Hialeah paid $13,050 to a political consulting firm run by Mayor Bryan Calvo's own campaign strategist to send residents four batches of mass text messages promoting the mayor's public events between April and July. The firm, Dark Horse Strategies and Consulting Inc., is headed by Emiliano Antunez, who also worked on Calvo's 2025 campaign for mayor. City records show the arrangement began just three months after Calvo took office.
According to the Miami Herald, the city sent residents at least six different mass text messages through Dark Horse, touting everything from a citywide cleanup to the mayor's own fan fest. The Herald's review of city records found the four payments broke down event by event: $4,425 for 54,500 texts sent April 24 promoting an Earth Day cleanup scheduled for the following day, Saturday, April 25, $4,100 for 52,900 texts publicizing the Mayor's Cup Fan Fest on June 10, $500 for 3,030 messages announcing a June 25 town hall, and $4,025 for 51,000 messages inviting residents to a July 1 Fourth of July celebration.
Beyond those four payments, city records show three additional service orders for Dark Horse totaling $3,540 — $1,880 in August and $785 and $875 in September. Combined with the four confirmed payments, the total reaches $16,590, though the records reviewed by the Herald do not establish whether the city actually paid out those three additional orders. Antunez told the paper that Hialeah had already paid for his August services, even though the city had not yet provided those payment records.
A Consultant Turned City Vendor
Dark Horse's relationship with Calvo predates his time in office. During his 2025 mayoral run, Calvo's political action committee paid Antunez's firm $171,000 for consulting work, per the Herald's reporting. Three months into his administration, the city started cutting checks to the same firm — this time for texting residents about Calvo's public appearances rather than for campaign strategy.
The texted events ranged widely: an Earth Day cleanup, the Mayor's Cup Fan Fest, the reopening of Bucky Dent Water Park, a Cortaditos with the Mayor gathering, and town-hall meetings all got the mass-text treatment, the Herald reported. The Mayor's Cup Fan Fest message invited families to attend on Saturday, June 13, tying the event to the 2026 FIFA World Cup — even though Hialeah is not hosting any World Cup matches. Antunez told the Herald he bases his pricing on how many residents he reaches, and argued that texting about the mayor's activities works better than radio or newspaper ads because it puts the message directly in front of the intended audience.
Council Members Caught Off Guard
Hialeah city council members told the Herald they were unaware of the spending on text messages when the paper asked them about it. Under city rules, expenditures exceeding $25,000 or involving a recurring vendor require council approval, and Dark Horse's billings to date sit roughly $9,000 short of that threshold. A city procurement resolution posted by the City of Hialeah states that transactions exceeding $25,000 that require City Council approval will use some form of competitive procurement.
The Herald also noted that the city's social media accounts have increasingly centered on Calvo personally when showcasing Hialeah's accomplishments. The paper said it attempted to reach Calvo, his spokesperson and his chief of staff for comment on the texting payments.
A Break From Past Practice
Hialeah has used mass communication with residents before — the city previously ran a messaging system to notify residents about street closures and emergencies, and under former Mayor Jacqueline Garcia-Roves's administration, the city paid for radio advertising promoting its 2025 Fourth of July celebration.
During his 2025 campaign, Calvo pledged that every public dollar would serve the public good, not politicians' egos, according to the Herald. The payments to his former campaign consultant now raise questions about where that line falls once a candidate becomes mayor.
A Wider Campaign-Finance Trend
Mass texting has become a go-to tool well beyond Hialeah. Political strategists say campaign texts have surged in popularity nationwide because messages can cost as little as a penny apiece, according to the San Antonio Report. Strategists quoted by that outlet say the tactic works best as a get-out-the-vote tool aimed at voters already identified as supporters, rather than as a way to persuade undecided audiences — and that campaign voter files often blend public registration data with privately sourced details like phone numbers, home values and income ranges.
