Hialeah voters just picked two new local policymakers in runoff elections for the City Council.

In a race for the panel’s Group 3 seat, Gelien Perez outpaced Jessica Castillo with nearly 80% of the vote.

For the Group 4 seat, William “Willy” Marrero took 71% of the vote to defeat Javier Morejon.

Tuesday’s contests presented one of the first real tests of how much sway new Mayor Bryan Calvo — who made history last month as the youngest person ever elected Hialeah Mayor — will have as he prepares to take office.

He endorsed Perez and Marrero, a strategic pairing that blended rival factions from the mayoral contest into his new governing coalition. Both ran with political slates opposing him.

He told the Miami Herald last month that he hoped to create “a coalition to approve the agenda,” without an expectation that Perez and Matteo “will vote with (him) 100% of the time.”

They also promised to give him an advantage in the upcoming appointment to fill Jesus Tundidor’s soon-to-be-vacant seat. Tundidor ran unsuccessfully for Mayor.

Perez, a 35-year-old former city Human Resources Director and one-time mayoral aide, campaigned on supporting first responders and small businesses, improving infrastructure and parks, expanding senior services and rejecting millage rate increases.

But her tenure as HR Director drew scrutiny. A Miami-Dade ethics probe found employees under her influence received sizable raises. At the same time, she acted as their real estate agent.

Castillo, 37, ran as an independent voice focused on transparency, accountability, traffic relief, infrastructure upgrades and lower taxes. She kept her campaign largely offline, with no website and minimal social media activity.

Marrero, a 23-year-old Florida International University student and former Council aide, ran on a platform that emphasized affordability, issues facing working families and seniors, and support for first responders.

Earlier this year, three Council members attempted to appoint him to the same seat he now seeks, but opposition from others blocked the move.

Morejon, a 34-year-old land-use specialist with an extensive volunteer résumé, ran on a promise to prioritize infrastructure repairs, government transparency, beautification and reducing the cost of city services.

Hialeah elects Council members at large, meaning all voters in the city could cast ballots in both races.

Tuesday’s winners earned four-year terms.

Roger Chapin won his Orlando City Council bid Tuesday night, following the footsteps of his trailblazing mom into public office.

Chapin captured 51% of the vote to beat Mira Tanna in the District 3 runoff, according to unofficial election results.

Chapin had the fundraising advantage and better name recognition as the son of former Orange County Mayor Linda Chapin. His war chest was $293,000 compared to Tanna’s $114,000.

Chapin and Tanna were neck-and-neck in the Nov. 4 election when they were among five candidates on the ballot. Only 14 votes separated Chapin and Tanna, and neither secured a majority of the vote, sparking Tuesday’s runoff.

Chapin will be the first new Orlando City Commissioner to represent District 3 in 20 years. Longtime District 3 Commissioner Robert Stuart said he was ready to step down and allow others to lead in city government.

District 3 covers Baldwin Park, Audubon Park, College Park, Rosemont and a few other neighborhoods north of Colonial Drive.

The four-year nonpartisan term currently pays $79,343 annually.

Chapin’s move to City Hall has been nearly a quarter-century in the making.

Chapin ran for Orlando City Council in 2002 and lost. In the years that followed, the College Park resident found other ways to get involved in public service, since he said he figured he would never run for elected office again.

Chapin got on the Municipal Planning Board, the Downtown Development Board, the Orlando Utilities Commission, the oversight Committee for the construction of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and more. Chapin argued that made him the most experienced candidate in the race. A Democrat, he promised to govern down the middle and work with both sides of the aisle.

Chapin’s supporters included Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Stuart, Orange County Sheriff John Mina, and Chris Durant, who placed third in the Nov. 4 election. Durant got paid $6,000 to help Chapin on the campaign trail in November and part of December, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

Chapin also won big endorsements from the Orlando Sentinel editorial board, the Orlando Regional Realtors Association and the Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association.

But the race for District 3 was tight. Tanna ran a grassroots campaign backed by popular Orlando Democrats in U.S. Rep Maxwell Frost and state Rep. Anna Eskamani.

“Mira has spent decades in public service, holding corporations and corrupt officials accountable while fighting for communities too often overlooked. But tonight, voters chose a different path,” said Moné Holder, Chief Advocacy and Political Officer of Florida Rising, a grassroots group that endorsed Tanna, in a statement. “We hope the winner in District 3, Roger Chapin, will prioritize what our communities demanded throughout this campaign: affordable housing, economic development that benefits every family, and deep respect for immigrant communities. These needs cannot be ignored; they must be at the top of the Council’s agenda.”

Jacksonville’s Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team the Jumbo Shrimp is going to be sold and the City Council signed off on a resolution Tuesday confirming it supports the transaction.

Jumbo Shrimp owner Ken Babby decided to sell the team after he advanced to CEO of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise. Babby announced Tuesday before the council meeting that the buyer of the Jumbo Shrimp was Prospector Baseball Group. There was no disclosed price, but Prospector is owned by Ben Boyer, a technology entrepreneur, and John Abbamondi, an executive with extensive experience in professional sports.

The City Council unanimously approved the resolution supporting the sale of the Jumbo Shrimp, the MiLB AAA farm club for the Miami Marlins, with little discussion.

Council member Nick Howland said there was no reason for the city to impede the transaction.

“I don’t want to hold up the deal and I think this is good for our city,” Howland said.

The key element the city is concerned with is the lease deal with the franchise for the use of the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. That stadium is known as VyStar Ballpark, which was contracted for the name by Jacksonville-based VyStar Credit Union.

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp resolution before the Council stated, “The team has entered into an agreement whereby, upon closing, a buyer will acquire all equity of the Jacksonville Club (Jumbo Shrimp). The transaction is structured as a sale of equity interests; therefore, there is no direct assignment of the agreement, and the Jacksonville Club will remain a party to the agreement under its current name.”

Babby in a news release earlier Tuesday called the sale “bittersweet.”

In a joint statement, Abbamondi and Boyer said they were thrilled about the transaction.

“We are grateful to Ken Babby and his partners for their leadership and honored to have the opportunity to build upon their success. We believe in providing an exceptional, accessible game day experience at VyStar Ballpark, and we are equally excited for the Jumbo Shrimp to be a catalyst for the future growth of Downtown Jacksonville,” the joint statement said.

Babby has advanced quickly in the baseball world. He is also owner of the Akron RubberDucks in Ohio, a AA franchise in the MiLB affiliated with the MLB’s Cleveland Guardians. The RubberDucks franchise is also part of Prospector’s acquisition.

Babby shifted to CEO of the Rays and is now heavily involved in discussions for hammering out a stadium deal and location for the team to play on the Gulf Coast.

Babby bought the Jacksonville franchise from previous owner Peter Bragan Jr. in 2015 when the team was named the Jacksonville Suns, a moniker that was steady for decades. Babby changed the name to Jumbo Shrimp in November 2016.