with campaign
Gimenez’s statement on Iglesias was short.
“Chip has always placed service to others at the forefront of his professional career and he will be missed,” the mayor said. “He is a long-time adviser and friend, and I wish him all the best as he takes his skills and talents to the private sector.”
Key words: Private sector.
Rumor is that Iglesias — whose salary at the county was $225,000 — flirted with the position of City Manager in Coral Gables but ultimately took a position with a local lobbying firm. He did not return several calls in the last few days from Ladra. (To clarify, since he said by text that this was false: He called me back on July 4th after I left a voice mail message on his cellphone the day before. I have called him at least twice, maybe three times this week, and have not been able to reach him. Until this text. Better, Chip?)
But Iglesias might have been pressured to make a decision quickly after Commissioner Lynda Bell passed an ordinance on first reading last week that would double the time that former employees must wait to lobby the city from two to four years. This way, he can get grandfathered in.
As if those laws have any impact anyway. He may just not register to lobby or work the next two years as a consultant to the lobbyists.
According to a couple of sources, the company that stole Iglesias from the mayor’s side is Ballard Partners, named the top lobbying firm in the state by Florida Trend. Client include Genting, the company that wants to bring a casino to South Florida.
Sources say Brian Ballard has been trying to beef up his new Miami office, which only has two associates so far — Sylvester Lukis and Mike Abrams — and made Chip an offer he couldn’t refuse. It probably makes his current $225,000 salary look like a bonus.
Hey, Chip, mi amigo… next time we meet for a cortadito, it’s on you!
Rumors true: Chip Iglesias leaves Mayor Carlos Gimenez added by Ladra on
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