| Carlos Hernández | |
| Office: | Mayor of Hialeah, Florida |
| Term Start: | May 2011 |
| Term End: | November 2021 |
| Predecessor: | Julio Robaina |
| Successor: | Esteban Bovo |
| Office1: | Member of the Hialeah City Council from the 6th district |
| Term Start1: | November 30, 2005 |
| Term End1: | May 23, 2011 |
| Predecessor1: | Roberto Casas[1] |
| Successor1: | Paul "Pablito" Hernandez[2] |
| Birth Date: | 8 March 1961 |
| Birth Place: | Camaguey, Cuba |
| Profession: | Politician, retired police officer |
| Residence: | Hialeah, Florida |
| Spouse: | Nancy Hernández |
| Party: | Republican |
Carlos Hernández (born March 8, 1961, in Camagüey, Cuba) is a Cuban-born American politician. Hernández served as the mayor of Hialeah, Florida, from May 2011 to November 2021.[3] 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.[3]
Hernández was raised in Hialeah, Florida. He received a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens.
Hernández was elected to the Hialeah city council in November 2005.[3] He was further elected council president in 2007 and again in 2009 by the members of the council.[3] Under the Hialeah city charter, Hernández, who was still council president in 2011, became Mayor of Hialeah upon the resignation of former Mayor Julio Robaina in 2011.[3]
Carlos Hernández won a full term in the 2011 Hialeah mayoral election.[4]
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.[5] [6]
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.[7] [8] [9]
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.[10] [11]
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.[12]