René Garcia’s endorsement of interim mayor reshapes Hialeah mayoral race
In a political twist, Miami-Dade Commissioner René Garcia has endorsed interim Mayor Jacqueline Garcia-Roves in the race for Hialeah mayor, passing over his longtime protégé, Councilman Jesus Tundidor.
Garcia, who represents District 13, including parts of Hialeah, had briefly filed to run for mayor himself but withdrew last week, saying he believes he can “best serve the people of Hialeah and District 13 by continuing to fight for them on the County Commission.” Still, Garcia’s influence remains in play through his support of Garcia-Roves, who formally filed her candidacy on Monday after resigning her council seat on Friday.
Garcia described Garcia-Roves as “the candidate with the most integrity, the most passionate, biggest heart, and the strongest commitment to serving the community.
“My decision is based on supporting the person who has no vested interests, someone whose every action is rooted in the well-being of her family and her city,” Garcia said in a press conference. “She’s the most capable candidate running for mayor.”
Garcia-Roves, 43, who made history as Hialeah’s first woman to hold the title of mayor following the the resignation of Mayor Esteban “Steve” Bovo, now enters the race with significant momentum backed by Garcia’s political weight. In her resignation letter as council member she said she was running with “the hope of continuing to make history and break barriers.”
The endorsement caught many in local political circles off guard. Tundidor, a current councilman and former senior aide to Garcia during his time in the Florida Senate, was widely expected to earn Garcia’s support. Tundidor launched his public service career in 2017 as a member of Hialeah’s Planning and Zoning Board. As a councilman, he spearheaded an affordable housing task force aimed at easing Hialeah’s rising rent crisis.
Garcia-Roves, by contrast, has not proposed any legislation during her four years as a council member. She was first elected in 2019 alongside Tundidor—he was an independent candidate running against the establishment and she was part of former Mayor Carlos Hernandez’s slate. Tundidor beat the Hernandez-backed candidates in that election, marking a shift in local political power. He run as an outsider, but he has sided with the establishment, especially while Bovo was mayor.
Garcia-Roves faced her first major challenge as interim mayor in attempting to unify the City Council to appoint someone to fill her now-vacant council seat. She was unable to secure a consensus. Since April, the city has been operating with just six council members — one short — which raises the risk of tied votes and legislative gridlock on key decisions. In November, five of the seven council seats will be on the ballot, along with the mayoral race. Regardless of the outcome, another vacancy is expected in January, since Tundidor has resigned his seat to run for mayor.
Garcia-Roves told the Miami Herald that her campaign will focus on improving public safety and lowering water-bill rates, an issue that Bovo had pledged to tackle but ultimately failed to deliver on during his time in office. As part of her plan, she supports implementing electronic water meters across Hialeah, arguing the modernization effort could reduce residents’ monthly bills. The proposal came before the City Council last week but was tabled until August for further discussion.
A Hialeah study from 2022 shows that only three of the 34 cities in the county have higher water and sewer rates than Hialeah. They are North Miami Beach, Bay Harbor Islands and Medley.
The idea is not new. In March 2022, then-Council Member Bryan Calvo, who is also now running for mayor, first introduced the electronic meter proposal as a way to help lower water rates. At the time, the initiative stalled under Bovo’s administration and never moved forward.
The water bill is a common concern among the Hialeah residents, a city with a median annual household income in Hialeah of just over $53,000, according to the U.S. Census. The city faces a daunting debt of over $18 million to Miami-Dade County for past services, with the county exploring legal options to secure payment.
Garcia-Roves is the seventh candidate to file for Hialeah’s mayoral race. In addition to Tundidor and Calvo, the field includes four other contenders, among them professional mixed martial fighter Manuel “Manny” Reyes Jr. and real estate investor Marc Anthony Salvat.
