Jorge Gonzalez hasn't been seen or heard from in nearly seven months. That was July 8, when the then Miami Beach city manager stepped down amid public outrage over seemingly rampant corruption on the island.
Now, however, Gonzalez is mulling a remarkable return to Miami Beach politics.
"I may run for mayor. I may run for commission," he told New Times. "The last chapter of Jorge Gonzalez hasn't been written yet."
Gonzalez cast his potential return to politics as a question of justice.
"Injustice somewhere is a threat to justice everywhere," he said, quoting Martin Luther King, Jr. "If there is injustice going on, you don't just leave it alone."
Gonzalez, who left office in the wake of the April 11 arrests of seven city employees, including top code compliance officer Jose Alberto and two Miami Beach firefighters, says his departure had nothing to do with that federal crackdown.
Instead, Gonzalez said he was the one who brought the investigation to State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in the first place.
"Me not being city manager has nothing to do with corruption," he said. "I'm no longer city manager because of politics."
Pressed on whether he'll run for mayor or city commissioner, he demurred.
"I'm considering all of my options," he said.
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