Camila Kaemmer, a full-time field aide in Hialeah’s Division of Constituent Services, campaigns for Councilman Luis Gonzalez at the John F. Kennedy Library.
Verónica Egui Brito
vegui@elnuevoherald.com
A Hialeah city employee who works as a field aide in the mayor’s office is campaigning for interim City Council member Luis Gonzalez at an early voting site on her own time while she’s on vacation, the city said Thursday.
Camila Kaemmer, who earns an annual salary of $48,000 as an aide in the Division of Constituent Services, is on vacation from Oct. 22 through Nov. 4, covering nearly the entire early voting period, according to records the city provided to the Miami Herald.
On Wednesday, the Herald observed Kaemmer carrying Gonzalez campaign signs and approaching voters in Spanish to urge them to support him in the election at the John F. Kennedy Library, an early voting location.
“Are you a Hialeah resident? Vote for Luis Gonzalez, number 143,” Kaemmer told voters as she handed out campaign flyers.
The Herald sought comment from city officials about her campaign activity before the story was published, but received no response.
The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust has advised county and municipal employees to restrict their political campaign activities to hours when they are off duty. And Florida law prohibits candidates from using state, county, municipal or district employees’ services during work hours to advance their campaigns. Violations are classified as first-degree misdemeanors.
After the Herald published the story raising questions about Kaemmer’s campaigning, the mayor’s spokesperson, Julio Ligorria, provided records showing she was on vacation.
“She was not performing campaign work while working for the city,” Ligorria wrote in an email. “She was using her own time, and what a city employee lawfully chooses to do politically while off duty is her prerogative.”
Kaemmer has worked for the city of Hialeah for about nine months. She was hired Jan. 12, the same day Calvo took office as mayor. Before joining the city administration, she was on Calvo’s 2025 mayoral campaign payroll from September through November. She later joined his office as a field aide.
Gonzalez, 56, who had served on the Hialeah City Council for 12 years before losing his seat, was unanimously appointed by the council in January to fill a vacancy, and Gonzalez is now seeking election to serve the remainder of the term, which runs through next year. Calvo has endorsed him.
Mariana Chavez, who is challenging Gonzalez in the November special election criticized Kaemmer’s campaigning and Calvo’s support for Gonzalez.
Even if Kaemmer is campaigning for her opponent on her own time, “she’s still here as an employee,” Chavez said. “At the end of the day, she’s still here because she works for the mayor’s office.”
Gonzalez did not respond to questions about whether he is paying Kaemmer for her campaign work. Campaign finance records reviewed by the Herald in October showed no payments from Gonzalez’s campaign to Kaemmer or to any other person for campaign work on his behalf.
el Nuevo Herald
Verónica Egui Brito ha profundizado en temas sociales apremiantes y de derechos humanos. Cubre noticias dentro de la vibrante ciudad de Hialeah y sus alrededores para el Nuevo Herald y el Miami Herald. Se unió al Herald en 2022. Verónica Egui Brito has delved into pressing social, and human rights issues. She covers news within the vibrant city of Hialeah, and its surrounding areas for el Nuevo Herald, and the Miami Herald. Joined the Herald in 2022.