| Luis Fortuño | |
|---|---|
| 9th Governor of Puerto Rico | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
| Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico | |
| In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Pierluisi |
| 2nd President of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association | |
| In office 1980–1981 |
|
| Preceded by | Kenneth McClintock |
| Succeeded by | Oreste Ramos |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 31, 1960 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Political party | Republican Party New Progressive Party |
| Spouse(s) | Lucé Vela |
| Children | María Luisa Luis Roberto Guillermo Luis |
| Residence | La Fortaleza |
| Alma mater | Georgetown University University of Virginia |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Website | Official website |
Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset (born October 31, 1960) is the governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States of America. Fortuño is also the president of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (NPP), a member of the Republican National Committee, and will be president of the Council of State Governments during 2012.[1] On June 26, 2011 he announced his plans to run for reelection.[2]
In the 1990s, Fortuño served as the first Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce as the Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and as the President of Puerto Rico's Hotel Development Corporation during the administration of Governor Pedro Rosselló.
In 2003 Fortuño won the 2004 NPP nomination for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in primaries against former Governor Carlos Romero Barceló, former Senate President Charlie Rodriguez and then senator Miriam Ramírez de Ferrer. He was then elected Resident Commissioner in 2004, defeating Senator Roberto Prats. Fortuño represented Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2009 in the United States House of Representatives, and served as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference, a Member of the newly-created United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Insular Affairs and co-chair, with Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), of the Friends of Spain Caucus.
Fortuño later won the NPP gubernatorial nomination by a wide margin after defeating former Governor and then-Senator Pedro Rosselló in the primaries. He then won the race for Governor by a wide margin during the 2008 elections, defeating incumbent Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá. Fortuño holds the distinction of being the first Republican to be elected Governor of Puerto Rico since 1969, and the second Republican governor since 1949.[3] He is also the first Republican representative from Puerto Rico to be elected to Congress in its history.[3]
Fortuño was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to Luis Fortuño Moscoso, a dentist and Shirley Joyce Burset de Mari. He is the eldest of four brothers.[4] His maternal great grandfather was born in Marín, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain and emigrated to Yabucoa, Puerto Rico.[5][6]
Fortuño attended Colegio Marista (Marist School) in Guaynabo, graduating in 1978. He then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in diplomacy from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. In 1985, he received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. During this period, Fortuño was an intern at the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration in Washington, D.C.[7]
While in college, Luis Fortuño co-founded the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association (PRSSA) with Kenneth McClintock and presided it from 1980 to 1981.[8] During the 1980 gubernatorial election recount, the more than 1,500 absentee ballots generated by PRSSA and Fortuño for incumbent Governor Carlos Romero Barceló were an important factor in Romero Barceló's reelection, which was by approximately 3000 votes.[9] Fortuño was also active in other pro-statehood youth organizations and in the Republican Party. He is married to attorney Lucé Vela-Gutierrez; they have triplets, María Luisa, Luis Roberto and Guillermo (born 1991) who are now college students at mainland U.S. universities.[10]
Fortuño entered public service in 1993 at the start of Governor Pedro Rosselló's administration. He was first appointed Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company and President of Puerto Rico's Hotel Development Corporation (HDC). In 1994, he became Puerto Rico's first Secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce. Fortuño was tasked with the development and implementation of large-scale changes of Puerto Rico's tax, labor, corporate and commercial codes.
Fortuño was named 1996 Man of the Year by Caribbean Business, 1995 Public Servant of the Year by the Marketing Industry and Distribution of Food and Beverage Products Association of Puerto Rico, 1994 Public Servant of the Year by the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, and 1994 Distinguished Executive by the Sales and Marketing Executives Association of Ponce and the Southern Region of Puerto Rico. He served on numerous boards of directors, including the Ana G. Méndez University System and the Puerto Rico Museum of Art. He is a member of the American Law Institute and the Urban Land Institute. In 1996, he served on the Platform Committee at the Republican National Convention, where he was successful in including the support for self-determination and eventual statehood for Puerto Rico in the party platform. Fortuño resigned his cabinet posts after Rosselló's reelection in 1996 and returned to private law practice.
