Miami, United States. – For the first time in its 100 years of history, the city of Hialeah will have a mayor at the head of the local government. Councilor Jacqueline García-Roves, president of the Municipal Council, will interimly assume the executive’s headquarters after Esteban Bovo’s resignationwho will leave office at the end of this month.
With 42 years of age and a discrete political career, García-Roves becomes the first woman to lead this city of 221,000 inhabitants, the second largest of the Miami-Dade and Sixth County in the state of Florida. Hialeah operates under a “Fuerte Mayor” system, with an annual budget that amounts to 485 million dollars.
García-Roves will occupy the Mayor’s Office to the elections planned for November.
“This city is my life, here I was born and grew up, I am raising my three children. And the residents mean a lot to me,” said García-Roves to Telemundo 51. “My father was always a public servant and I followed his legacy, I wanted to follow his steps. Unfortunately he died when he was in the campaign and could not see me win. And now he will not be here for this important step. God put it on the way,” he said.
Elected to the council for the first time in 2019 with the support of former mayor Carlos Hernández, García-Raves was re-elected without opposition in 2023. It has been characterized by moderation and low public profile, although he has assumed firm positions at key moments. “I am quiet in the sense that I do not like to talk for pleasure. When there is aleised theme, I do speak,” he explained.
During her management as Vice President of the Council, in 2024, a referendum proposed by the mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, was publicly opposed for a debt plan of 2.5 billion dollars.
García-Roves has also promoted his own initiatives, as a campaign of awareness of mental health in 2022, after a personal loss in his family for suicide. That public effort was considered one of the most visible moments of his political career.
In the Council, it integrates a consolidated block with Mónica Pérez and Jesús Tundidor, a new generation of leadership that has maintained joint positions against controversial issues.
Although for now avoids confirming whether she will be a candidate in the November elections, García-Roves says she is “ready for whatever comes.” Asked about an eventual postulation, he commented: “I think that if I take [la] Decision is because I am going to win. ”In case of not competing, he expressed his support for another potential candidate:” René García, I would support him. “
During this transition period, the new mayor will have to face key challenges in the city, such as the increase in water costs, the need for infrastructure investments and the lack of affordable homes, all while maintaining the public scrutiny on the recent appointments made by Bovo before its departure.
García-Raves has been clear about his independence in the new stage: “I will lead on my own. The mayor leads alone, because he is a strong mayor, but if he needs support they will continue working. I am not going to make any change.”
