Coral Gables city manager resigns

CORAL GABLES – The former top boss at Hollywood City Hall has resigned as the city manager in Coral Gables, effective Friday.

Cathy Swanson-Rivenbark decided to step down after months of criticism over her leadership.

She could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Swanson-Rivenbark came under attack partly because of a longtime feud with Coral Gables Police Chief Ed Hudak, according to the Miami Herald. She has also been criticized for hiring a PR consultant with taxpayer dollars to handle her own bad press.

Swanson-Rivenbark also left Hollywood under a dark cloud.

Hollywood tapped her for the city manager job in 2012 after she’d spent three years as assistant city manager.

She left in late 2014 after coming under fire for what critics called a “million-dollar mistake” in which the city spent $935,000 on temp workers over a two-year period without getting the required commission approval.Before that, SwansonRivenbark earned high marks for ushering the city out of financial urgency and helping bring Margaritaville to town.

But when the Jimmy Buffett-themed resort was sold earlier this year, several Hollywood commissioners said they were shocked to learn that the millions in tax dollars promised to Margaritaville were not a loan but a giveaway.

When Hollywood was wooing Margaritaville, Swanson-Rivenbark was part of the leadership team that came up with the obscure term “compensated funding” to describe the $23 million grant — an arrangement that’s now being described as a sweetheart deal for the developer.

“It went from a loan to a grant under her,” said Commissioner Peter Hernandez, an outspoken critic of the deal. “We found out after the fact.”

If anyone were to ask him about her management style, Hernandez said he’d have this piece of advice:

“I would say: Read the papers,” he said Wednesday. “She was very calculating and I didn’t find her very forthcoming. It appears some commissioners in Coral Gables feel the same way.”

Before coming to Hollywood, Swanson-Rivenbark worked for Coral Gables as a director in charge of economic development.

When she returned, many in Coral Gables had great expectations. But the warm welcome turned cold soon enough.

“Ms. Swanson-Rivenbark made some big mistakes as city manager,” community activist Raul Mas Canosa told the Herald. “Gables residents have no patience for palace intrigue, infighting or government overreach. Let’s move on.” SwansonRivenbark