Gelien Perez, Willy Marrero win runoffs for Hialeah City Council

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.