City Council, Group 6<\/p>\n
In a\u00a0Highlander-esque<\/a>\u00a0instance of election bracketing, two appointed City Council members squared off for one seat.<\/p>\n Thirty-nine-year-old De la Vega, the victor, works as an insurance sales associate. She was appointed in July 2024<\/a>\u00a0to replace former Council member\u00a0Angelica Pacheco, who was\u00a0federally indicted<\/a>\u00a0on health care fraud charges.<\/p>\n She is a member of the\u00a0Hialeah Pan American Lions Club<\/a>, which provides humanitarian services to the community, including help with back-to-school programs, hunger relief and support for children with diabetes.<\/p>\n In a full elected term, De la Vega said she wanted to better support and equip police, prevent overdevelopment, oppose tax increases, provide vital resources to the elderly, help small businesses, improve parks and youth services, and crack down on illegal dumping.<\/p>\n Junco, 87, made history<\/a>\u00a0last November when he peers voted to unanimously appoint him, making him the oldest person ever to take a seat on the panel.<\/p>\n He is a former member of the\u00a0Hialeah Housing Authority<\/a> and spent decades working in the private sector as a plant manager and production supervisor.<\/p>\n City Council, Group 7<\/p>\n In the last race, Rodriguez, the 52-year-old incumbent and the City Council\u2019s current President, promised to fight tax and fee increases, improve neighborhood safety and police support, increase funding for parks and recreation youth service, and \u201cprovide reliable government services for residents\u201d in a second term.<\/p>\n He works by day as a sales director at\u00a0Auto Value Parts Stores<\/a>, a job he describes on his\u00a0campaign website<\/a>\u00a0as being the \u201coperations manager for a Fortune 350 company.\u201d<\/p>\n In August, Rodriguez\u00a0filed for bankruptcy<\/a>, citing more than $102,000 in personal debt from credit cards, loans and living expenses. He insisted his financial troubles are private and unrelated to his city duties.<\/p>\n His challenger, 45-year-old Jimenez, is a lawyer, former Miami Springs Police officer and past member of the Hialeah Planning and Zoning Board.<\/p>\n Jimenez told the Herald that if he won this year, he would prioritize passing fair legislation, improving Hialeah\u2019s permitting process, lowering utility fees and having the city take over its trash collection program rather than outsource it to private operators.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Group 7 contest was a rematch. Rodriguez and Jimenez also ran against each other for the seat in 2021.<\/p>\n City Council, Group 3<\/p>\n Castillo, 37, ran on a promise to improve City Hall\u2019s responsiveness to residents\u2019 concerns, reduce traffic congestion, improve the city\u2019s infrastructure, lower taxes and better protect the public against crime.<\/p>\n She appeared to largely eschew online campaigning; she had no campaign website, and her campaign\u2019s\u00a0Instagram page<\/a>\u00a0hasn\u2019t been updated since August.<\/p>\n Montandon, a 30-year-old Realtor, also wanted to lower property taxes while supporting small businesses and promoting financial literacy.<\/p>\n Improving educational resources was also on her agenda.<\/p>\n Montaldo leaned into her experience in financial education and community service while running for office. She is the Educational Director at the Center for Financial Training at Miami Dade, co-Chair of the Future Bankers Camp and serves on the Miami-Dade Public Schools Academy of Finance Committee.<\/p>\n Perez, 35, is a former Director of Human Resources for the city and worked as an aide in the Mayor\u2019s Office more than a decade ago. Today, she works as a real estate broker and the Chief Compliance Officer for American Vision Group, an eye care services company headquartered in North Miami Beach.<\/p>\n Her platform included supporting first responders and small businesses, opposing millage rate increases, funding park programs, advocating for seniors\u2019 health services and improving city infrastructure.<\/p>\n In her past executive role with the city, Perez became the subject of a two-year investigation by the Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust (COE), which found employees under her influence\u00a0received significant pay raises<\/a>. At the same time,\u00a0she acted as their real estate agent.<\/p>\n She unsuccessfully applied for a seat on the Council last year.<\/p>\n City Council, Group 4<\/p>\n Chavez, Marrero, Morejon, Santana and Kennedy launched bids to fill the vacancy of former Council member Jackie Garcia-Roves, who was appointed interim Mayor in April.<\/p>\n Chavez, 20, contended that as Hialeah\u2019s youngest candidate, she\u2019d bring a \u201cfresh voice, a new perspective and the courage to challenge what\u2019s working\u201d to the Council.<\/p>\n Like others running, she skipped having a traditional campaign website. She told the Herald that fundamental problems in the city, like potholes, aren\u2019t being fixed even as residents face increasingly high living costs.<\/p>\n Chavez vowed, if elected, to lower water and sewer rates, invest in educational and job opportunities and \u201cprotect our parks, neighborhoods and our future.\u201d<\/p>\n Marrero, 23, is a former aide to Council member\u00a0Luis Rodriguez\u00a0and a student at Florida International University pursuing a degree in public administration. He also didn\u2019t have a website.<\/p>\n In May, three of the Council\u2019s six sitting members wanted to appoint Morrero to the Group 4 seat, but opposition from others blocked his appointment<\/a>.<\/p>\n He said he\u2019s running \u201cto be a voice for working families, our elderly neighbors, and the first responders who keep us safe.\u201d<\/p>\n Morejon, 34, works by day as a land-use specialist and plat manager and boasts a solid record of volunteerism. He\u2019s a former Chair of the Hialeah Beautification Board, Vice Chair of the Miami-Dade County Historic Preservation Board and Vice Chair of the Sweetwater Neighborhood Improvement Advisory Board.<\/p>\n He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Miami-Dade.<\/p>\n He ran on a\u00a0promise<\/a>\u00a0to beautify Hialeah, repair its infrastructure, lower city service costs, support public safety, and restore government transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n Santana, a 42-year-old activist and entrepreneur, ran twice for Mayor and sought several appointments to the Council.<\/p>\n He told the Herald he was running this year to stop \u201crising property taxes, gentrification and displacement\u201d of residents.<\/p>\n Santana is Vice President of\u00a0Positive Hits Community Service Group South<\/a>, a nonprofit now in its ninth year that helps low-income residents.<\/p>\n Kennedy, 56, is a retired Hialeah Police lieutenant currently employed by the Miccosukee Tribe. His\u00a0LinkedIn page<\/a>\u00a0shows past employment at the Florida Department of Corrections. He does not appear to have a campaign website.<\/p>\n In January, Kennedy was involved in an incident in Naples, where local police arrested him for\u00a0whipping a 10-year-old boy<\/a>\u00a0with a belt. A\u00a0video<\/a>\u00a0of the incident and a report from\u00a0Wink News<\/a>\u00a0referred to the child as his son.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Juan-Junco-Melinda-de-la-Vega-640x360.png\")
<\/a>(L-R) Juan Junco and Melinda de la Vega competed in a \u201closer leaves\u201d contest. Images via Hialeah.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Luis-Rodriguez-Abdel-Jimenez-640x360.png\")
<\/a>(L-R) Luis Rodriguez and Abdel Jimenez, Images via Hialeah and Abdel Jimenez.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Jessica-Castillo-Kassanda-Montandon-Gelien-Perez-640x360.png\")
<\/a>(L-R) Jessica Castillo, Kassandra Montandon and Gelien Perez. Images via the candidates.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Mariana-Chavez-Willie-Marrero-Javier-Morejon-Juan-Santana-640x360.png\")
<\/a>(L-R) Mariana Chavez, William \u201cWillie\u201d Marrero, Javier Morejon and Juan Santana. Not pictured: Phillip Kennedy. Images via the candidates.<\/p>\n