Hialeah councilman loses ‘abuse of power’ case against city mayor

A Hialeah city councilman was dealt a hard blow in his legal battle against the city’s Mayor.

A lawsuit brought by freshman councilmember Bryan Calvo against Mayor Esteban “Steve” Bovo was dismissed in Miami-Dade County circuit court this week. Calvo sued Bovo in October for alleged ‘abuse of power,’ accusing the mayor of hamstringing his ability to investigate problems with the city’s 911 call center.

In a scathing dismissal order filed Monday, Judge Reemberto Diaz said Calvo lacked standing to sue Bovo because the Hialeah city code and charter entitle the Mayor to all the power Calvo takes issue with.

“The Court is without jurisdiction to interfere in the internal legislative decision making of Hialeah’s City Council. For this and the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff’s Complaint is dismissed with prejudice,” Diaz wrote.

Calvo’s suit originated from his efforts to bring to light the understaffing issues at Hialeah’s 911 call center. The Miami Herald reported last yearthat about 7% of 911 calls put in to the city go unanswered. The city failed to answer 33,219 from 2021 to June of 2023.

The freshman councilman claimed in his legal complaint that when he tried to request records to further investigate the 911 call center, the city told him he’d need to pay nearly $7,000 of his own money for the records. While members of the public often have to pay for labor done to process public records, Calvo claims he is the first city councilmember who has ever been charged.

Calvo further complained that he was not able to add items to the city agenda without mayoral approval, and that requests for assistance from city department heads must be put in writing to the mayor, rather than the department heads themselves. All this amounted to what Calvo asserts is a lopsided “balance of power” within Hialeah.

Under Hialeah’s strong mayorsystem, the mayor serves as the city’s political head and leads its administrative offices. Bovo has the power to appoint city department heads, and they fall under the mayor’s direct supervision, as outlined in the city charter.

For those reasons, Judge Diaz wrote Calvo lacked standing to bring his suit, and was better off changing the city charter.

Bovo celebrated the victory on social media, calling Calvo’s lawsuit “frivolous” and accusing him of tarnishing the city’s reputation for his own gain.

Calvo has positioned himself as an outsider in city hall since his election to the Hialeah council in 2021. He is often one of the sole “no votes” on items proposed or supported by Mayor Bovo.

“Ultimately what the order does is it, it just emboldens the mayor, it emboldens this… this council that unfortunately just does whatever the mayor wants,” Calvo told WLRN of the court’s dismissal of his suit.

Calvo said he is considering an appeal of the judge’s decision.