BY TYLER BRIDGES

 In a city badly divided over the Elian Gonzalez raid and its aftermath, Miami
 Mayor Joe Carollo is threatening to fire the city manager, Commissioners Tomas
 Regalado and Joe Sanchez are calling for an investigation of the police
 department, and Commissioner Johnny Winton says critics of the manager and
 police chief are ``looking for a scapegoat.''

 The volatile situation will be in full public view today when the Miami Commission
 holds its bimonthly meeting at City Hall.

 ``It's going to be tense,'' Sanchez said Wednesday, ``very, very tense.''

 ``I'm sure that the chamber will be full of shrill voices,'' said Winton.

 City Manager Donald Warshaw, Police Chief William O'Brien and Maj. John
 Brooks, who has been excoriated for riding in the federal convoy that snatched
 Elian Gonzalez from his home Saturday morning, will likely face tough questions
 from several commissioners.

 The meeting comes as Carollo launches increasingly harsh attacks on Warshaw
 and O'Brien. He might try to fire Warshaw as early as today.

 As city manager, Warshaw oversees the police department -- and all other city
 departments -- and has more power than the mayor in many respects. Warshaw
 has received most of the credit for Miami's financial turnaround, to the dismay of
 Carollo.

 If four of the five commissioners back Warshaw, they could block the firing. But
 he may not have their support anymore. Commissioners report their
 Cuban-American constituents are angry over Saturday's raid and the police
 response to demonstrations on city streets.

 The arrest Tuesday afternoon of a prominent Cuban-American immigration lawyer
 has further inflamed the exile community, Sanchez and Regalado said. Attorney
 Grisel Ibarra was arrested while collecting bond money from passing cars for
 jailed protesters.

 ``I am outraged about the things I have seen,'' Regalado said. ``The police have
 declared war on our citizens. O'Brien has lost the ability to direct that
 department.''

 Sanchez is not calling for O'Brien's resignation. But he does want the creation of
 a blue-ribbon committee headed by automobile dealer Norman Braman that would
 investigate the police department's role in the raid and allegations of excessive
 force against demonstrators.

 Sanchez said he has received 500 calls this week complaining about the police
 department's actions.

 The commission's third Cuban-American member, Wifredo ``Willy'' Gort, did not
 return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday.

 Winton, Commissioner Arthur Teele Jr. and the three Cuban-American
 commissioners all backed Warshaw in interviews Sunday when asked how they
 would vote if Carollo fired the city manager.

 But, reflecting the exile community's growing anger, Winton was the only
 commissioner reached Wednesday who continued his unqualified support for
 Warshaw.

 If Carollo attempts to fire Warshaw, the city manager can keep his job only if at
 least four of the five commissioners vote to block the mayor's action.

 The mayor could fire Warshaw again, and the commission would have another
 chance to vote for him to remain in office.

 This process could go on indefinitely, although it is likely that one side or the
 other would blink. That's what happened in 1998 when Carollo fired City Manager
 Jose Garcia-Pedrosa three times and the commission voted three times for him to
 stay before he finally stepped down.

 Sanchez and Regalado Wednesday said they were now unsure whether they
 would vote to support the city manager in a showdown with Carollo.

 The vote would put both in a difficult spot. They are bitter enemies of Carollo, yet
 many of their constituents are angry at Warshaw, who appointed O'Brien and was
 his predecessor as police chief.

 ``Joe has the Cuban commissioners on the spot,'' said Teele.

 Teele said he would vote to keep Warshaw if Carollo fires the city manager over
 the Elian Gonzalez case. But Teele said he might not back Warshaw if Carollo
 fires him for other reasons because Teele believes Warshaw has not sought
 aggressively to cut taxes in Miami.

 Nonetheless, Teele said he urged Carollo in a 30-minute conversation Tuesday --
 their first in two months -- to show restraint. Carollo did not return phone calls
 Wednesday.

 Winton, reflecting the many white non-Hispanic voices angry with Carollo, was
 particularly critical of the mayor.

 ``I think what Carollo has been doing has been awful,'' said Winton. ``The mayor's
 job should be to provide leadership at large. Instead, it's like he's driving around
 the city in a gasoline tanker and spraying gasoline onto the fires. It's very
 disappointing to me.''

 Winton was the only commission candidate endorsed by Carollo in last
 November's elections who won his race.

 If Carollo does succeed in firing Warshaw, one possible replacement is Edward
 Marquez, whom Carollo appointed as city manager in 1996.

 Marquez, now a private financial advisor, said Wednesday that Carollo called him,
 but Marquez declined to say if Carollo asked if he was interested in replacing
 Warshaw.

 Asked whether he wanted the job, Marquez said, ``It would not be a consideration
 for me at this point in time. But I never say never.''

                     Copyright 2000 Miami Herald