Coral Gables Chamber boss, mayor’s ally Jorge Arrizurieta is shown the door

• Tweet
• Sumo

• Tweet

Well, that didn’t take long.

Less than a year after being tapped to succeed the late Mark Trowbridge, Coral Gables Chamber President and CEO Jorge Arrizurieta was reportedly forced out of the role last week following a vote by the Chamber’s board, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Las malas lenguas tell Political Cortadito that Arrizurieta was informed of the board’s decision and subsequently returned to collect his belongings.

If true, the move would mark a stunning and abrupt end to a tenure that began with considerable fanfare and a promise to usher the organization into a new era.

Instead, it appears the honeymoon may have lasted only a few months.

In an email to members last week, Board of Directors Chairwoman Maria Garcia made very short mention of the changes in leadership.

“Jorge L. Arrizurieta has concluded his service as President and CEO of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce, and we want to thank him for his leadership and the contributions he made during his tenure. We wish Jorge the best in all his future endeavors.”

Concluded his service. We wish him the best. Wink, wink.

She also introduced Gloria V. Baez, as vice president. Baez most recently was an adjunct professor, where she was also an administrator four years ago. She was also chief operating officer of the Miami JCC — for all of seven months last year.

“With decades of experience in community service and administration, Gloria will be leading the staff as the Board of Directors begins the process of selecting a new president,” said Garcia, who las malas lenguas say wants to run for elected office. “Our staff will continue to collaborate with our members, stakeholders, community, and Board of Directors to ensure that the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce continues its excellent work.

“As the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce marks its 100^th anniversary, we will continue to advance our shared goals of strengthening our local business ecosystem, championing our small businesses and entrepreneurs, creating spaces for connection and collaboration, and continuing to enhance the quality of life for all who live and work here.”

In other words: Nothing to see here, folks.

But there are already questions and rumors buzzing in the City Beautiful.

Because Arrizurieta — responsible to the Board of Directors for a full range of activities, including coordination of the program of work, organizational structure and procedures, interpretation of policy, strategic planning, communications and branding — wasn’t simply another chamber executive hired after a national search. He arrived carrying decades of political baggage, influence and relationships stretching from Coral Gables City Hall to Tallahassee, Washington and Latin America.

The son of a Bay of Pigs political prisoner and a Cuban medical practitioner, he grew up in Hialeah and became a formidable Republican operative, attorney and lobbyist. Arrizurieta has served in a variety of high-profile government and private-sector roles, including appointments tied to the administrations of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former President George W. Bush. He also spent years navigating international trade issues and Miami’s business establishment, becoming a familiar face in power circles throughout South Florida.

Those connections undoubtedly helped make him an attractive candidate after Trowbridge’s sudden death left the Chamber searching for a successor.

But they may also have complicated the job.

Unlike Trowbridge, whose popularity often transcended local political factions, Arrizurieta arrived with a well-established political identity. And in Coral Gables, politics has become increasingly difficult to separate from almost anything.

Which brings us to Vince Lago, who appointed Arrizurieta to the board of adjustments and convinced him to file an ethics complaint against gadfly activist Maria Cruz, a former Lago ally, accusing her of being an unregistered lobbyist, which is preposterous. Political theater.

Read related: Ethics board dismissed two Vince Lago complaints against Coral Gables activist

Mayor L’Ego was among Arrizurieta’s most vocal supporters. In fact, Arrizurieta publicly acknowledged that Lago encouraged him to pursue the position after Trowbridge’s passing.

That support immediately fueled speculation among critics that the Chamber was becoming more closely aligned with City Hall and, more specifically, with Lago’s political orbit.

Whether that perception was fair is almost beside the point. In politics, perception often becomes reality.

The Chamber board may have believed it was hiring a seasoned executive with deep relationships and fundraising experience. What it may have gotten instead was a figure whose political profile proved impossible to separate from the Chamber itself.

Or was he sorta forced on them by a strong-arming mayor?

One has to wonder whether some board members eventually concluded that the organization was attracting the wrong kind of attention. There are accounts that he was very self-promotional and only had his own best interests at heart. He has been in a number of media interviews as the chamber president and earlier this month was on a podcast talking about membership retention.

Oh the irony!

He also said that he tells his children all the time, “If you have no enemies in your career, you’ve done nothing.”

Yikes!

Read related: Vince Lago loves himself, business at Coral Gables State of the City address

One of the members told Ladra that the membership, fundraising and attendance numbers at events had all dropped and Garcia, who is likely running for a State House seat in the next cycle, wanted a scapegoat.

Or perhaps the issue had nothing to do with politics at all. Maybe there were management concerns. Or fundraising concerns. Perhaps there were strategic disagreements over the Chamber’s future. Maybe board members simply concluded the fit wasn’t right.

The problem with sudden departures is that they create a vacuum. And vacuums tend to get filled with speculation.

What makes this particularly notable is the timing.

The Chamber spent months conducting a search that reportedly included dozens of candidates before selecting Arrizurieta as the man to carry on Trowbridge’s legacy. If the board has now reversed course less than a year later, that suggests something went wrong. The question Coral Gables will be asking is exactly what.

And another question may prove even more uncomfortable: Did the Chamber hire Arrizurieta because he was the best candidate? Or because the city’s political establishment wanted him there?

And if the answer is the latter, did that ultimately backfire?

This kind of independent, government watchdog reporting is crucial to transparency and democracy. And more so every day. Help shine a light on the darker corners of our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.