Hialeah Council fails to fill vacant seat after deadlock on 21-year-old candidate
Hialeah’s leadership crisis has reached a startling low.
It has been a month since Jacqueline Garcia-Roves assumed the role of interim mayor following the resignation of former Mayor Esteban Bovo Jr., yet the city council has failed to agree on who will fill the vacant council seat she left behind.
Now, the city faces the challenge of operating up to six months with just six council members, increasing the risk of deadlocks on important decisions, after the council failed to appoint an interim council member on Tuesday.
The council was deadlocked on appointing William Marrero, 21, former aide to Council Member Luis Rodriguez, to fill the seat. Marrero received three votes in favor—from Rodriguez, Carl Zogby, and Juan Junco, and three votes against, from Melinda De La Vega, Monica Perez and Jesus Tundidor.
Clearly frustrated by a repeat of the deadlock from two weeks earlier, De La Vega asked her fellow council members, “We have 11 candidates—is it really Willie or no one?” Following the tie vote, the council declined to consider the remaining 10 candidates. This followed a previous meeting in which votes on the initial seven applicants also resulted in 3–3 deadlocks. Although four new candidates later submitted applications, the council did not review or vote on any of them.
READ MORE: Hialeah’s city council, deadlocked over vacant seat, reopens qualification period
Before the final decision, Perez rebuked Garcia-Roves for refusing to reveal whether she plans to run for mayor in November. “It would be nice to have an answer from you... It’s a big decision as a city, and as a council to then say, we’re going to have an election for someone that’s going to be here for two meetings. It puts everybody in uncertainty,” she said.
Garcia-Roves responded that she did not have to make that decision immediately. That was the extent of her public comment on the ongoing deadlock. However, just two weeks earlier, she told the Miami Herald that “if the political show continues,” referring to the council’s gridlock, it could influence her decision. At the close of the meeting Tuesday, she exited through a back hallway typically reserved for city officials, avoiding questions.
If Garcia-Roves decides to run for mayor in November, her current council seat would become permanently vacant rather than temporarily. That means the interim council member elected in the upcoming special election could potentially serve for an extended period. However, it remains unclear whether that individual would complete the remainder of Garcia-Roves’ term through November 2027, over 22 months. City Attorney Rafael Suarez-Rivas declined to clarify when asked by the Miami Herald.
Nonetheless, if Garcia-Roves chooses not to run and returns to her council seat, the interim member would serve only briefly, potentially for just one month following the election, as Garcia-Roves is scheduled to return to her council seat on Jan. 12.
Three council members voted against Marrero citing his age and a perceived lack of “life experience.” Marrero pushed back, arguing that what he lacks in years he makes up for in commitment to public service. “For the past three years, I have been at City Hall every day, not just learning policy and procedure, but handling real issues our residents face,” he said. “I have helped solve problems… I have walked the streets of this city, knocked on its doors, and listened to our community. That is life experience.”
On Tuesday night, the council approved a motion by a 4–2 vote—with De La Vega and Perez dissenting—to hold a special election, possibly on Nov. 4, to fill the seat, coinciding with the already scheduled mayoral and council races. However, the final decision on the date rests with the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections.
The city’s general election in November is already set to include the mayoral race and four council seats—two interim positions, one full-term seat, and one special election. Holding another special election on the same day would help the city avoid the cost of a separate election. City Clerk Marbelys Fatjo said that the estimated cost to the city for this election in a separate date would be $479,326.
“We can request November, but we can’t mandate the date,” said Suarez-Rivas, after Fatjo noted that the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections informed the city the earliest possible date for a special election would be Oct. 7.
Hialeah held its last special election in 2022 to fill the vacant seat left by Oscar De La Rosa, Bovo’s stepson, after Bovo was elected mayor. The Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections records show the city spent $44,000 on that election.
Marrero said before Tuesday’s vote that if the council couldn’t agree on who would file the vacant seat, he will be running for the post.
This story was originally published May 28, 2025 at 10:16 AM.