Following public service, Fortuño was a partner at the San Juan law firm, Correa, Collazo, Herrero, Jiménez & Fortuño, specializing in corporate finance and real estate law. Prior to joining Correa, Collazo, Herrero, Jiménez & Fortuño, he was a partner at McConnell Valdés. He was briefly mentioned as a possible candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico in 1999 for the New Progressive Party after Governor Rosselló announced he would not seek a third term in the 2000 election cycle.
Fortuño decided to seek the New Progressive Party's nomination for the post of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico late in the primary season. He won the November 2003 primaries with 61.28% of votes and defeated former senator Miriam Ramirez de Ferrer (4.26% of votes), former Senate President Charlie Rodriguez (6.29% of votes), and former Governor and Resident Commissioner Carlos Romero Barceló (25.78% of votes). After winning the primary, he picked up momentum within the Republican Party ranks in the U.S. when he received the endorsement of Ed Gillespie, head of the Republican National Committee. Fortuño was the running mate of former Governor Rosselló, who returned for a third bid as the NPP's candidate for Governor.
In the elections of 2004, Fortuño was victorious (48.5% of votes) over his main rival candidate Roberto Prats (48% of votes) of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP). Fortuño's running mate, Pedro Rosselló, lost his bid for the governor's seat to then Resident Commissioner Aníbal Acevedo Vilá by less than 4,000 votes. This meant that Fortuño would be the Resident Commissioner under Governor Acevedo Vilá of the PDP. This was the first time in Puerto Rican history that the Governor of Puerto Rico and the Resident Commissioner were not from the same political party.[11]
Upon the commencement of the 109th Congress, Fortuño was elected by his colleagues to serve as vice-president of the House Republican freshman class. He served as vice-chair of the Congressional Hispanic Conference during the 109th Congress and as chair during the 110th Congress. Fortuño was Co-Chair of the Congressional Friends of Spain, part of the Hispanic Conference Caucus. House Resources Committee Ranking Member Don Young appointed him in January 2007 as the Republican minority's Ranking Member in the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs for the 110th Congress. Fortuño cosponsored the Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2007, which would give Puerto Ricans the option to become a US state or sovereign state. In October, 2007, Fortuño filed legislation, along with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) to assure the continued operation of the Arecibo Radiotelescope.
Fortuño was re-elected by the Republican Party of Puerto Rico's General Assembly to continue serving as National Committeeman, a position he has held since 2001. He won reelection as National Committeeman in the GOP convention held on May 20, 2007 in Yauco, Puerto Rico.
In 2007, Fortuño joined Rep. José Serrano (D-NY) and 128 other co-sponsors in filing HR 900, the Puerto Rico Democracy Act, to establish a self-determination process leading to political status change for Puerto Rico. The bill was amended and approved in a voice vote by the House's Committee on Resources on October 23, a major victory for Fortuño. However, as other political status bills in the past, the measure never made it to the President for his signature.
A poll taken before Fortuño Burset announced his gubernatorial bid in February 2007 suggests he is the most well-liked public figure in the NPP. The poll, taken by Gaither International at the request of Caribbean Business newspaper, indicated that Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Fortuño's likely opponent, would fare badly in the general election. Another poll released in May 2007 and taken by Kaagan Research Associates, Inc. at the request of El Nuevo Día, a major circulation newspaper, showed Fortuño with a 46% to 25% advantage over incumbent Governor Acevedo Vilá. On May 16, 2007 poll also showed Fortuño winning a primary election against Pedro Rosselló 49% to 37%.
On February 19, 2007, Fortuño announced his candidacy for Governor of Puerto Rico for the 2008 general election. He faced former 2004 running mate and former Gov. Pedro Juan Rosselló González in an NPP primary on March 9, 2008 which he won by a 60% to 40% margin.
