One of Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernández’s endorsed candidates was elected Tuesday evening, two made it to the runoff, and another was unseated.
With 59 percent of the vote, Oscar De la Rosa won the Group IV council race, beating Michael Anthony Horgan. Jackie Garcia-Roves and Luis Gonzalez – both Hernández’s picks – will face off against Milly Herrera, and Jesus Tundidor, respectively, in Group III and Group II.
But voters chose Monica Perez, an elementary school teacher, over Lourdes Lozano, who was running for her third term.
A total of 13 candidates were on the ballot Tuesday, in part because three members of the council – Jose F. Caragol, Vivian Casáls-Muñoz, and Isis Garcia-Martinez – had termed out. In Hialeah, council seats are split into four groups but are chosen citywide. Voters pick one candidate per group.
In addition to the council races, five referendums were on the ballot – ranging from budging issues to emergency powers to the length of agreements the city can enter into. All were voted down.
During the day, voters at the John F. Kennedy Library were a mix of supporters for Monica Perez and the mayor’s slate.
Tania Garcia-Roves, mother of Jackie Garcia-Roves, said she hoped all four candidates the mayor supports win. She also felt poll workers were misleading in their instructions.
“When I voted everything was fine. Now several people are voting and they’re telling them to vote for one person. We have four groups and you can vote for one person per group. Otherwise, you’re wasting the ballot,” said Garcia-Roves.
Garcia-Roves said she brought this to the attention of the poll workers as she felt they were confusing the public, and they responded it was a misunderstanding.
As for the referenda, she said she voted yes on all of them.
Miami-Dade elections spokesman Robert Rodriguez said the incorrect information might have come from outsiders.
“I can guarantee that our poll workers wouldn’t tell them that,” he said.
Juan Nuñez is another supporter of the mayor’s slate.
“This is the United States of America and the communists have nothing to say. If they do, they need to go back to their countries,” he said.
Perez, accompanied by her campaign team at the library, said her focus has been on increasing school activities and improving neighborhood safety. She said there needs to be “new faces” in the Hialeah government.
“We have 100 fewer firemen, 100 fewer police officers, we have parks that are closed. We have water bills through the roof that increased 200 percent since 2011,” said Perez. “…We need to come together and have a voice and have people that are not politically tied to the special interest groups they receive contributions from.”
The runoff elections for Group II and III are scheduled for Nov. 19.
Vote tallies:
Group I: Lourdes Lozano (4,948), Monica Perez (6,927).
Group II: Salvador Blanco (1,120); Fernando Godo (1,989); Luis Gonzalez (3,526); Angelica Pacheco (1,909); Jesus Tundidor (4,015).
Group III: Jaqueline Garcia-Roves (4,975); Milagros “Milly” Herrera (2,704); Eduardo A. Macaya (2,111); Ricardo Rodriguez Blanco (2,040).
Group IV: Oscar De la Rosa (7,054); Michael Anthony Horgan (4,895).
