Hialeah council votes to request special election date, elects new council president and vice president

The Hialeah City Council voted May 27 to ask the Miami‑Dade Supervisor of Elections to place a special election for a temporary council vacancy on the Nov. 4 ballot, and the council elected Councilmember Eric Rodriguez as council president and Councilmember Carlos Zogby as vice president.

Council members debated for more than an hour whether to appoint an interim council member or to send the vacancy to a special election. Councilmember Carlos Zogby moved to request an ordinance bringing the special‑election dates back to the council for consideration, asking specifically that the city ask the county to place the vacancy on the Nov. 4 primary ballot; the motion passed after a roll call. City Attorney Rafael advised the council that any change to election dates would require an ordinance and the concurrence of the county elections office. "You would need to have an ordinance ... it would need to pass by majority vote like all ordinances through two readings," he said.

The debate centered on cost and timing. Several council members and public speakers warned that holding an out‑of‑cycle special election could be expensive: the clerk’s office reported the earliest date the county could host a special primary was Oct. 7 and that the county estimated costs for an October special primary at roughly $479,326. Fire union representative Eric Johnson told the council, "$600,000 — that's a fire engine," stressing the trade‑offs involved in spending for an off‑cycle election.

Several residents and candidates addressed the council before the vote. Willie Marrero, who asked the council to appoint an interim member, urged a prompt decision: "Let's make a decision today, and let's make sure we're able to, pick someone today," he said. William Merrill, one of the applicants who asked to be appointed, said he supported a special election only reluctantly, arguing the city should avoid the expense but he was prepared to run if an election were held.

After the council approved the request to bring back an ordinance seeking the Nov. 4 date (subject to the Supervisor of Elections' approval), the body also completed its required internal leadership elections. Councilmember José Tunidor moved to nominate Councilmember Eric Rodriguez as council president; the motion passed by roll call. The council then selected Councilmember Carlos Zogby as vice president.

What the council decided and what remains The council’s action requests that staff prepare an ordinance asking the Miami‑Dade Supervisor of Elections to place the temporary vacancy on the Nov. 4 ballot; the final election schedule is subject to the county’s concurrence. If the council cannot appoint someone within 30 days under the charter, the city must hold an election. City staff told the council the county could also accommodate a special primary as soon as Oct. 7, followed by a runoff if needed, and that using the Nov. 4 date (if approved by the county) would likely add the vacancy to ballots the county already will run, reducing additional incremental cost.

The council also made a separate, internal decision required by the city charter: Rodriguez will serve as council president and Zogby as vice president until the council sets other terms.

The mayor and the council directed staff to draft the ordinance and return with any responses from the Miami‑Dade Supervisor of Elections; the council scheduled the ordinance for future readings as required by charter and code. The council did not appoint an interim member at the meeting.