On May 18, 2007 Fortuño announced that former Attorney General Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia would be his running mate and run for Fortuño's current office of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico. Pierluisi Urrutia was a classmate at Colegio Marista, a fellow member of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association and also a fellow cabinet member of Fortuño's during former Governor Rosselló's first term from 1993 to 1996.
On March 9, 2008, Fortuño easily defeated Rosselló at the PNP primaries[12] and became the new president of the PNP and its official candidate for Governor.[13] Fortuño won the candidacy by obtaining nearly 60% of primary votes. Fortuño's running mate and now official candidate for Resident Commissioner, Pedro Pierluisi, also won his primary.[13]
On November 4, 2008, Fortuño became the ninth Governor elect of Puerto Rico by popular election winning by over 220,000 votes, the largest victory margin in 44 years and giving the New Progressive Party its largest victory in history. Also he became the second governor to get more than a million votes, after Pedro Rosselló's reelection in 1996.[14] Accompanied with his victory, the party gained control of the legislature by historic margins and the majority of mayoralties, and with it the power to name 3 Supreme Court judges that for the first time in history would give NPP appointees a majority on the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. With this win the NPP also can name various long-term posts, including the Comptroller, the Ombudsman and the Director of the Government Ethics Office.
Gov. Fortuño was sworn into office on January 2, 2009, at a ceremony attended by five of the U.S. territory's six living governors, Fortuño, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Sila María Calderón, Carlos Romero Barceló and Rafael Hernández Colón. Only former governor Rosselló, who did not publicly endorse him, failed to attend.
Following tradition, the event was initially led by the outgoing Secretary of State Fernando Bonilla and then by incoming Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock-Hernández. Among the thousands of attendees of the event were singer Marc Anthony and his wife, actress and singer Jennifer López, White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Director Janet Creighton and the head of Intergovernmental Affairs for President-Elect Barack Obama's transition team, Nick Rathod. Foreign dignitaries included Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández and the president of Dominica, Nicholas Liverpool. Following his inaugural address, Fortuño walked from the Capitol to La Fortaleza. In the evening, a free concert in Old San Juan and a state dinner hosted by the new Secretary of State were held.
Immediately after the November 4, 2008 general election, Governor-Elect Fortuño began the formation of an emerging administration. On November 7, even though he opposed the selection of Thomas Rivera Schatz-Ally of Pedro Rosello' as the new Senate President. The will of the Pedro Rosello' Democratic side of the NPP won and Thomas Rivera Schatz was selected as the Senate President. Representative Jennifer González was the consensus selection as the new House Speaker. On November 9, he announced the appointment of outgoing Senate President Kenneth McClintock as the head of the incoming administration's Transition Committee.[15] On November 11, he began announcing the members of his Cabinet and other administration officials:[16]
| The Fortuño Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| Governor | Luis G. Fortuño | 2009–present |
