In a 3-2 vote, the Doral City Council decided on Wednesday to kick out Miami-Dade School Board Member Danny Espino, who had an office at city hall.
Espino happened to be married to former City Manager Barbie Hernandez, who, two weeks prior to Wednesday’s vote, was also kicked out of Doral City Hall; the council voted to fire her.
The effort was spearheaded by Councilwoman Digna Cabral.
“I think this will minimize having any issues later on when it comes to conflict,” she said.
Cabral’s allegations revolved around unethical behavior and preferential treatment, something both Espino and his wife deny.
In November 2022, Espino was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to sit on the Miami-Dade School Board.
Espino acknowledged that Doral’s current mayor and former school board member Christi Fraga had hand-picked him as her successor so she could become mayor.
Less than a month later, Fraga, now acting as mayor, hired Espino’s wife to be Doral’s city for a whopping annual salary of almost $240,000.
“This building belongs to the public,” said Fraga.
The mayor said this is all politics, adding that when she was a member of the school board, she herself had an office at city hall, as did her predecessor.
“He basically has to come and pick up his stuff and can’t come back into city hall, which is so sad for this government, for the city that should be opening the doors and inviting more relationships with our local governments to provide services to our residents,” said Fraga.
But on the other side, Cabral said this is about fairness to all elected officials.
“The facilities are here for the council members, but if anybody needs to use any of our rooms, any of our conference rooms, they’re welcome to do so,” she said.
Espino is not the only school board member who has a presence in municipalities.
School Board Chair Mari Tere Rojas, according to a district spokesperson, “holds occasional office hours in a conference room at Coral Gables City Hall, Key Biscayne City Hall, and South Miami City Hall. She does not have a dedicated office space at either location.”
In Rojas’ case, they tell Local 10 News there is no formal agreement with the aforementioned cities.
Local 10 News reached out to Espino, who provided the following statement:
“It’s a sad day in Doral when a few politicians put politics over our families. I will not allow 3 politicians to force all the families of District 5 to drive to Downtown Miami to access school assistance and resources through my office. I am in the process of arranging alternate office space and additional outreach efforts to ensure our families are not hurt by these actions. Political vendettas will not interfere with the responsibilities of my office to serve the parents and children of our community.”
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