After council members in Doral voted to fire City Manager Barbara “Barbie” Hernandez on Jan. 31, following allegations of a conflict of interest, the city of Doral experienced administrative uncertainty. The vacancy was initially filled by Deputy City Manager Francisco J. Rios, followed by Interim City Manager Kathie Brooks.

At a special meeting Monday that lasted less than 30 minutes, the council voted 3-2 to hire Rey Valdes as the new city manager. Council members Maureen Porras, Digna Cabral and Vice Mayor Oscar Puig-Corve voted to hire Valdes, while Mayor Christi Fraga and Councilman Rafael Pineyro opposed his appointment. The same council members — Porras, Cabral and Puig-Corve — had voted to fire Hernandez in January.

Valdes, a retired major from the Miami-Dade Police Department, worked for the agency for 33 years, including in the narcotics bureau and homicide division. After retirement, he served in Doral from 2018 to 2022, first as a spokesman for the police department, then as a special assistant to the city manager and later, as deputy city manager under Mayor Juan Carlos Bermudez, until Valdes’ resignation in December 2022, after Fraga took office.

Fraga stated that she voted against the appointment of Valdes because she disagreed with the process by which he was selected.

“There were more qualified candidates than the person we chose, who resigned when I became mayor. No one asked him to resign; he resigned on his own,” Fraga said. “I believe that the intention behind the decision was driven by personal interest rather than public interest.”

After his appointment, Valdes told the Herald that he resigned when Fraga took office because “there was a change in the mayor’s office, and it was obvious the mayor wanted to bring in her management team. That is her right.”

Eighteen months later, he applied for the city manager position. “Although I do not have the support of the entire council, I am willing to work and collaborate with everyone,” Valdes said.

The mayor said she mistrusts Valdes’ ability to manage the city, alleging failures in his previous tenure.

“There was no progress in the park. We had the problem of the pensions, where they were not reported to the state correctly. We had 12 police positions reviewed, and no police presence was visible,” Fraga said. “That worries me a lot.”

READ MORE: Former Doral officials sue city for revoking their lifetime pensions. The mayor responds

Porras said at the special council meeting that she wants the community to get to know Valdes. “He was deputy city manager, he worked with our police department, he knows the department,” she said. “I think he is going to be a great fit. I am pretty certain we are going to be in great hands.”

Cabral, the councilwoman who proposed the special meeting, said in the chamber that “the changes had to be made to have a positive impact to keep growing.”

Valdes will have an initial annual salary of $245,000, almost $7,000 more than Hernandez, who earned $238,442.

According to Porras, the council was prepared to offer the next city manager up to $300,000.

“We wanted to attract talented, professional people, and we didn’t want to leave anything out. … We had more than 90 people who applied for this position, which makes me very proud that so many people wanted to come and work with the city,” she said.

Pineyro, who voted no to the appointment of Valdes, said he does not doubt that Valdes “has a passion to serve.” But Pineyro had been pushing to hire Rasha Cameau, who was selected as the second best option for the position. “To be transparent and consistent with my voting and my nomination, I was not going to stop giving that vote of confidence to Ms. Cameau, who is currently city manager in another city.” Cameau was recently fired from North Miami, over objections from residents.

After what he called a “disruptive six months for the entire city staff,” Pineyro trusts the city can now move on but believes the polarization will only end after the November election, where three positions are at stake: his own seat, the mayoral seat and a third council seat currently held by Puig-Corve, who is not seeking reelection.

New legal adviser also hired

On Feb. 5, the law firm Nabors, Giblin and Nickerson submitted a letter terminating its retainer agreement for legal services with the city, creating a vacancy. On Feb. 20, in a special meeting, the council appointed an attorney with the law firm Greenspoon Marder as the interim city attorney.

On Monday, council members unanimously voted to retain services from the law firm Gastesi, Lopez and Mestre, which currently advises the town of Miami Lakes.

Under the agreement, Gastesi, Lopez and Mestre will provide general legal services for a monthly retainer of $25,000. That includes representing the City Council at meetings and workshops; offering legal advice to the mayor, City Council, city manager and staff; and preparing legal documents. Raul Gastesi will serve as principal city attorney; Lorenzo Cobiella will serve as deputy and will handle the day-to-day city attorney duties.

The transition period for both positions — city manager and city attorney — will last one week, until June 12, when Doral’s next regular monthly meeting is scheduled, despite the mayor’s request for a 30-day transition period.