Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo to step down, take job with lobbying firm in Washington

Miami Herald

05-02-2025

Hialeah Mayor Esteban 'Steve' Bovo plans to step down to join a prominent lobbying firm in Washington D.C. that has expanded its operations after the Trump came into office, according to several sources within Miami-Dade's political circles..
Bovo has received an offer from the firm The Southern Group with a compensation package exceeding his current mayoral salary of $150,000 plus a $40,000 expense account to cover work-related expenses, according to sources familiar with the first-term mayor's private discussions with confidantes.
Bovo's office has not responded to Miami Herald efforts to reach him for comment.
Two sources familiar with the mayor's plans said Bovo is expected to leave his post to become a lobbyist for the Washington office of The Southern Group. The lobbying firm website lists Daniel Diaz-Balart, son of former Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart and nephew of U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, as one of the firm's representatives. Additionally, the firm's Miami office also employs Oscar J. Braynon II, a Democrat and former Florida state senator.
Two months ago, Bovo told the Herald that he was committed to his job in the city of Hialeah and had no intention of getting caught up in 'fantasies that don't exist' regarding speculation about his joining the Trump administration.
When asked about Bovo's future plans, his political consultant, David Custin, told the Herald on Tuesday, 'This week, I'm not speaking to the press about Mayor Bovo's political, personal, or professional decisions' he said. 'Ask me again later this month.'
This career shift isn't Bovo's first foray into lobbying. He has a background in consulting, having worked as an in-house Florida lobbyist for Miami Children's Hospital and collaborated with the Hialeah Park Casino during his tenure on the Hialeah city council.
Bovo's move to Washington became more likely following former U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's confirmation as secretary of state, further solidifying his political ties. Rubio's longstanding relationship with the Bovo family, especially through Bovo's wife, Viviana, who has worked alongside Rubio since his days as Speaker of the Florida House, has strengthened their political bond.
After Rubio left the state House he made Viviana Bovo a consultant, marking a significant step in her political career that began in 2004 as a legislative aide for then-state Rep. Manuel 'Manny' Prieguez. Viviana Bovo played a pivotal role in securing lucrative contracts for key organizations like Miami Children's and Jackson Memorial hospitals. Meanwhile, Bovo served as an in-house lobbyist for Miami Children's, contributing to the successful collaboration that secured substantial funding for both hospitals.
Their ties continued through Esteban Bovo's career: Rubio swore him into office as a Miami-Dade commissioner and later officiated the swearing-in of Bovo's stepson, Oscar De La Rosa, to the Hialeah City Council. Rubio has supported Bovo throughout, from endorsing his bid for the Florida House of Representatives to helping launch his campaign for Miami-Dade mayor.
Bovo's ties to Rubio strengthened when he endorsed him over Donald Trump for president in 2016, but Bovo later became an advocate for Trump, even recommending the renaming of Palm Avenue to 'President Donald J. Trump Avenue' in 2023, marking the first time a sitting or former U.S. president was so honored in Hialeah.
When Bovo steps down, City Council President Jacqueline Garcia-Roves will assume the role of Hialeah's interim mayor, making her the first female mayor in the city's nearly 100-year history. She will serve for the remainder of Bovo's term, until the next election in November.
Garcia-Roves, a relatively low-profile figure on the council, has served since 2019 and was reelected without opposition in 2023. Her council seat would become vacant and filled by appointment, requiring the vote of at least four council members within 30 days.
Two council seats were filled in this manner in 2024. Garcia-Roves will return to her council seat once the mayoral position is filled in November, unless she chooses to run for mayor. The mayor's seat and four council seats, including two interim positions, will be up for grabs in November.
Bovo, 62, born in Queens, New York, is the son of Cuban immigrants Marilyn and Esteban Bovo Carás. His father was a member of the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961.
Bovo met his wife Viviana in 1997 at Hialeah Park, where he was the racetrack marketing director and she was applying for a job. They married two years later, and Viviana became a U.S. citizen. They have five children.
Bovo's political journey began in 1998 when he was elected to the Hialeah City Council with the backing of the city's first and only Democratic mayor, Raul Martinez. He later served as a state representative for District 110 from 2008-2011 before joining the Miami-Dade County Commission in 2011, where he represented District 13 until running for county mayor in 2020, a race he lost to Daniella Levine Cava.
Bovo went on to win the Hialeah mayoral race in 2021, with a significant endorsement from former President Trump. Since then, he has held the office of mayor in Hialeah, a city with a strong-mayor form of government, giving him substantial executive power.
Several local political figures are seen as potential candidates for mayor:
▪ Rene Garcia, Miami-Dade county commissioner for District 13, which includes Hialeah, has yet to confirm his intentions. He told the Herald, 'Until I hear from Steve Bovo directly on what he is or isn't doing, there's no point in me discussing what I may or may not be doing.'
▪ Jesus Tundidor, a current member of the Hialeah City Council who was first elected in 2019 and reelected in 2023 without opposition, has also weighed in. Having previously served as council president, Tundidor said, 'Hialeah has always been in good hands with Mayor Bovo and Senator Garcia. I'll follow their lead.'
▪ Luis Rodriguez, current Hialeah Council vice president, elected in 2019, is expected to seek reelection in November. 'We definitely need to wait until the mayor makes any decision or announcement,' he said. 'Then I will see how I can help my city in the long term.'
▪ Bryan Calvo, a former Hialeah City Council member elected in 2021, who resigned in 2024 to run for Miami-Dade tax collector but lost in the Republican primary, said, 'I'm keeping my options open.'
Miami Herald staff writer Douglas Hanks contributed to this story.