Ryan Nicol
Freshman Republican Sen. Ileana Garcia is losing two legislative aides after those aides resigned late last month.
Chief Legislative Assistants Maria Chamorro and Lissette Vasquez each resigned within days of one another. Vasquez sent in her resignation letter on Jan. 22. She offered to stick around for two weeks. That means Friday will be her final day in Garcia’s office.
Chamorro followed with her own resignation letter on Jan. 25. That decision was “effective immediately,” according to Chamorro’s note.
Garcia’s office declined to comment on the personnel matter. Florida Politics also reached out directly to Garcia, who did not reply.
“Please be advised that I tender my resignation from my position as Chief Legislative Assistant for SD 37, to take effect two weeks from today,” Vazquez wrote.
“I make this decision with great reluctance as I have been honored to serve the Senate for more than ten years and I am grateful for the opportunity I was given to serve this great state. Please let me know how I can be of assistance during this transition period. I wish you the very best going forward.”
Chamorro’s resignation notice, sent via email, was more direct.
“Please be advised that I resign from my position effective immediately,” Chamorro writes. “I have placed my key and badge under the Senators door and my computer is in the Tallahassee office.”
The staff turnover comes just months after Garcia won the Senate District 37 seat by a few dozen votes in November. She ousted former Democratic Sen. José Javier Rodríguez in that contest.
The Rodríguez team cried foul regarding the outcome, as non-party affiliated candidate Alex Rodriguez nabbed nearly 6,400 votes in the contest. The ex-Senator’s team accused Republicans of recruiting a spoiler NPA candidate — who shares a last name with the former Senator — to leach votes from the Democratic candidate.
Nevertheless, Garcia’s win added to an already-stellar night for Republicans inside Miami-Dade County. Garcia followed the win by landing eight different committee assignments, putting her in a position to have plenty of input in her first Legislative Session.
Garcia helped found Latinas For Trump during Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign before serving as deputy press secretary at the Department of Homeland Security in his administration.
