Two families fight for open seats on Medley’s town council

Lizelh Ayala remembers being behind the scenes of her father’s campaigns for Medley Town Council. She remembers watching him lose to other candidates time and time again. Then she remembers watching him finally win a seat in 2012, a special election for the remaining term of a vacant seat.

When this year’s special election in Medley was announced, Lizelh Ayala knew it was her chance to run and join her father, vice-mayor Edgar Ayala, on the council.

But, the Ayalas aren’t the only family in the race for town council in this tiny industrial town. Husband and wife, Ivan and Karina Pacheco will be on the ballot of the Nov. 3 election, and if they both win, they could become the first known spouses to serve simultaneously on the same council in Florida.

With a residential population just over 1,100 it’s no surprise that the candidate pool in Medley’s general election is so tight-knit. Still the town council’s four-year term with an annual salary of about $54,000 and about $211,000 for the mayor, turned out 11 total candidates in the local election.

The town’s current mayor faces only one challenger, Lily Stefano, who resigned from her seat on the council to run. A special election for the remaining two years of her vacant seat brought both Karina Pacheco and Lizelh Ayala to the race.

This isn’t the Pachecos’ first shot at sitting on the council together either. In 2018, Karina Pacheco ran for a council seat, while her husband was already on the board. This year Ivan Pacheco is up for reelection.

He said there was a lot of confusion during the last election regarding whether a husband and wife could legally sit on the same council. He said he believes the confusion cost his wife the race and hopes that having Lizelh Ayala, the daughter of a current council member, in the race this year will make it clear to voters that there is nothing illegal about family members sitting on the same board.

Virginia Hamrick, staff attorney for the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee, said that there was no violation for family members serving on the same board as long as they don’t discuss board issues without complying with the Sunshine Law, which requires all meetings between two or more elected officials to be open to the public.

She pointed to a 1989 advisory by Bob Butterworth, state attorney general at the time, that states Florida’s anti-nepotism law “does not prohibit a husband and wife from simultaneously serving on the same town council.” The advisory also directs any ethical concerns to the Florida Commission on Ethics.

Lizelh Ayala, 25, who lives in the same home as her father, said she arranged a meeting with the Miami-Dade Ethics Commission to make sure she does everything right. She wants voters to know that she’s taking the proper steps and not violating any codes.

“We want people to know that we’re going to do things the right way,” Ayala said.

Her father added to her sentiment saying that fathers and daughters are often very different people with their own personalities and motivations. Despite his daughter’s run, he remains skeptical about having both Pachecos on the council.

“When you have family members like a husband and wife it’s not a good impression to voters,” Edgar Ayala said. “It’s not the same perception comparing husband and wife and father and daughter.”

Karina Pacheco said she’s not worried about her relationship getting in the way of her run for council this time around. She said she knows she’s doing things the right way.

“I make my own decisions,” Pacheco said. “I have my own personality.”

Edgar Ayala’s concerns about the Pachecos comes from a community divide between supporting the industrial sector through commercial development and dedicating resources to the small group of residents in Medley, many of whom are seniors.

Because of its large industrial sector, Medley earns most of its revenue from commercial property taxes. That money is used to provide a number of social services to its residents, who mostly live in the town’s three mobile home sites. Elected officials are tasked with a balancing act keeping both the businesses — that bring in money — and the residents who live there happy.

“Are we going to take direction to care for our community?” Ayala asked. “Or are we going to take the direction of modernizing Medley with apartment complexes and foreign companies?”

Meet the candidates:

Mayor

▪ Roberto Martell, 59, has been mayor since 2012. He first came to Medley before 2008 as a general contractor. He said since 2012 he’s increased the value of commercial businesses in the town by supporting development projects. “I’ve been running the town as a business,” Martell said. If reelected, he wants to continue serving Medley by bringing in new businesses and development. “I dedicate myself 100% to things,” Martell said. “If it‘s something worthwhile, I fight for it. I won’t take no for an answer.”

▪ Lily Stefano, 56, lost to Martell in the 2016 election but won a seat on the town council in 2018. She stepped down from her current seat to run for mayor again. “I was very new to the game in 2016,” Stefano said. “I’m not all that new anymore.” During the 2016 election, Martell unsuccessfully sued to remove Stefano from the race, claiming she did not move to Medley in time to qualify. Stefano first came to Medley in 2014 with her role as executive director of the Santana Moss Foundation, a nonprofit helping local South Florida communities, named for the NFL star who started the charity. In her charity work, she fell in love with Medley and never left. If elected, she said, she wants to focus on services for the residents in town. “That’s the incredible trick of Medley, balancing the industrial side with our residents,” Stefano said. “But, there is no balance. Our residents feel like they’re not getting enough attention.”

