Voters Elect Carlos Hernandez As Hialeah Mayor

HIALEAH (CBSMiami) –  Hialeah voters have spoken.

At 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, former mayor and political veteran Raul Martinez conceded the runoff race to incumbent mayor Carlos Hernandez, according to CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald.

"The people spoke very, very loudly, and I got the message," said Martinez.

At 9:00 p.m, 100 percent of precincts reported that Hernandez ran away with 61% of the vote.

"Today we celebrate and tomorrow we get back to work," said Mayor Hernandez. "I'm very grateful to the people of Hialeah."

In the November 1st General Election, Hernandez who had 40 percent of the vote,  Martinez came in second with 34 percent of the vote.

Earlier in the day, both candidates were highly critical of how the whole thing went down, each accusing the other of dirty politics.

"This is the worst election process I have seen in all my life," veteran politician Raul Martinez told CBS4's David Sutta Tuesday. "And I have been involved in Hialeah politics for over 42-43 years.  It's because of the outside influence.  They want to win at whatever costs."

Since taking office four months ago, Hernandez has facilitated the removal of red light cameras, extended park hours, and even taken a pay cut.

Hernandez cast his ballot this morning as fire station number five.  He told us if given four more years he would return the Hialeah Race Track to its glory days.

"We know that's going to mean thousands of jobs," Hernandez said.

Martinez, however, has time on his side.  First elected to the council at age 28, Martinez held the mayor's office for nearly a quarter-century.

Much like the candidates, CBS4′s Davis Sutta spoke to some Hialeah voters who are not amused at the politicking in their  city.

"It's the way it's done. There is nothing you do.  Nobody runs that you would even want to vote for," said voter Brian Miller.

Brian Avedisian, a 50 year resident of Hialeah explained it didn't matter who was elected.

"There is not going to be any change.  It's not going to make a difference. If Raul comes in it's like what changed?" said Avedisian. "The guy was here for like a quarter of a century."

Voters also picked three councilmembers.

In the Group 1 Council Seat, Lourdes Lozano defeated Alex Morales with 61 percent of the vote.

Incumbent Vivian Casalas-Munoz defeated Danny Bolanos  with 67% of the vote for the Group 3 Council seat and incumbent Paul Hernandez won the Group 6 seat over Frank Lago with 59% of the vote.

(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)