Coral Gables commissioners have decided to bring Peter Iglesias back as the city’s manager after dealing with two other managers since Mr. Iglesias was ousted just 15 months ago.
If the commission desired to move forward with a formal search for a new city manager, Mayor Vince Lago said last week that he would be fully supportive.
“Let’s do it the right way, with professionalism, transparency, and public input, whether it’s a national search or another approach,” the mayor added. “I welcome the discussion, but in the meantime, we need to restore order and trust and return our city towards the path of greatness, while we move forward with a process for finding a new city manager. Let’s do what’s right, not for ourselves but for our residents. Let’s put leadership back in the hands of someone who has earned the trust of this community, and who has delivered for Coral Gables time and time again.”
A 3-2 vote at the meeting halted an appointment of José Gómez as acting city manager after Alberto Parjus resigned from the role during a May 6 special city commission meeting. Mr. Gómez will resume his current role as deputy city manager. Mr. Parjus stepped in after Amos Rojas Jr. resigned in February. In the past 15 months, the city has had three city managers and Mr. Gómez would have been the fourth.
“Mr. Iglesias was terminated in public without process and regard to the input of our community,” Mayor Lago said of Mr. Igelesias’ firing in February 2024. “Let me be clear, the manner, how this was done, was shameful. It was not only unprofessional, it was completely out of step with the values and decorum that defined the city of Coral Gables.”
Mr. Iglesias is not just an experienced administrator, the mayor continued, he is a highly qualified structure engineer with a proven track record of delivering results.
“Under his leadership, Coral Gables successfully executed numerous multi-million-dollar infrastructure projects, including our state-of-the-art public safety building. That project alone has become a national model and a source of pride for our city,” Mr. Lago said.
Newly elected Commissioner Richard Lara’s third vote in favor sealed the return of Mr. Iglesias.
“Nevertheless, simply because something can be done doesn’t mean that it’s the right thing to do,” Mr. Lara said. “There is instability in the position of city manager. All of this shot out of a cannon when Peter Iglesias was fired in 2024 and it may be because one commissioner didn’t feel that she was getting enough attention and hoped to get it with the next manager hired as he was with no interview and no prior experience in the position, and as a surprise to all, he resigned less than a year later, continuing the chaos and instability in the position of city manager.”
Mr. Lara said one of his campaign promises was to bring stability back to the city manager’s position.
“I certainly advocated for a search. I wasn’t specifically saying that it needed to be an executive national search, but certainly that we have at least the opportunity for somebody to apply for the position from within city hall and those that might be working in the private sector wanting to work in City Hall. I still feel that way,” he said.
“I believe that we would have immediate stability if we bring back Peter Iglesias, and that’s my view. There are projects that he was working on that we would benefit from with his return on those projects. In fact, today’s agenda is packed with items that are both millions of dollars in play and years to see them through – not the best time to bring in, yet again, someone who may not be familiar with the job at hand.”
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