Jesse Scheckner
The calls came over the weekend.
Miami Beach City Manager Eric Carpenter phoned the City Commissioners to tell them he planned to fire or seek the resignation of Amanda Knapp, the city’s new education manager.
Knapp had been hired just six weeks before, shortly after earning a PhD in philosophy and public affairs. However, she was well-known to local officials and politically engaged residents as president of the Miami Beach Democratic Club and Chair of the city’s Human Rights Committee.
The abrupt move to terminate her employment on Monday wasn’t political, Carpenter assured those he spoke with.
Not everyone believes that.
Florida Politics contacted Carpenter, Knapp, Knapp’s supervisor, Leslie Rosenfeld, all seven members of the Miami Beach Commission, and several other city officials. Some agreed to speak only off the record.
There was no consensus about Carpenter’s motivation for pursuing Knapp’s ouster. Carpenter, a long-time city official appointed Manager in July, responded to requests for comment.
Knapp, who was recruited for the education manager post, said the city’s Human Resources Department asked her to resign Monday, but she has not done so. She said she wasn’t given a reason.
“I’m trying to figure out my next steps,” she said, adding that she maintains a “warm relationship with most” members of the City Commission and enjoyed working with Rosenfeld.
Some officials think politics were at play, citing Knapp’s activism and noting that the move to terminate her followed the Democratic Club’s endorsement of Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez for Mayor.
On Monday, the group also hosted an evening kickoff event for Rosen Gonzalez, a Democrat who is running for the job now held by Steven Meiner, who has no party affiliation (NPA).
Multiple officials said Commissioner David Suarez — an NPA who has donated to President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Laura Loomer — wanted Knapp fired. In a blog post published one day before its Feb. 28 City Hall demonstration supporting “No-Spending Day,” the Democratic Club accused Suarez of seeking to malign the movement online and “falsely accuse colleagues and activists of nefarious motives.”
Suarez called the post “interesting,” but declined to comment further. He said he does not “get involved in personnel matters with the city.”
Multiple officials said Carpenter didn’t want Knapp hired to begin with and had made his feelings clear to staff.
Rosenfeld, who did not respond to requests for comment, nevertheless hired Knapp in April, either ignorant or defiant of Carpenter’s wishes.
The officials said Carpenter confirmed Knapp hadn’t done anything wrong while on that job that would merit her termination. But he didn’t want to keep her on the city payroll, they said, because what she might say or do could expose Miami Beach to liability.
Two officials said Carpenter described Knapp as combative, citing her demeanor during specific city Board meetings. One said he noted “abrasive” interactions she had with city staff.
Commissioner Joe Magazine, who, like Meiner and Suarez, is a Republican-turned-NPA, said that as he understood it, Carpenter’s decision to request Knapp’s resignation was his alone, and noted the City Manager “went out of his way to convey politics played absolutely no part” in it.
“In his many years of service for Miami Beach,” Magazine said, “I believe Eric Carpenter has gained the trust of our community, our city staff, and current and past elected officials for being a straight shooter that does not let politics get in the way of any of his decision making.”
Section 62-88.1 of the Miami Beach Code of Ordinances provides that no person can be barred from public service or subjected to discrimination by the city due to political affiliation or other physical, demographic, or ideological bases.
