Incumbents reelected to Hialeah city council

With a resounding victory at the polls, Vivian Casals-Munoz and Jose Caragol were reelected to the Hialeah City Council on Tuesday.

Hundreds of supporters flocked to the Hialeah Park racetrack facilities to celebrate after the first results of absentee ballots were released.

Casals-Munoz won 60.4 percent of the votes, beating her opponent Tania Garcia, who won 39.6 percent, in the race for the Group 3 seat on the Hialeah council. Caragol, meanwhile, won 53.1 percent of the vote for Group 2, while John “Salvador” Molloy won 29.4 percent and Juan Carlos Sousa won 17.4 percent.

Garcia launched her candidacy against Casals-Munoz, one of five council members who voted in favor of developing Villa de las Palmas, a controversial apartment complex in the western part of the city.

Mayor Carlos Hernandez said Tuesday’s election results reflect the “strong support” of the community work of the council.

“This is a great victory for Caragol and Vivian because their work speaks for itself,” Hernandez told El Nuevo Herald. “We are very grateful that the people gave their vote of confidence.”

Isis Garcia-Martinez and Lourdes Lozano were automatically reelected to the council because they had no rivals in Tuesday’s election.

“I think it’s a clear message to citizens: they are happy with the work we are doing in the council for the good of our city,” Garcia-Martinez said.

Voters like Martha Dominguez, 64, who has lived in Hialeah for almost three decades, said that despite some problems, the performance of local authorities is “efficient.”

“I think overall the city is well because the mayor and council members are doing positive things,” Dominguez said.

This story was originally published November 3, 2015 at 9:21 PM with the headline "Incumbents reelected to Hialeah city council."