Miami Beach City Manager Jimmy Morales sprung a surprise resignation on the mayor and commissioners Wednesday in phone calls and a letter that said it was time for him to move on and pursue other interests.
He also said he missed his political voice during a time when so many critical issues are dividing us and it sounds like he might be exploring a run for office again.
“I have always felt that there would be at least one more chapter in my professional and community life,” Morales wrote in his resignation letter. “What the pandemic has made clear to me is that now is the time, now is the season, for me to begin to explore that future.”
The resignation is effective in February, which is more than the required 90-day notice in his contract. “But I wanted to afford additional time for the city to have a smooth transition,” Morales said, denying that he was leaving for a better opportunity.
“For the record, I am not leaving to accept another job offer. This is more about chasing my next adventure in life while I am still young enough to do so,” Morales wrote. “I have always wondered what it might be like to teach at a university, run a large not-for-profit or community organization, work at an investment banking firm, work at a different level of government or perhaps even explore my entrepreneurial side.”
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Hmmm. Okaaaay. But the manager had another three years on his contract after renewing it just last year with a raise to $305,736 a year. Of course, it was contingent upon a yearly review that would come due, coincidentally, just after he leaves.
Las malas lenguas are already speculating that Morales — a former county commissioner who ran for mayor in 2004 — could be tapped for a deputy mayor position in the new county administration after Daniella Levine Cava wins Nov. 3.
Nothing has been promised, said DLC campaign manager Christian Ulvert. “We are focused on the campaign 100% only,” he said in a text message.
But 25 days before the election — and the week after an independent poll puts Levine Cava 10 points ahead of Commissioner Esteban Bovo — it’s hard to imagine they haven’t given any thought to who they might want in their inner circle. And Morales is a natural fit.
A Democrat and reformist on the county dais — he worked on campaign finance reform before it was popular and created the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust — Morales lost a mayoral race to Carlos Alvarez in 2004. But first he had to beat former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre and then-Commission colleague Miguel Diaz de la Portilla to get into the runoff.
He then served as chairman of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party from 2005 to 2007.
Read related: Jimmy Morales contract extended at ‘secret’ meeting, raise coming
As top administrator in Miami Beach since 2013 (after a stint in Doral), he has worked with three mayors and 15 city commissioners. Morales has taken a lot of heat lately from Commissioner Ricky Arriola on how he has led the city’s COVID-19 response, which included setting up an emergency hospital at the convention center. And he’s managed to dodge a few bullets, like the corruption arrests of city employees, a rough relationship with labor and calls for his resignation after cops clashed with black Spring breakers.
Mayor Dan Gelber announced the “bittersweet news” at the end of a video address update on the COVID-19 crisis, calling Morales his “close friends for nearly half a century.
“His story is an American story,” Gelber says in the video. “We were fortunate to have him steering our ship through the many challenges we’ve confronted. Jimmy will leave our city financially secure and a better version of itself.”
Morales also addressed the public in the video. “I’m proud of the team we have built here, of the accomplishments over these past number of years and even of how we have handled the adversity we have faced, whether hurricanes or pandemics, most notably the focus and the tremendous hard work that has been put into the response of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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“I have always said that this was the hardest job I’ve ever had, but the best one,” he said, adding that he was “excited to explore the opportunities.”
His resignation letter was a bit longer and seemed like a lot of explaining.
“My current job requires full time dedication,” Morales wrote. “If I am going to explore that next chapter of my life, I will not be able to do it from where I sit today. I must admit that I have never left one job without having another in its stead. But I have also always encouraged young people to not be afraid to take risks and to embrace change. I am going to follow my own advice at this stage of my life.”
He also said he wanted to “re-engage with the world in a way that I simply cannot do right now” because his job is “truly all-consuming.” He wants to “reconnect with my many community interests that have taken a back seat these past seven plus years, including supporting our local national parks, advocating for the autism community and supporting public education at all levels.”
If you think that sounds like he might run for office again, check out what he wrote next: “As a city manager, I am always very careful that my personal political and community agendas never prejudice the city in any way. Given the incredible issues that have come up during this 2020, not the least of which is addressing existential issues like climate change, pandemics and systemic racism, I feel the need to regain my voice and use what I have learned in my many years of service at the local level to perhaps influence a broader regional, state and federal agenda.
“I am certainly not happy with the world that my generation is handing over to our children and grandchildren, and I would like to see if I can improve on that reality.”
His three page letter, in fact, lists his accomplishments and reads almost like a resume or a checklist on a campaign mailer:
- A state-of-the-art Convention Center and soon a headquarter hotel
- First two LEED certified buildings built by the City
- Four new historic districts in North Beach
- The creation of a town center district in North Beach
- The creation of a North Beach Community Redevelopment Agency to promote responsible development and investment in infrastructure
- A $450 million GOB program that will build critical infrastructure for the city’s future
- A resiliency program and stormwater management program that will be critical to fighting the existential challenges of sea level rise and climate change
- Approximately 20 acres of new parks and greenspace
The end of the letter reads more like a campaign speech:
“No matter where my life may lead me afterwards, always count on me to be a champion for this great city,” Morales wrote. “When all is said and done, I am just another kid from Miami Beach who had the good fortune to grow up in paradise, but also was taught that we can make a difference in the world.
“As the preacher says, hopefully the good Lord isn’t through with me yet.”
The Miami Beach city commission will discuss the steps for the manager’s replacement — which will likely include a national search, although the mayor plugged the assistants in the video — at the next meeting Oct. 14.
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