The North Bay Village mayor is throwing in the towel. Corina Esquijarosa resigned today, leaving office one year after winning a close election. Her decision comes on the heels of a successful petition drive to hold a recall election against her and a criminal probe into her falsely claiming a homestead exemption on a downtown Miami condo she rented out. During her brief tenure, Esquijarosa has been dogged by several controversies that were first reported here.
It remains to be seen if state prosecutors will continue their investigation now that Esquijarosa is no longer a public official. She is represented by prominent criminal defense attorney Ben Kuehne.
Esquijarosa released a statement blaming her enemies and her ongoing troubles as the reason for her stepping down. "In light of the diminishment of my effectiveness as Mayor...with a heavy heart I tender my resignation," Esquijarosa said.
She was elected mayor last November, winning by six votes. Esquijarosa joins a long list of former North Bay Village elected and public officials who were forced out of office due to scandal.
In 2004, Ex-Mayor Alan Dorne and an ex-commissioner were removed from their posts following their arrests on violating the state's sunshine laws by meeting in private to discuss firing the city manager at the time. A year earlier, another former commissioner, Bob Dugger, was criminally charged with official misconduct for trying to help a developer friend change the zoning on a residential penthouse to use it as a nightclub.
Read our full coverage on Esquijarosa here.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.
