Beach commissioner ‘lobbying’ for city attorney job. Did he break Florida Sunshine law?
Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Góngora has spoken privately with other commissioners and Mayor Dan Gelber about his interest in being appointed the next city attorney, a possible violation of Florida’s open government laws because the city commission will ultimately vote to fill the position.
Góngora, who is leaving office in November due to term limits, had private chats about the job opening in recent weeks with Gelber and Commissioners Ricky Arriola and David Richardson, the officials told the Miami Herald. Arriola, who said Góngora called him about the job last week, said his colleague is “actively lobbying” for the job.
“He asked for my support,” Richardson said.
In an interview Tuesday, Góngora said the types of “general procedural conversations” he had with his colleagues were legally permissible based on guidance he received from Acting City Attorney Rafael Paz about a week ago. Paz has not responded to a request for comment.
“These were general conversations,” Góngora said. “I’m not even sure when the job is going to become available.”
He told the Herald Tuesday that he was content with his current job but exploring how to continue his public career.
“This is one path that is being explored to continue my public service, but I have a great job now and wonderful clients, and I’m not needing work,” he said. “It’s an idea that was presented that I found interesting.”
Commission met Wednesday
Commissioners discussed Góngora’s interest in the city attorney job during their Wednesday meeting. The former city attorney, Raul Aguila, left the position in December to become interim city manager, a position left vacant when previous City Manager Jimmy Morales resigned. Aguila, whose salary as city attorney was $314,908, is expected to return to the job before his contract expires in 2022.
It’s unclear when the commission might vote to find Aguila’s replacement. But regardless of whether the job is filled before Góngora leaves office, he would need near-unanimous support if he applied for the job.
Miami Beach’s charter bans commissioners from taking employment with the city for two years after they leave unless five of the city’s seven commissioners vote to waive that requirement. Were the commission to vote to fill the position before Góngora’s term ends in November, they could grant the waiver if Góngora agrees to resign as soon as the waiver is approved.
Richardson, who met with Góngora Friday, said Góngora mentioned there would be a “way for us to waive the two-year waiting period and select him at the same time, so he would have certainty that if he resigns his seat, he would get the job.”
Góngora, a community association attorney, disclosed his interest in the position during Wednesday’s commission meeting and left the meeting during the discussion. He said he would also recuse himself from any future vote to appoint the next city attorney.
“As some of you may know, I was a little disappointed that somebody — I was told one of my colleagues — leaked some information to the Herald this morning, but I’m glad that it’s all coming out now in the Sunshine,” Góngora told commissioners.
He said that as his commission term ends, he is considering the city attorney job as one of his paths forward. Góngora said Aguila had recommended he consider the job.
“As such, I want to recuse myself from any further discussions or deliberations over this matter,” he said.
Paz, who walked commissioners through the process of appointing a commissioner as city attorney, said Góngora “very properly recused himself” from the discussion.
Neither Paz nor any of the commissioners brought up Góngora’s private discussions about the job, and no action was taken Wednesday. More discussions are sure to come after the commission chooses a new city manager, possibly next month. But Arriola said he would vote against appointing Góngora if he were to apply.
“I’m a no on that. I don’t think it’s appropriate to hand a sitting commissioner a high-paying job like this,” Arriola said. “I think he’s got to wait the two years.”
Government in the Sunshine
While they didn’t get a mention during the commission meeting, Góngora’s private talks with other commissioners seem to violate Florida’s Sunshine Law, said Virginia Hamrick, staff attorney for the First Amendment Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the public’s right to open government. Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine laws prohibit any private conversation between two or more commissioners about a topic that will likely be voted upon by the entire commission.
“I think it’s pretty obvious,” Hamrick said.
She said recusing one’s self from a future vote does not waive the requirements of the law, though Hamrick said any violation caused by side conversations would have been minimal.
“It’s definitely a violation, but it’s less of conducting business behind closed doors,” Hamrick said. “Here it was just two commissioners meeting. There is still an opportunity for the public to weigh in.”
Gelber said he spoke with Góngora a couple of weeks ago about the job opening and the vote needed to approve his appointment. Arriola said Góngora did not explicitly ask for support during their phone conversation but expressed his interest in the job.
“It was one colleague to another saying that he’s interested in a job and the reasons why he would be,” said Arriola. “It doesn’t take a big leap of logic [to realize] that you’re sort of being pushed to give an answer whether you would support an idea like that.”
Góngora, who told the Miami Herald he is still weighing a possible mayoral run against Gelber this November, said he did not think the conversations were improper.
“I certainly don’t want to cloud anything with any accusations, even though I feel all the accusations are improper and likely politically motivated,” Góngora said. He later added: “I am a big proponent of transparency and putting everything out there in the public anyways.”
This article has been updated to include details from Wednesday’s Miami Beach City Commission meeting.
This story was originally published March 17, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
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