Coral Gables manager Peter Iglesias beats ouster attempt by commissioner

Coral Gables City Manager Peter Iglesias will live to see another day at City Hall.

Iglesias survived an attempt to fire him driven by newly-elected Commissioner Ariel Fernandez, who said at Tuesday’s commission meeting that Iglesias was too secretive and rude to residents and was leading the city in the wrong direction.

“The residents have been clear. They want a new direction in the city and the only way we can do that is to have a new manager at the helm,” Fernandez said.

He was also pissed that the manager had talked down to and disrespected him at his first briefing.

“I got barked back at on the issues I was bringing up,” he said about his two-and-a-half hour meeting with Iglesias before the commission meeting. “We are the ones who answer back to the residents and who are responsible for the management of this city.”

Said Commissioner Rhonda Anderson: “The manager follows our direction. The city manager, though we might have disagreements, is an honest man. This is not an Alice in Wonderland movie where you take off the head of the individual that you need to run this city.”

Fernandez snapped back: “We need a leader who is willing to listen to the residents and the commission. We are not here to represent the city manager. The residents want to be a priority and they want a city manager who makes them a priority. And they don’t have that in Peter Iglesias.”

Several speakers agreed with Fernandez. Others agreed with Mayor Vince Lago, who was the manager’s lead attorney on the dais and counted off the many things Iglesias has done. In between, he took jabs at the two new commissioners, pretending to be pleased because it was wonderful to have them there so that all the city’s problems could be solved.

“I’m excited about having new leadership here to say we’re going to find new revenue streams,” he said in several different ways at different times throughout the meeting.

The manager’s defenders included former Assistant City Manager Ed Santamaria.

“It’s no secret that the manager and I have parted on a number of managerial issues, which is why I’m no longer with the city,” said Santamaria, a resident who worked in the Gables for five years.

“This city is very well run. From everything I’ve seen, having lived here and worked here, it’s very well run,” Santamaria said. “Mr. Iglesias is always looking out for the best interest of the city. Mr. Iglesias makes decisions based on a lot of information that not everybody has.

Other supporters said it was crazy to fire someone in the middle of important city projects, someone who had not done anything illegal. Political consultant Freddy Balsera defended the manager. Even former Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli and former Commissioner Wayne “Chip” Withers went to the commission meeting to praise Iglesias. But mostly they talked about what a good engineer he was in public works.

Critics said Iglesias was disingenuous and rude to residents and allowed key city assets to fall into disrepair. The police union president said the department suffered from low morale and an exodus of officers due to the management’s treatment of their negotiations. They’re at an impasse in negotiations (more on that later).

Attorney David Winker, who represents the parents in the fight against the WaWa gas station that was approved in secret — and that a judge scrapped — across from Carver Elementary and a group of residents against the Gables Park Residences proposal, said he’s had his office in the Gables since 2003 and never “came close” to suing the city before.

“That all changed recently,” Winker told commissioners. “The attitude of the city towards its residents have been a hostile, ‘if you don’t like it, move,’ attitude. I represented the Carver parents who were accused of being racist.

“The city manager sets the tone for the city. And the tone that is set by Pete Iglesias is contempt for the residents,” Winker said. “Residents should not be forced to bring a lawsuit to get a city to follow its own laws. Residents should not have to hire lobbyists.”

Activist Maria Cruz said Iglesias had lied to her about plans to improve Miller Drive just to get her off his back about something else.

“One of my big issues with Pete Iglesias is that you ever get a straight answer,” Cruz said in one of three times she spoke. “The bottom line is there was no plan.”

She said it was “interesting to see people who never come here,” go to City Hall to defend the manager, and that she was “still looking for the long list of people who said that when Ariel was elected, they were going to quit.

“Elections have consequences,” Cruz said.

She and others were critical of the way Iglesias handled several city issues, including the development of the public safety building. He couldn’t tell her how much the city had spent on the design of the unpopular “mobility hub” or why the city had only gotten one design. He floated the idea of increasing height on another city property. He hasn’t been able to move the ball forward on Burger Bob’s. He let the Country Club and other historic properties go into disrepair.

“How accessible he is… depends on who you are,” she said.

“This city needs a new direction. We are asking for it. I know people who spent big money to support other candidates who lost,” Cruz continued. “I am hoping that the ones who will run in two years understand what the people want.”

Sue Kawalerski, president of the Gables Neighbors United umbrella group of homeowner associations, thanked Castro and Fernandez for having the courage to run against the establishment.

“Some of the establishment is here in the audience. They won’t go away. You’re going to hear from them this morning,” Kawalerski said. “But I’m here to represent the residents and the residents say no more of the old ways.

“The will of the people said we do not want that thing called the mobility hub as it was designed and at that scale,” Kawalerski said. “This is his legacy on the way out the door. Well, maybe the way out the door is coming sooner than expected.”

Only it didn’t.

Fernandez moved to fire the manager and Castro seconded. She said she heard from residents how frustrated they were with the city administration, even before she asked about it. “People are not satisfied,” she said at the meeting.

The vote lost 3-2. A vote of confidence was approved 4-1 but only after Mayor Lago gave Castro a very bad definition of what a vote of confidence meant. She told Ladra later that she would not have voted in favor if she knew it meant confidence in his performance. Castro felt misguided by the mayor.

But she’s definitely getting a crash course in petty politics and will not trust the mayor at his word again, she said.

“You live, you learn” Castro told Political Cortadito.

Fernandez said he would give Iglesias a chance.

“The city manager stated he is going to work with us. I will be holding him accountable,” Fernandez told Ladra after the meeting. “It’s time for us to work together for the benefit of the residents.”

He did get one victory on another matter: The commission will have a sunshine meeting on Monday to discuss the fate of the proposed $63 million “mobility hub” — which was just and correctly called a parking garage at Tuesday’s meeting. On the table: Scale and design.

“That’s a huge win for our community,” Fernandez said.

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Ariel Fernandez, Melissa Castro, Peter Iglesias, Vince Lago

Coral Gables manager Peter Iglesias beats ouster attempt by commissioner added by Ladra on May 11, 2023
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