In front of 150 cheering supporters at Miami Lakes Town Hall, Councilman Josh Dieguez swore an oath to become the fifth mayor of the town.
The way colleagues and law school classmates tell the story, Dieguez, 35, has wanted to be mayor of his hometown even before he won a seat on the dais in 2018.
On Dec. 10, he got his wish and will lead the council for the next four years.
After wiping away a tear, Dieguez said, “I look forward to working with you for an agenda that puts Miami Lakes first.
“At the end of the day, this isn’t just a turning of the page,” he said. “This is the writing of an entirely new book. It’s the next volume in the long-running story of Miami Lakes that so far has been going for 24 years and will be going on for many decades to come.”
The audience stood and applauded, as they did for new council members Juan Carlos Fernandez and Steven Herzberg after they took their oaths. The other newcomer to the dais, Councilman Angelo Cuadra Garcia, was sworn in before he traveled to Europe. He participated in the proceedings via Zoom.
A who’s who of GOP politics were in the crowd along with former town leaders and the families and friends of the newly elected council.
They included Miami Lakes’ first mayor, Wayne Slaton, as well as former mayor Ceasar Mestre; former vice mayors Frank Mingo, Nelson Rodriguez, Luis Collazo and Dieguez’s opponent in the race, Tony Fernandez. Also, former council members Marilyn Ruano and George Lopez.
Judges from the 11th Judicial Circuit attended, as did state representatives Tom Fabricio and Alex Rizo; school board member Roberto Alonso; Miami-Dade County Commissioner Sen. Rene Garcia; former Miami-Dade County mayor Alex Penelas; county Tax Collector Dariel Fernandez and Alina Garcia, county Supervisor of Elections. Kevin Cooper, the new chair of the Miami-Dade Republican Party, was also present.
Most of the council is new to serving in municipal government: Cuadra Garcia is 64 and works in road construction. Herzberg, 35, is an attorney. Fernandez, 53, is a Realtor. In addition to Dieguez, the incumbents are Bryan Morera, 33, an attorney and Ray Garcia, 52, an executive at a title firm. The council voted for Morera as vice mayor.
Dieguez has until Dec. 27 to nominate a successor to serve two years in his former Seat 4 on the dais, followed by a council vote and if necessary, a special election.