HIALEAH, Fla. — Voters took to the polls on Tuesday in Hialeah and cast their ballots for a new mayor.

There were five people running in the mayoral race: Jackie Garcia-Roves, Bernardino “Benny” Rodriguez, Bryan Calvo, Jesus Tundidor and Marc Salvat.

Voters ultimately elected Calvo as their next mayor, with more than 52% of ballots cast for him.

“This victory belongs to every family that’s worked hard, played by the rules, and refused to give up on this city,” Mayor-elect Bryan Calvo said in a statement. “Hialeah chose transparency over corruption, results over rhetoric, and community over cronyism. We ran on honesty, hard work, and fairness; values my late father taught me, and the very values of Hialeah residents. Tonight, those values prevailed.”

Calvo was emotional Tuesday night as he celebrated his win with his campaign volunteers and supporters.

“This is such a special moment,” he said. “I lost my father two weeks ago and this campaign, I said, is dedicated to him and to do a good job for the residents of Hialeah.”

City councilor Jesús Tundidor came closest to defeating Calvo, but not close enough for any runoff considerations with nearly 21% of the vote.

“The people spoke, the people chose someone else, and I respect the people’s decision,” he said.

Interim Mayor Jackie Garcia-Roves received about 19 percent of the vote.

And far behind were the two non-career politicians, Marc Anthony Salvat and Bernardo “Benny” Rodriguez.

“I want him to prioritize the residents of the city, I want to him to actually do something about the water,” Garcia-Roves said about Calvo.

They all ran with the same goal -- lowering taxes and water fees after hearing the same frustrations over and over from Hialeah residents.

Calvo also promoted eliminating pensions for elected officials.

“I’ve been campaigning for the last six months about change, change for the city of Hialeah, and that’s exactly what I’m going to, and now we build a government,” he said.

Local 10 News’ Jackie Pascale featured the five candidates recently.

Garcia-Roves, 43, has been fighting for lower water bills for the city’s residents, an issue all the candidates agree on.

Tundidor, 34, who has experience as a councilman, said the solution to lowering utility costs is to close the city’s operation.

Calvo, 27, an attorney admitted to the Florida Bar in 2023, said he doesn’t think elected officials should be paid a pension. He is now the youngest mayor in the city’s history and ran on a campaign rooted in lowering taxes and water rates, opposing political pensions, and restoring accountability.

Salvat, 32, the registered agent for LOVO Investments since 2019, described himself as a real estate investor and said his strength is that he is not a politician.

Rodriguez, 79, a contractor and pilot, has been the registered agent for more than two dozen Florida companies, including Flamingo Sports Bar and Grill, Miami Trans Plus, Baby Ideal, and Rodri Corporation.

Hialeah has about 90,000 registered voters and less than 20 percent participated in this election.

Calvo is the city’s first newly elected mayor in five years.

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