MIAMI. Bryan Calvo, the Hialeah councilman who for two consecutive years voted against the city’s tax increase and opposes the $2.5 billion bond that Mayor Levine Cava will request in a referendum, ran for the position of tax collector of taxes, a position that for the first time is elected on a partisan basis.
“It is time to bring an established and proven conservative voice to lead the tax collector’s office and to control excessive spending in the county,” Calvo said when presenting his nomination to the media this Tuesday, March 26 in front of the Department of Transportation headquarters. Miami-Dade elections.
It maintained that its objectives were to develop efficiency, improve customer service, increase transparency and advocate for fair and equitable tax policies.
“I will streamline operations within the tax collector’s office to ensure that every dollar is spent fairly and equitably for the benefit of taxpayers,” he promised.
Profile
Calvo, 26, is a lawyer, a Harvard graduate, who since 2021 has held a seat on the Hialeah Council. He says about himself that his youth is his best asset to win the elections for tax collector.
“There is a feeling in this community that advocates a generational change among politicians. “We have people who have been in the government for too long, there is a lack of new blood,” he indicated and stated that despite his youth, his candidacy brings the experience gained during the time he has held the position of councilor, where he always kept in mind the principles that he brought to politics, which inspire him “to continue fighting for the community.”
Bonus of $2,500 MM
The young candidate is proud to have been the only councilor who voted for two consecutive years against the Hialeah budget because he considered that it included a tax increase. “There was a lot of criticism from Mayor (Esteban) Bovo and the other councilors about it, but I stood firm,” he said.
He uses that spirit as support for his candidacy for the position of tax collector. Accordingly, he opposes the $2.5 billion bonus that Mayor Daniella Levine Cava is going to request. “Imposing additional property taxes on a community that is already in such economic difficulty is not the answer, we can and should exhaust all available options…That is one of the reasons that motivated me to make the current decision,” indicated the young lawyer.
Calvo justified his position by arguing that “the county budget has grown by almost a billion dollars in the last two years. That should be enough money. However, the mayor asks for a bonus for more money. The alternative is simple, that there is no bonus, that the money that is already coming in is used additionally in a responsible way.”
Tax collector
The county tax collector is responsible for collecting taxes on real and personal property. He also collects tourist taxes on hotels and rental homes. Among its responsibilities is issuing automobile, boat, hunting and fishing licenses, as well as processing registrations and renewals of motor vehicles, TAG. Another of its functions is the sale of tax certificates.
But Calvo conceives the position of the collector not as a mere bureaucrat collecting taxes. He believes that it should be a kind of counterweight to the mayor’s office in fiscal matters, for example, auditing the use of the taxes that the office collects and distributes.
The Democratic opponent
Regarding his Democratic opponent, David Richardson, who has raised about $467,000 during his campaign, he maintained that this money does not reflect his true support. “Most of the funds have been contributed by him, he has been campaigning for a year and has actually managed to raise about $100,000 from donors.”
“If Richardson, who is a friend of the mayor, were elected, he would probably do a job similar to that performed by the current collector, nothing would change.”
Hialeah
In his most controversial moments as a Hialeah councilman, Calvo denounced Mayor Esteban Bovo in court, accusing him of abuse of power, for not letting him investigate alleged irregularities in the 911 Emergency Center, a case that was dismissed by a judge.
“Over the past two years, I have fought with all my might for Hialeah, the community where I grew up, where I went to school, where I decided to return after college and get my professional degree. But this is a greater challenge, it gives me the opportunity to fight not only for the issues of Hialeah, but also for the problems that affect the rest of the county,” he explained.
Calvo plans to submit his resignation from the council position in June, effective January 2025. The City Council will then need to name a replacement to fill the vacant seat until the next election.
In addition to Calvo and Richardson, Republicans Dariel Fernández and Ricardo David Gómez are aspiring to the position of tax collector. The primary elections will take place on August 20, 2024. Those who win in both parties will face each other in the general elections on November 5, 2024.
Asked how someone who advocates for lower taxes is considered suitable to head the tax collector’s office, Bryan responded:
“At the head of the tax collector’s office there must be someone who is very attentive, seeing if there is something wrong that affects the community to report it. That position should not be occupied by a bureaucrat, a person who says yes to everything and does not care if taxes increase and does not even know the community.”
He confessed that he is attracted to the possibility of advocating for the well-being of the entire county and not being geographically limited to one area. He is motivated to be able to handle topics that are more complex with many technicalities. He is excited about the possibility of going to fight in Tallahassee “where they pass many laws that influence locally.” He recognizes that he would be the most influential tax collector in the entire state, because obviously Miami-Dade is the largest county in Florida.
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