Carlos Hernández (born March 8, 1961, in

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 333,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by Sp ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

) is a

n-born American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Hernández served as the mayor of

Hialeah, Florida Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in Miami-Da ...

, from May 2011 to November 2021. He became acting mayor in 2011 upon the resignation of his predecessor, Julio Robaina, who left the Hialeah mayoral office to pursue an unsuccessful campaign for

Mayor of Miami-Dade County The following is a list of mayors of Miami-Dade County, Florida. Mayors See also * List of mayors of Miami (city) * Government of Miami-Dade County References

{{Mayors of Miami-Dade County History of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Mayors L ...

. Hernández was raised in Hialeah, Florida. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in organizational leadership from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens. Hernández was elected to the Hialeah city council in November 2005. He was further elected council president in 2007 and again in 2009 by the members of the council. Under the Hialeah

city charter A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document (''charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. Traditionally, the granting of a charter ...

, Hernández, who was still council president in 2011, became Mayor of Hialeah upon the resignation of former Mayor Julio Robaina in 2011. Carlos Hernández won a full term in the 2011 Hialeah mayoral election.

Ethics violation

In July 2015, the Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission made findings that Hernández had lied twice in an October 2011 press conference about high-interest loans of $180,000 to a convicted Ponzi schemer. He was fined $3,000 by the Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission. On November 7, 2015, Hernández sent 28 buckets filled with pennies and nickels via a truck to pay the fine despite being ordered to pay with a check. The payment was refused and the Commission is now suing him for refusing to pay. In May 2016, Hernández delivered 145 boxes of coins to a Miami bank that, in turn, transferred the $4,000 to the Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission. In September 2019 he decided to cut the pay of The City of Hialeah Firefighters by 6% which, on average, is $500 or more per person. He claims that the cut was to raise pensions for other citizens without raising taxes.

Ethics violation

References

Further reading