Lily Stefano returns to the Town of Medley council with 55% of the votes

DORAL, FL – The Town of Medley council is now welcoming Lily Stefano who received 55% of the town’s total votes in a special election that had a turnout of 64% and took place on Tuesday. 

Of the 465 total votes, her opponent Karina Pacheco won 34% of them, while Griselia Digiacomo took the third place in the race to the council with 11% of the votes, according to final results posted by the Miami-Dade elections department and reported by the Miami Herald.

Stefano, 56, had a position as a councilwomen from November 2018 until December 2020. By then she resigned to run for the second time against Mayor Roberto Martell. 

The seat for the Town of Medley council opened when Councilwoman Yesenia Martinez resigned last December without explanation just a month after winning November’s elections. 

Lily Stefano studied art and advertising at International Fine Arts College and worked as a fashion photographer. She then worked in brand marketing and management for celebrities and professional athletes such as NFL star Santana Moss. 

Stefano ran for mayor for the first time in 2016 but lost to Roberto Martell. She told the Miami Herald, “she fell in love” with Medley when her charity work brought her to the town four years ago.  “This is where I could make a difference and see the difference right away,” she said.

Currently she is also holding a position as an executive director of the nonprofit Santana Moss Foundation, named for the athlete. The nonprofit is based in Medley and runs a weekly grocery program for residents.

As a new councilwoman, her focus would be in balancing infrastructure needs, Medley’s commercial sector and the needs of about 1,100 residents. 

“You need to find a happy medium between all three to make everything work,” she said.