New Coral Gables commissioner wants to fire city manager Peter Iglesias

Developing story: The dominos may start to fall soon.

True to his campaign talk, newly-elected Commissioner Ariel Fernandez has moved to dismiss City Manager Peter Iglesias. He has put a discussion the May 9 commission agenda “regarding the termination of the city manager.”

Fernandez, who won with nearly 60% of the vote, has had issues with the city manager for months, if not years. But he says he is fulfilling the wishes of the voters.

“The message I’ve gotten from the residents is pretty clear: They want a new direction for the city,” Fernandez told Political Cortadito. Isn’t that what the new commission is for?

“Yes, but you need a city manager that doesn’t have his own personal agenda,” Fernandez said. He points to a recent visit by Iglesias to the planning and zoning board to request height and density increases on city parking lots — without commission direction. “Nobody told him to do that,” he said.

But that’s not all. Fernandez has hit the ground running full speed ahead with an ambitious first meeting that addresses other issues he campaigned on. “None of these items should be a surprise to anyone,” Fernandez told Ladra.

He wants to scrap the “mobility hub,” a $63 million redevelopment of a parking garage with electric vehicle charging stations and a launching pad for Amazon drones. He wants to require people who go before the city with zoning and other applications to disclose any campaign contributions they’ve made. And he wants city commissioners, not the city manager, to appoint members of the Board of Architects.

More to come as the story is reported.