Carlos Méndez Martínez (born June 26, 1943) is a Puerto Rican politician and former mayor of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico for 24 years.[1]
Carlos Méndez | |
|---|---|
| Chair of the Puerto Rico Republican Party | |
| In office 2007 – November 1, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Tiody de Jesús Ferré |
| Succeeded by | Jenniffer González |
| Mayor of Aguadilla | |
| In office January 2, 1997 – January 27, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Agnes Bermúdez Acevedo |
| Succeeded by | Yanitsia Irizarry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Carlos Méndez Martínez June 26, 1943 Aguadilla, Puerto Rico |
| Political party | New Progressive |
| Other political affiliations | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Heidi Mayer (1977–1998) Mildred Cortes Ramos |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Washington (BA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
Early life and education
editCarlos Méndez-Martínez was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to Pablo Méndez-Ellinger, a tobacconist from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and Rosa Martínez-Rosa, a housewife from Rincón, Puerto Rico. His dad died when Méndez was one year old and his mother died when he was 9 years old.[2] Without having graduated from high school, at age 17, he joined the United States Army, becoming a veteran at the age of 19. He studied silversmithing and gemology and worked in both. He also worked in the real estate business.[3] At the age of 45, Méndez took the GED and studied an Associate of Arts in Political Science at a community college and continued to study a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Washington, graduating in 1992.[4] Méndez, wrote a book titled Tuve que contar mi historia[5] which was published in 2009 by Editorial Tiempo Nuevo.[3]
Political career
editIn 1995, he returned to Puerto Rico, and ran for mayor of Aguadilla at the 1996 general elections. He has been reelected in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. In the 2008 elections, he received almost 70% of the votes. His margin of victory was one of the largest among elected mayors in that election.[6] He was the president of the Republican Party of Puerto Rico from 2007 to 2015 and president of the Puerto Rico Mayors Federation.[7] In 2012, Méndez endorsed the nomination of Mitt Romney for president of the United States in the 2012 Republican National Convention.[8] After 24 years as mayor, Méndez announced he would not seek re-election in 2020.[9]
Among his notable works as mayor is the Aguadilla Ice Skating Arena,[1] Ramey Base Bowling Alley, Aguadilla Electronic Library, Atlantic Garden Veterans Cemetery,[10] Paseo Real Marina,[11] Las Cascadas Hotel,[12] Aguadilla City Center,[13] Skate and Splash Park,[14] and Tres Palmas Park.[13]
While the "Las Cascadas Hotel" was constructed the hotel was not completed under the mayor's tenure and in 2019 reports indicated the mayor placed the property along with the Aguadilla Ice Skating Arena for sale. [15][16]
In 2019, Aguadilla received the City Livability Award from the United States Conference of Mayors and honored the efforts spearheaded by Carlos Méndez Martínez.[17]
Personal life
editHe married on January 1, 1977, with Heidi G. Méndez (née Mayer) at Seattle in King County, Washington. They had a son, Mark A. Méndez. Méndez divorced in 1998, after 21 years of marriage. In 1999, he met his current wife Mildred Cortes-Ramos.[18]
References
edit- ^ a b "Perfil de alcalde Carlos Méndez Martínez". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish).
- ^ "Alcalde de Aguadilla estima las pérdidas del fuego de su residencia en $150 mil". Primera Hora (in Spanish). October 27, 2009.
- ^ a b "EN RECORD con el Honorable Carlos Mendez" – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ "[VIDEO] Reconocen éxito de programa contra deserción escolar "Uno a Uno" | WIPR". Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-07-18.
- ^ "Catálogo General de Libros". Libreria Isla: Tu Isla en el mundo.
- ^ Carmen Milagros Díaz (January 15, 2012). "Hablan los alcaldes invencibles". El Vocero. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01.
- ^ "Aguadilla y Moca favorecen el cobro por recogido de basura – la Isla Oeste". Archived from the original on 2018-07-21. Retrieved 2018-07-20.
- ^ "Press Release - Mitt Romney Announces Support of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico Mayor Carlos Mendez; Gains One More Delegate | The American Presidency Project". www.presidency.ucsb.edu.
- ^ "El alcalde de Aguadilla anuncia que se retira en el 2020". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). December 15, 2017.
- ^ "Cementerio para veteranos". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). October 26, 2011.
- ^ "Mejoras en Aguadilla prometen atraer a muchos más turistas". Primera Hora (in Spanish). February 9, 2017.
- ^ "Las Cascadas de Aguadilla tendrá hotel". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). June 28, 2011.
- ^ a b "Encuentra Aguadilla su motor al desarrollo". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). May 31, 2011.
- ^ "Proliferan las empresas municipales". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). March 1, 2017.
- ^ "A la venta el hotel Las Cascadas y la pista de patinaje sobre hielo en Aguadilla". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 17 October 2019. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
- ^ Univision. "Alcalde de Aguadilla pone a la venta varias propiedades del municipio". Univision (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-05-04.
- ^ GmbH, finanzen.net (June 29, 2019). "Plano & Aguadilla Deemed". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
- ^ "Acusan a Alcalde de Aguadilla de Supuestamente Agredir a su Esposa" – via www.youtube.com.