| Secretary of State | Kenneth McClintock[17][18] | 2009–present |
| Justice | Antonio Sagardía | 2009 |
| Guillermo Somoza | 2010- | |
| Treasury | Juan Carlos Puig | 2009–2011 |
| Jesús F. Méndez | 2011–present | |
| Education | Carlos A. Chardón | 2009 |
| Odette Piñero | 2009–2010 | |
| Jesús Rivera-Sánchez | 2010-2011 | |
| Edward Moreno | (Acting) 2011- | |
| Labor | Miguel Romero | 2009–present |
| Transportation | Rubén Hernández Gregorat | 2009–present |
| Economic Development | José Ramón Perez-Riera | 2009–present |
| Health | Jaime Rivera Dueño | 2009 |
| Iván González Cancel | 2009 | |
| Lorenzo González | 2009–present | |
| Agriculture | Javier Rivera Aquino | 2009–2012 |
| Family | Miguel Maldonado | 2009 |
| Yanitzia Irizarry | 2009–present | |
| Corrections | Carlos Molina | 2009–2011 |
| Jesús González | 2011-present | |
| Consumer Affairs | Luis G. Rivera-Marín | 2009–present |
| Housing | Yesef Cordero | 2009–2010 |
| Miguel Hernández-Vivoni | 2010–present | |
| Natural Resources | Daniel Galán Kercadó | 2009–present |
| Sports and Recreation | Henry Neumann | 2009–present |
| Chief of Staff | Juan Carlos Blanco | 2009 |
| Marcos Rodríguez-Ema[19] | 2009–present | |
| OMB | María Sánchez Bras | 2009–2011 |
| Juan Carlos Pavía-Vidal | 2011- | |
| President of the Government Development Bank of Puerto Rico | Carlos M. García | 2009–2011 |
| Juan Carlos Batlle | 2011- | |
| Inspector General | Juan Carlos Puig | 2011 |
| Ricardo Dalmau | 2011- | |
| Police | José Figueroa Sancha | 2009–2011 |
| Emilio Díaz Colón | 2011- | |
| Associate Justices | Rafael Martínez Torres | 2009–present |
| Mildred Pabón Charneco | 2009–present | |
| Erick Kolthoff | 2009–present | |
| Edgardo Rivera | 2010–present | |
| Roberto Feliberty | 2011–present | |
| Luis Estrella Martínez | 2011–present | |
| Comptroller | Yesmín Valdivieso | 2010–2020 |
| Ethics Director | Zulma Rosario | 2009–2019 |
| Ombudsman | Iris Miriam Ruiz | 2010–2020 |
Of these, Secretary of State McClintock, Fortuño's first Attorney General, Sagardía, Police Superintendent José Figueroa Sancha and Corrections Secretary Molina were the first to have been confirmed and formally sworn in.
At the halfway point of his current four-year term, Fortuño had retained 9 of the 14 members of his Constitutional Cabinet, the Secretaries of State, Labor, Transportation, Economic Development and Commerce, Agriculture, Corrections, Consumer Affairs, Natural Resources, and Sports and Recreation, as well as the Superintendent of Police.
In a televised speech on March 3, 2009, 60 days after having been sworn in, Governor Fortuño announced his Fiscal and Economic Recovery Plan which included reducing the government's annual expenditures by more than $2 billion at the start of the next fiscal year in July 2009. Media speculation estimated that a reduction of such magnitude would require permanently laying off over 30,000 government workers. On May 1, 2009, a mass of workers marched through the streets of San Juan in response to the governor's plan, protesting the government's preparation for impending layoffs. Most of the frustration of the Puerto Rican constituents was due to the then candidate Luis Fortuno swearing that he would not lay off a single employee (other than the incumbent Anibal Acevedo Vila) and as soon as he took office the first decision was the firing of 30,000 government employees.
Since September 2009, Governor Fortuño's personal security detail has been tightened since an incident at a press conference where a protester threw an egg at him,[20] for which the aggressor, who refers to himself as "Tipo Común" (roughly translated to "Common Joe") was convicted and served time in jail.
