Tampa City Attorney Gina Grimes stepping down

TAMPA — City Attorney Gina Grimes has informed the mayor and City Council members that she is stepping down, effective Friday.

Grimes, a Pinellas County resident, was subject to a requirement that she live within the city of Tampa. The City Council approved a three-year waiver after she was appointed to the post in August 2019. That waiver expires Friday.

“Due to personal family circumstances, it is no longer feasible for me to relocate into the city of Tampa,” Grimes wrote in a memo to the mayor and City Council on Monday. “As such, I will no longer be able to serve as the city attorney.”

Grimes came to the city from the law firm Hill Ward Henderson, where she was a partner, after Mayor Jane Castor was elected. She had previously worked in the city attorney’s office with different titles under prior administrations.

As city attorney, she was making $220,688 a year.

In her memo, she said she would transition her duties to Deputy City Attorney Andrea Zelman until the mayor appoints and the City Council approves a new full-time appointment. She said she will “serve in a legal/supportive role to complete the transition” for the next four weeks.

“I have worked with Gina Grimes for over two decades,” Castor said in a statement. “She is an incredible attorney who has built the best law firm in Tampa. An amazing team that continues to serve all of our varied community needs. I am grateful for her service and friendship. No doubt she will continue to follow her servant heart. "