![\"Coral](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_6131.jpg\" "\\"Coral")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Coral Gables Deputy City Manager Joe L. G\u00f3mez will take over as city manager when Peter Iglesias leaves the role in January.<\/p>\n
Michelle Marchante<\/p>\n
Outgoing Coral Gables City Manager Peter Iglesias\u2019 righthand man Joe L. G\u00f3mez will take over the reins and lead day-to-day operations in the city starting in 2027.<\/p>\n
Gables commissioners on Tuesday voted 3-1 to promote G\u00f3mez, who is currently deputy city manager, to be the city\u2019s top administrator once Iglesias steps down, opting to avoid a national search for one of the most important jobs in the Gables.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will listen, communicate openly and approach every decision with the best interest of Coral Gables in mind,\u201d G\u00f3mez told the commission. \u201cI recognize both the opportunities and the challenges ahead. I\u2019m ready to build upon the city\u2019s strong foundation, maintain momentum of the important work already underway and ensure that we continue delivering the high level of service our residents and businesses expect.\u201d<\/p>\n
The promotion comes a year after his mother\u2019s death, G\u00f3mez shared. \u201cIt is only fitting that near the anniversary of her passing, I am accepting the most important appointment of my career,\u201d G\u00f3mez said, tearing up as he thanked his mother in Spanish.<\/p>\n
The new job comes with a starting salary of $305,324, a monthly car allowance, an annual cost-of-living adjustment and other benefits, according to the compensation package included in Tuesday\u2019s City Commission meeting agenda packet. G\u00f3mez will succeed his current boss, Iglesias, who resigned earlier this year<\/a> and plans to step down in January, a bit later than his initial October plan.<\/p>\n Iglesias, who \u201chighly recommends\u201d G\u00f3mez to be the next city manager, said he didn\u2019t believe a national search was necessary because \u201ca two-year interview is better than a one-hour interview.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe know exactly what we are getting with Joe,\u201d Iglesias said.<\/p>\n Mayor Vince Lago, Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson and Commissioner Richard Lara voted in favor of promoting G\u00f3mez, praising his work ethic and dedication to the city. Residents also praised G\u00f3mez, including real estate investor Gonzalo Sanabria, who is vying to take over the Group V seat from Commissioner Ariel Fernandez, who plans to step down once his term ends.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe you should conduct a national search simply for the sake of saying we conducted a national search,\u201d said Lago, who sponsored the resolution to promote G\u00f3mez.<\/p>\n If the city were to conduct a search, he said, it would be looking for a candidate with extensive experience and a solid record of effectively running large departments, with \u201cknowledge of infrastructure and capital projects, strong leadership skills and an understanding of Coral Gables.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJoe checks every one of those boxes\u201d and has worked closely with Iglesias, said Lago, showing an endless stream of texts between him and G\u00f3mez as an example of his dedication to the job, no matter the time.<\/p>\n Commissioner Melissa Castro voted against promoting G\u00f3mez to city manager. She had planned to ask the commission to launch a national search for the next city manager. Fernandez was absent Tuesday.<\/p>\n Castro said her no vote was not because of G\u00f3mez, who she believed is qualified for the job. She said her vote was because of a situation she describes as a \u201cbig double standard.\u201d<\/p>\n Castro and Fernandez previously voted alongside former Commissioner Kirk Menendez in 2024 to hire retired U.S. Marshal Amos Rojas Jr.<\/a> to replace Iglesias, whom they\u2019d voted to fire<\/a>, without a national search. The decision received sharp criticism from Lago and Anderson, who voiced opposition to hiring a new manager without a search.<\/p>\n Castro on Tuesday still defended her vote to appoint Rojas and, later, Alberto Parjus to serve as city manager without a national search, describing it as a decision that had to be made quickly in 2024 because the city needed an administrative leader urgently.<\/p>\n But she said the situation now is different because Iglesias will not leave until January, which means the city has time to conduct a search.<\/p>\n \u201cIf a national search was good enough to campaign on, it should be very well good enough to govern by,\u201d Castro said, saying that Lago had said in the past that he would do a national search for the next city manager. \u201cPromises matter. Process matters. But most importantly, consistency matters.\u201d<\/p>\n Lago, Anderson and Lara agreed that the situation is different, but for a different reason. They all indicated in the meeting that they don\u2019t believe a national search is necessary because the point of a search is to find the right person for the job. G\u00f3mez is that person, they said.<\/p>\n Lara made similar remarks, noting that \u201cCoral Gables should be able to recognize talent from within\u201d and that giving employees the opportunity to advance in their careers within the city is key for retention.<\/p>\n In Coral Gables, the city manager \u2014 not the mayor \u2014 serves as the city\u2019s top administrator. Think of the city manager like the CEO. The city manager is paid more than the mayor, vice mayor and other commissioners and is charged with overseeing the city\u2019s day-to-day operations. The mayor and commissioners are like a company\u2019s board of directors or trustees, with the power to hire and fire the city manager, city attorney and city clerk through a majority vote. The mayor and other commissioners are chosen by voters and can direct the city manager through resolutions and other directives to take actions for the city.