Steve Bovo rides political experience, Trump endorsement to become mayor of Hialeah
Esteban “Steve” Bovo will become Hialeah’s first new mayor in over a decade.
With the vast majority of votes counted in Tuesday’s primary, the longtime politician looked set to comfortably avoid a runoff and defeat four other candidates to win the mayor’s seat outright.
He will be sworn in Friday.
Bovo, who was previously a county commissioner and state representative with Hialeah residents among his constituents, received endorsements from the top tier of the Republican Party — including from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former President Donald Trump.
At his victory party Tuesday at Hialeah Park Casino, he was flanked by local Republican leaders including Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, state Sen. Rene Garcia and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose “Pepe” Diaz.
“As mayor, I’m going to work as much as I can to make sure that the American dream that many have sought to find in the city of Hialeah is a reality,” Bovo told his cheering supporters.
Trump congratulated Bovo in a statement through his PAC, calling Bovo a “great Patriot.”
“He is tough on crime, will always protect our Second Amendment rights, supports our America First agenda, knows the value of a strong economy, and understands the evils of socialism,” Trump said.
Bovo avoided a Nov. 16 runoff by winning a majority of votes in the primary. He handily defeated his toughest challenger, former Hialeah City Council President Isis Garcia-Martinez. With all but a few precincts reporting results Tuesday night, Bovo had close to 60% of the vote while Garcia-Martinez had just over 20%.
Activist Fernando Godo finished in third place, while ex-mayor Julio Martinez and multi-time candidate Juan Santana were far behind.
Bovo and Garcia-Martinez are both Republicans and Cuban Americans, reflecting the majority of Hialeah’s more than 230,000 residents.
Garcia-Martinez, who runs a local daycare, blasted Bovo on the campaign trail as a career politician who saw the Hialeah mayor’s seat as a backup after he lost the race for county mayor last year.
But Bovo’s high-profile campaign proved successful. He will now replace Carlos Hernández as the top administrator in Miami-Dade County’s second-largest city, running its day-to-day operations and making around $190,000 a year.
Bovo’s stepson, Oscar de la Rosa, is a Hialeah councilman and confirmed Tuesday night — as he first said earlier this year — that he plans to resign his position to avoid the appearance of a conflict.
Two council races head to runoffs
In one of three Hialeah City Council races, incumbent Carl Zogby won handily against two challengers, Salvador Blanco and Mayra Jimenez, to avoid a runoff and keep his seat.
Two other races for empty council seats will head to runoffs on Nov. 16. In Group Six, law student Bryan Calvo and registered nurse Angelica Pacheco will square off. The candidate Bovo supported, Eddie Santiesteban, came in third, just shy of the runoff.
Bovo’s chosen candidate fared better in Group Seven, which will also be decided in two weeks. Luis Rodriguez was in first place ahead of second-place finisher Maylin Villalonga, who ran on a pro-Trump platform.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 9:50 PM.