Town council

Six candidates — including two incumbents — are running for two seats. Medley has no political districts, so the two candidates with the most votes will be elected.

▪ Incumbent Ivan Pacheco, 51, was elected to the council in 2016. During his time on the council he said he’s helped launch a number of programs, like implementing a new waste management system and a water conservation program that offers free water for residents who use less than 2,500 gallons monthly. “I’m the type of council person that goes forward with everything that benefits the infrastructure of the town,” Pacheco said. “I want to keep doing the job I’ve been doing.” Before being a full-time council member, Pacheco was an export agent for a freighting company. He was previously defeated in his first bid for a council seat in 2014.

▪ Griselia DiGiacomo, 53, has been a member of the council for 13 years. Before being a council member she spent seven years working as a town employee in various departments. She said she wants to improve town infrastructure, especially roads that she said are critical in a town that has so many people commuting every day. She said she’s happy to have the political competition. “If it’s my time to go, it’s my time to go,” DiGiacomo said. “I’m still going to be here. I’m still going to be involved in the town of Medley.”

▪ Lourdes Rodriguez, 65, moved to Medley a year and half ago but was a frequent visitor because her late mother lived there for 18 years. Rodriguez said she wants more programs for Medley’s seniors, such as recreational activities and entertainment programs. Rodriguez also said she supports the police department and wants to see more resources available there. This is Rodriguez’s first time running for public office. “I’d like to see what I can do and what I can bring to the town,” she said.

▪ Yesenia Martinez, 30, is the property manager at a mobile home site in Medley; she also manages two other mobile home parks in South Florida. She has been living in Medley since 2014 and said in her role as property manager, she’s become very popular among residents and businesses in town. “I’m very grateful for that,” Martinez said. She said she helps residents every day as a property manager and wants to bring those services to the town council. She said she also wants to invest in local businesses and bring a beautification program to the town. Martinez has no previous political experience, but said she’s ready for a challenge. “It was something I was finally ready for,” Martinez said.

▪ Gerry Silva Jr., 55, served on the council in 2010. He said he decided to run this year because people have been asking him to get involved again. Silva first moved to Medley in 2005 to help care for his now 85-year-old mother. He retired from the U.S. Air Force in 2013 after 24 years of service, and is now a manager at a mechanic shop. Silva said that he wants to see a push to better educate residents about how the town government works. “A lot of the residents are misguided,” Silva said. “I think that’s important to educate the public so they have a better idea of what’s going on.”

▪ Evelyn Bassaure could not be reached.

Town Council — vacancy

Three candidates are running for the open seat, which will be up for reelection in 2022.

▪ Karina Pacheco, 44, ran for council in 2018 but lost. She said for years she’s been doing social work in various capacities in town for free, and she said she thought it was time to bring her work officially to the town as council member. She said she wants to balance business with the needs of the residents, but also sees that growing the town is important. “The businesses are the best way for the town to grow,” Pacheco said. She teaches first grade at a private school in Hialeah.

▪ Lizelh Ayala, 25, was born and raised in Medley. A University of Miami graduate, Ayala said she is studying for the MCAT with plans to attend medical school. She said she sees politics and policy as an important part of the health industry and thought it was critical to start getting involved. Growing up in Medley, Ayala said she’s benefited from some of the good programs, like the after-school program and college grant program. Ayala wants to see more of these types of community programs, especially classes in English and citizenship for older residents. “I bring a special perspective because I’ve lived through what’s worked and what hasn’t,” Ayala said. “I think a lot works, but some things could be better.”

▪ Carlos Benedetto, 52, was on the council from 1998 to 2010. He decided to run again with the hopes of making a change. He said that some people in town who’ve been unhappy with the current council have asked him to run. He’s hoping that he will be able to restore a sense of harmony to the town government. He lost his bid for reelection in 2010. He works as a technician at Miami Dade College. One thing he wants to see happen in Medley is to bring back a hurricane shelter. He claims that during his time on the council he turned a building in town into an unofficial hurricane shelter for Medley residents, but that shelter no longer exists. “There’s a lot of things that could change to make things a little better,” Benedetto said.

This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 10:59 AM.