Former Councilman Bryan Calvo blasts Bovo’s last acts
As expected, Hialeah Mayor Steve Bovo is leaving the city for a job as a lobbyist in Washington, DC. The Miami Herald, which first broke the news about the rumored move in January, reported earlier this month that he is following his wife, Viviana Bovo, who has been a longtime right hand for Marco Rubio, from the Florida House to the Senate and now the State Department.
Bovo’s office said he would be stepping down from Hialeah’s top post in April. Las malas lenguas say he’s going to be making more than $190,000 in salary and paid expenses.
But it’s never enough.
One of Bovo’s last acts as mayor was to make sure he got a cushy “deferred compensation plan,” which is a fancy, legal way to get around saying pension, retroactively, for himself and other Hialeah electeds. He got it passed unanimously by the still Seguro Que Yes council earlier this month.
Read related: Steve Bovo’s parting gift: Retirement benefits for himself, Hialeah electeds
Bovo has also suggested he would support Miami-Dade Commissioner Rene Garcia in the November election. Garcia, who did not return calls and texts from Ladra, has said in the past that he would not speculate about stepping down to run for Hialeah mayor until Bovo announced his departure officially. Wellllll?
Former Council Member Bryan Calvo — who filed to run in February, immediately after the rumors were first reported — blasted Bovo in an email to voters titled “Hialeah deserves better than corrupt politicians who take care of themselves while raising your taxes.” Calvo says the calculated vote for the taxpayer-funded pension was deliberately timed by Bovo with full knowledge he would be leaving.
“Now, he’s cashing out and heading to Washington, D.C., to take a lobbying job. Yes, the same Steve Bovo who raised your taxes and increased your water bill is now walking away with your money in his pocket,” the email says.
Calvo also suggests that Garcia will “protect Bovo’s pension and continue covering up years of wasteful spending.” He cites a “shady $150,000 consulting contract handed to a close friend with zero transparency.”
This is a $50,000 a year contract for three years — actually $49,992, for a total of $149,976 — approved the same day as the pensions for a lobbyist named Terrence “TC” Wolfe, Garcia’s “close friend,”and his firm, New Century Government Affairs. The services provided are basically to rub elbows with
electeds and push the city’s federal legislative priorities. With an office in DC, Wolfe lobbied the U.S. House and Senate in 2023 on behalf of the Association of Builders and Contractors’ Florida East Coast Chapter.
Wolfe is also president at H.O.P.E. Mission Inc., the same non-profit resources referral agency (reported $138,000 in revenue in 2023, according to ProPublica) founded by Commissioner Garcia, who has served as chair and treasurer, and who has remained involved with the organization through book bag giveaways and food distributions, along with other events. Last December (photo, left), HOPE Mission had a reception and awards event.
Miami Lakes’ newly elected Mayor Josh Dieguez, a longtime Garcia ally, is listed as a director in public records with the Florida Department of Corporations.
“This is how they do business — taking care of themselves while Hialeah families struggle to make ends meet,” Calvo boldly writes in the email. “Hialeah is being looted in broad daylight, and these career politicians think they can get away with it.
Read related: Bryan Calvo becomes first candidate to file for November Hialeah mayor’s race
“As your former councilman, I fought against corruption. I fought to lower your taxes, fix our water problems without raising your bill, and make our city safer. Now, I’m running for mayor to clean up the mess these insiders have made and put Hialeah back in the hands of its people.
“This election is about one simple question: Do you want more of the same corrupt, backroom deals? Or do you want a mayor who fights for YOU? This November, it’s time to take our city back.
“Let’s drain the Hialeah swamp and restore integrity to City Hall.”
With a swamp that deep and wide, he’s going to have to do more than win just one race.
Hialeah Mayor Steve Bovo exits with pension, names Rene Garcia ‘successor’ added by Ladra on
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