Vacancy left by councilwoman’s arrest leaves Hialeah in state of political uncertainty

Hours after Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday removed Hialeah Councilwoman Angelica Pacheco from office following her indictment on healthcare fraud charges, the City Council discussed the next steps to fill her vacant seat.

Pacheco’s suspension occurred hours before the last scheduled City Council meeting was held before the summer break. City Attorney Rafael Suárez-Rivas told the council that the city has 30 days to fill the vacancy.

City Clerk Marbelys Fatjo announced that Mayor Esteban “Steve” Bovo had called a special meeting for July 16 at 5:30 p.m. to appoint the new interim council member. The appointed council member will serve until the next scheduled election on Nov. 4, 2025, Fatjo said, saying there was not enough time to schedule a special election for this coming November.

READ MORE: DeSantis suspends Hialeah councilwoman following multimillion-dollar fraud charges

Fatjo stated that the city wants to give the public sufficient time to submit applications to be considered for Pacheco’s seat.

Councilman Bryan Calvo, who is leaving office on Nov. 1 to run for tax collector, was the only council member who questioned the mayor’s decision to schedule a special council meeting in mid-July, asking why the council could not hold a special meeting sooner.

The last time Hialeah held a special election was in 2022 following a Jan. 26 resignation by council member Oscar De la Rosa after his stepfather, Bovo, was elected as mayor. At that time, the city gave nine days for residents to apply for the vacant seat. Vivian Casals-Munoz was appointed as an intern council member on Feb. 8, 2022, and the election for that seat was held Nov. 8 of that year.

Regarding Pacheco’s seat, Fatjo stated that the city requires 10 days to notify the public of the vacancy. By the time the special meeting is held, 21 days will have passed within the 30-day deadline.

Sources inside City Hall have told the Herald that the reason the meeting was scheduled so far out is because of the lack of a clear path for appointing the interim councilor.

Suárez-Rivas explained to the council that any individual council member can meet with a single candidate but that it would be a violation of the state’s Sunshine Law if two or more elected officials met with a candidate or group of candidates. Under the law, any gathering of two or more members of the same board to discuss a topic that the board would take action on is considered a meeting that must be open to the public.

When asked by the Herald, Bovo declined to comment on the reason why the special meeting was deferred to mid-July.

If the city council is unable to agree on an interim council member on July 16, Hialeah will need to hold a second special meeting within the 30-day deadline. If the council cannot appoint someone within that time frame, a special election shall be held at the earliest time permitted by law.

Any interested interim council member must submit a valid government-issued photo ID, a voter registration card, an affidavit attesting that they have lived in Hialeah for at least one year and a letter of interest.

Without citing evidence, Pacheco calls for FBI to investigate Hialeah City Hall

After her suspension from office, Pacheco held a press conference on Tuesday evening at the entrance of City Hall. She avoided discussing her indictment but seemed to blame Bovo.

Without elaborating on any specifics or providing evidence for her claims, she called upon the FBI and all government agencies to thoroughly investigate the activities, communications and financial transactions of officials in Hialeah, claiming they are involved in illegal activities.

“The city is being run as if it were in Havana, Cuba, and as if it were run by dictator Mr. Bovo Castro,” Pacheco said.

When the Herald asked what evidence she had for those accusations, she replied, “I can’t talk anymore because I don’t want to spoil what may emerge from the information I have.”

READ MORE: Hialeah councilwoman charged with multimillion-dollar healthcare fraud at rehab clinic

Pacheco added that she was deeply disappointed in DeSantis for “undermining democracy in Hialeah” by suspending her.

Bovo told the Herald that he does not give any credibility to anything the former council member says.

“She has her legal problem and her defense is to destroy the city of Hialeah, therefore I am not going to talk more about this,” he said.