<\/p>\n While the city has conducted searches in the past, no searches were made for the hiring of Rojas, Parjus or Iglesias, including during his first appointment, according to city spokeswoman Martha Pantin. Iglesias was promoted internally to the position of city manager during his first appointment in 2016, similar to G\u00f3mez\u2019s current situation. Similarly, City Attorneys Cristina Suarez and Miriam Soler Ramos and City Clerk Billy Urquia were also internal promotions.<\/p>\n G\u00f3mez told the Miami Herald after the vote that he plans to focus on moving \u201cthe significant projects that we have in the pipeline forward,\u201d such as the ongoing City Hall renovations and the upcoming Mobility Hub parking garage.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also watching the November state property tax referendum closely and said he wants to ensure that the city continues to serve its residents and businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cCoral Gables is Coral Gables for one reason \u2014 because it\u2019s special, and we want to make sure that going forward it stays as the City Beautiful,\u201d G\u00f3mez said.<\/p>\n Who is Joe G\u00f3mez?<\/p>\n G\u00f3mez is a 70-year-old civil engineer by trade who grew up in South Florida after fleeing Cuba in 1961 with his family. He has served as deputy city manager since 2025, overseeing the city\u2019s infrastructure projects and managing the city\u2019s development services, parking and mobility services, and public works departments.<\/p>\n Starting in January, he\u2019ll be responsible for overseeing the operations of one of South Florida\u2019s most influential cities, with over 50,000 residents.<\/p>\n The new responsibilities come with a 25% pay raise. As deputy city manager, G\u00f3mez makes a base salary of $243,912. Now, he\u2019ll make a base salary of 305,324, the same as Iglesias.<\/p>\n His appointment comes as Iglesias prepares to exit after a somewhat tumultuous time in City Hall.<\/p>\n Iglesias, an engineer and longtime Gables resident, was initially hired by the city in 2016 to be the assistant city manager of operations and infrastructure. He became the city manager in 2018, running day-to-day operations in the city as the top administrator in the Gables.<\/p>\n He was fired in 2024 in a 3-2 vote by Castro, Fernandez and Menendez and was reappointed a year ago in a vote by Lago, Anderson and the newly elected Richard Lara. The three, along with several residents who spoke at the meeting, praised him for the work he\u2019s done for the city.<\/p>\n The 71-year-old Iglesias previously told the Herald that his resignation is not due to political pressure and was simply because he felt like he had accomplished everything he needed to do \u2014 kicking off City Hall renovations, making changes at the Granada Golf Course<\/a>, and establishing plans for a biochar facility<\/a> and the Mobility Hub. He\u2019s thinking about retirement \u2014 and spending more time in a judo dojo<\/a> \u2014 once he steps down.<\/p>\n In a memo, Lago described G\u00f3mez as \u201cextremely qualified\u201d for the position of city manager.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has the knowledge, the experience, and the commitment to continue serving the City and is the best candidate for the post of City Manager,\u201d Lago wrote in the memo. \u201cHere at the City, we have seen firsthand the benefits and continuity that come with selecting the second-in-command as successor, as has been the case with our current City Manager, City Attorney, and City Clerk.\u201d<\/p>\n Similar to Iglesias, G\u00f3mez initially got his start in the Gables in 2024 when he was hired by former manager Rojas to serve as the Gables assistant city manager for operations and infrastructure. Prior to the Gables, he served as the public works director in the city of Miami Beach and worked for over a decade in the state\u2019s Department of Transportation, according to Lago\u2019s memo.<\/p>\n An alumnus of Miami Dade College and Florida International University, the veteran civil engineer has also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami and is a member of UM\u2019s Civil and Architectural Engineering Industrial Advisory board, according to his online city bio page.<\/p>\n Iglesias was initially going to leave the city in October, but Lago convinced him to stay through the rest of the year. Iglesias\u2019 last day is now Jan. 8.<\/p>\n This story was originally published August 25, 2026 at 1:54 PM.<\/p>\n Michelle Marchante<\/a><\/p>\n Miami Herald<\/p>\n Michelle Marchante covers the pulse of healthcare in South Florida and also the City of Coral Gables. Before that, she covered the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes, crime, education, entertainment and other topics in South Florida for the Herald as a breaking news reporter. She recently won first place in the health reporting category in the 2025 Sunshine State Awards for her coverage of Steward Health\u2019s bankruptcy. An investigative series about the abrupt closure of a Miami heart transplant program led Michelle and her colleagues to be recognized as finalists in two 2024 Florida Sunshine State Award categories. She also won second place in the 73rd annual Green Eyeshade Awards for her consumer-focused healthcare stories and was part of the team of reporters who won a 2022 Pulitzer Prize for the Miami Herald\u2019s breaking news coverage of the Surfside building collapse. Michelle graduated with honors from Florida International University and was a 2025 National Press Foundation Covering Workplace Mental Health fellow and a 2020-2021 Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism fellow.\u00a0 Jos\u00e9 \u201cJoe\u201d G\u00f3mez is the deputy city manager of Coral Gables. Coral Gables website <\/p>\n
![\"Coral](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/MIA_2026-03-04AD0168CoralGablesCityHallrenovations.JPG\" "\\"MIA_2026-03-04AD0168CoralGablesCityHallrenovations.JPG\\"")
Coral Gables City Manager Peter J. Iglesias looks through renovation and restoration plans at City Hall on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. PHOTO BY AL DIAZ adiaz@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
\n Support my work with a digital subscription<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Coral Gables Deputy City Manager Joe L. G\u00f3mez will take over as city manager when Peter Iglesias leaves…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-381026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}