<\/p>\n
Luis Gonz\u00e1lez, Hialeah\u2019s interim council member, is seeking a permanent return to City Hall after almost a decade away from office. He vaces Marina Chavez, the youngest candidate to run for a Hialeah council seat. Both candidates have had ties to Mayor Bryan Calvo.<\/p>\n
The Miami Herald<\/p>\n
Hialeah voters will choose a new council member in a special election in November to fill the remainder of a term left vacant after former Council Member Jesus Tundidor resigned to run for mayor last year.<\/p>\n
The race pits interim Council Member Luis Gonz\u00e1lez, 55, against Mariana Chavez, a 21-year-old former candidate who is seeking the seat after running as the youngest person for council last November.<\/p>\n
Gonz\u00e1lez, a former council member, was selected by the City Council in January to temporarily fill the vacant seat<\/a> after receiving Mayor Bryan Calvo\u2019s support<\/a>. Voters will decide in a special election to determine who will serve the remainder of Tundidor\u2019s term.<\/p>\n Before the City Council appointed him to the interim seat, Gonz\u00e1lez told the Miami Herald he was \u201cinspired by Mayor Calvo\u201d to return to public service. He said his goal was to help stabilize the city\u2019s finances and bring experience back to City Hall, adding that his top priority would be improving the city\u2019s financial management.<\/p>\n The race has drawn attention because both candidates have connections to Calvo, creating an unusual political dynamic for a mayor who campaigned on a promise to break from Hialeah\u2019s traditional political circles.<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez is a familiar figure in Hialeah politics. He served on the City Council from 2005 to 2017 under former mayors Julio Robaina and Carlos Hern\u00e1ndez. Running as part of Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s political slate, he lost his 2019 election bid to Tundidor.<\/p>\n Gonz\u00e1lez holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration and an MBA from Florida International University. During Calvo\u2019s mayoral campaign, Gonz\u00e1lez\u2019s company, Vital Graphics, received more than $80,000 from Calvo\u2019s political committee, Let\u2019s Fix Hialeah, to provide marketing services.<\/p>\n The Herald attempted to reach Gonz\u00e1lez by phone and text message for this story, but he did not respond.<\/p>\n Chavez, meanwhile, is campaigning as a representative of a new generation of leadership.<\/p>\n She said Hialeah needs \u201creshaping and bettering,\u201d citing high water bills, deteriorating infrastructure and road conditions and the city\u2019s longstanding problem with roaming livestock.<\/p>\n \u201cThe streets, they\u2019re in pieces still. Now we\u2019re starting to see a difference, but there\u2019s still a lot of work that needs to be done. We have a big issue of livestock,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cIf I\u2019m your city council member, I will make sure livestock is no longer an issue in our city because we do not need peacocks, ducks, chickens anywhere roaming around the city. We\u2019re not a farm. We are a normal city.\u201d<\/p>\n During last year\u2019s election, Chavez told the Herald she was running independently<\/a> and was not aligned with any mayoral candidate. But Calvo, who was running for mayor at the time, personally contributed two separate $395 donations to help fund her campaign door hangers, according to public records.<\/p>\n Chavez has become critical of some of Calvo\u2019s decisions, including his support for appointing Gonz\u00e1lez to the interim council seat\u2014an appointment she also sought after narrowly losing her council bid in November.<\/p>\n Chavez questioned why Calvo, who campaigned on challenging Hialeah\u2019s political establishment, backed a former council member associated with previous administrations.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m well aware the mayor is endorsing Luis Gonz\u00e1lez,\u201d Chavez said. \u201cHe was running a campaign that was completely against the old political machines. Why are we bringing this back?. We should be going forwards.\u201d<\/p>\n The Herald reached out to the mayor and his spokesperson several times before publication, but neither responded.<\/p>\n Chavez is studying communications at St. Thomas University. She is a college field representative for Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization, and is also involved with Bobcats for Life, a pro-life student organization.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to be a voice for the younger generation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She said her campaign is driven by public service rather than political ambition.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not doing this trying to get a pension,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m doing this because I need to help my community, and I know that\u2019s where my purpose is.\u201d<\/p>\n Chavez\u2019s campaign reflects the same generational message that fueled Calvo\u2019s own political rise. Calvo was one of the youngest candidates elected to the City Council in 2021 before becoming Hialeah\u2019s youngest elected mayor at age 27.<\/p>\n Luis Gonz\u00e1lez was sworn in on Jan. 27, 2026, after being appointed to temporarily fill a vacant Hialeah City Council seat. Veronica Egui Brito vegui@elnuevoherald.com <\/p>\n
Mariana Chavez, 21, is running for Hialeah City Council. She says one of her main goals is to motivate young people to vote. Chavez has criticized high water bills and poor road maintenance, arguing that the city is in need of \u201creshaping.\u201d Mariana Chavez <\/p>\n