On October 15, 2009, thousands of Puerto Rican workers and supporters gathered for what organizers tried to pass as a "general strike" over government budget cuts. Puerto Rico's unemployment rate, currently exceeds 16.7 percent (June, 2010), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.[21] The Fortuño administration expected the layoffs to propel that rate to 17.1 percent (the unemployment rate for April 2010 was 17.2).[22][23]
On August 26, 2010, teachers unions staged one day walkout to protest what they say is Fortuño' plans to privatize employee pensions, a shortage of teachers and the deterioration of the school system.[24] The walkout was the largest labor protest in public schools on the island since a 10-day strike in 2008 as teachers demanded improved wages and working conditions.[25]
As a result of all the cost-cutting measures taken during his first two years in office, on January 31, 2011, Gov. Fortuño signed Law 1 of 2011, the new Internal Revenue Code that provides, retroactive to January 1, 2010, tax relief including a 50% tax cut for individuals and 30% for businesses, beginning with a 7-14% tax cut for individuals and a 7% tax cut for businesses effective during tax year 2010. The supposed savings to the tax-payers was a kickback to the thousands in two controversial new taxes, the CRIM (a sort of property tax) consisting of $600 per year to home owners and a $800 tax to students who attended Public Universities in Puerto Rico. The average yearly cost of the tax cuts amounts to $1.2 billion.[26]
Contrary to Republican standards, Luis Fortuno has imposed more than 19 new taxes to the people of Puerto Rico, yet has promised to "give back" a small portion of that which he has taken from the pockets of the residents of Puerto Rico.
Governor Fortuño has been mentioned more than once as a long-shot potential candidate for nomination for President or Vice President in 2012[27][28][29][30] and his frequent campaign trips to the mainland during the 2010 congressional races have been linked to potential national aspirations.[31][32][33]
Fortuño has also been mentioned by Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax Media, as someone to look for in the future on the national political stage.[34] George Will endorsed Fortuño's support for statehood as a national Republican strategy.[35]
In early 2011, he was the only governor invited to speak at the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California at the Heritage Foundation-sponsored retreat for Republican members of Congress.[36]
In June 26, 2011 he announced in Bayamón that he will seek a second term as Governor of Puerto Rico. In interviews he has said that he will not aspire to a national office in 2012. [37] More recently, Republican consultant Roger Stone mentioned Fortuño as a potential vice presidential nominee to win Hispanic American votes in 2012. [38]
President Barack Obama nominated Governor Fortuño to the Council of Governors, a bipartisan commission aimed at improving coordination of efforts between state and federal agencies to address matters of defense and national security.[39][40][41]
On May 22, 2010, Governor Fortuño was elected Vice President of the Council of State Governments (CSG), the first Puerto Rican to hold a leadership position in that intergovernmental organization since his now Secretary of State, Kenneth McClintock, served as chairman in 1999. CSG represents the three branches of government of the 55 states and territories of the nation. Several Canadian provinces are international members of the organization, as well.[42] On October 22, 2011 he was chosen President of CSG for 2012.[43]
On August 21, 2011, Governor Fortuño assumed the chairmanship of the Southern Governors’ Association and unveiled his new initiative, which will serve as the organization’s policy focus for the year, to create jobs and spur economies in the Southern region by increasing trade, investment and exports with Latin America.
The initiative, titled “Growth Beyond Our Borders,” will focus on creating jobs and increasing exports from Southern states and territories by the end of 2012 by enabling private sector businesses and entrepreneurs to tap into dynamic and emerging Latin American markets, which represent 550 million prospective clients.
The association’s membership is composed of the Governors of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia.[44][45]
In 2010, Gov. Fortuño created a Commission for the Celebration of the Quincentenary of the Governorship of Puerto Rico, a celebration that began on October 12, 2010 and will extend to November 19, 2011. As part of the celebration, at the tail-end of a Trade Mission to Spain, he led a celebration of the life of Puerto Rico's first governor Juan Ponce de León in Santervás de Campos, near Valladolid on January 21, 2011.[46] He also spoke that day at the Universidad de Valladolid.
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kenneth McClintock |
President of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association 1980–1981 |
Succeeded by Oreste Ramos |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico 2005–2009 |
Succeeded by Pedro Pierluisi |
| Preceded by Ileana Ros-Lehtinen |
Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Conference 2007-2009 |
Succeeded by Mario Diaz-Balart |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Pedro Rosselló |
Chairman of the New Progressive Party of Puerto Rico 2008-present |
Incumbent |
| New Progressive nominee for Governor of Puerto Rico 2008 |
Most recent | |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
Governor of Puerto Rico 2009–present |
Incumbent |
|
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||