A New City Manager
Alberto Parjus Takes The City’s Helm With No Search For Candidates
On February 13, 2024, the Coral Gables City Commission voted 3-2 to fire then-City Manager Peter Iglesias, promoting Deputy City Manager Alberto Parjus to acting city manager. Two weeks later, on February 27, another 3-2 vote hired former U.S. Marshal Amos Rojas, Jr. as city manager. There was no nationwide (or local) search conducted for other candidates despite strong encouragement from Mayor Vince Lago and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson, both of whom voted against the firing of Iglesias and the hiring of Rojas. The nomination of Rojas by City Commissioner Ariel Fernandez even seemingly took his Commission allies by surprise – Commissioners Kirk Menendez and Melissa Castro had apparently not even heard of Rojas before then, but nonetheless voted in tandem with Fernandez, despite Rojas’ lack of qualifications for the job.
Nearly a year later, the same issue has beset the city. Rojas, after less than a year on the job, has stepped down. In his place, the Commission has voted 3-2 to promote Deputy City Manager Parjus – this time, no “acting” about it. Parjus is certainly qualified, though he was given no opportunity to demonstrate that against a panel of other qualified candidates.
The issue was, needless to say, contentious. On the one hand, Commissioners Fernandez, Castro, and Menendez maintained that a nationwide search would cost too much and might not even be effective, pointing to a previous hire that had been mistakenly pushed through despite flags on his background check. On the other hand, Anderson and Lago recommended that at least a local search be conducted so as to not “call into doubt” Parjus’ qualifications. They also pointed to the upcoming April elections, which could see three-fifths of the Commission replaced – a new Commission might have different desires for the manager position. Though both voted against the promotion for these reasons, both also expressed well wishes to the incumbent city manager, who has been working for the city since 2022.
“THE IDEA THAT COMPETENT MEMBERS OF OUR STAFF WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR THE ROLE IS, AGAIN, ANOTHER SLAP IN THE FACE…”
–MAYOR VINCE LAGO
First hired as assistant city manager, Parjus was promoted to deputy city manager in November 2023; he previously served as the deputy director of transportation and public works for Miami-Dade County. He spent over 30 years working in various roles for the county and at the City of Miami, where he also served as assistant city manager for three years. Perhaps most importantly, he has a seemingly positive relationship with all five members of the Commission – no easy feat these days.
Speaking about the issue in an interview with Coral Gables Magazine, Lago said, “I think we, again, sent the wrong message that we lack the knowledge, we lack the expertise, and, most importantly, we lack the consideration of the residents…. The idea that competent members of our staff would not be considered for the role is, again, another slap in the face….”
Though certainly happy to see Rojas go – Lago and the former CM had a famously disastrous relationship that included Rojas prohibiting the Mayor from interacting with city staff and falsely accusing Lago of threatening him physically (a police report filed by Rojas against Lago was dismissed) – Lago says he is skeptical of the way Parjus handled the situation. “Personally, I would want to build consensus, I would want to have the support of the entire Commission,” he said. “All it would have taken was Parjus to stand up and say, ‘I’ll take the interim position.’ You have to be a leader, not an opportunist.”
Requests for interviews with both Rojas and Parjus were declined.