Maurice Antonio Ferré (June 23, 1935 – September 19, 2019) was an American politician who served six terms as the Mayor of Miami. Ferré was the first Puerto Rican-born United States mayor and the first Latino Mayor of Miami. He was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2010 elections for the U.S. Senate seat for Florida vacated by Mel Martínez for the Democratic primary.
Maurice Antonio Ferré | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 32nd and 34th Mayor of Miami | |
| In office November 8, 1973 – November 14, 1985 | |
| Preceded by | David T. Kennedy |
| Succeeded by | Xavier Suárez |
| In office April 19, 1973 – August 17, 1973 | |
| Preceded by | David T. Kennedy |
| Succeeded by | David T. Kennedy |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 91st District | |
| In office March 1967 – March 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Dick Renick |
| Succeeded by | Dick Renick |
| Member of the Miami-Dade County Commission District 7 | |
| In office May 1, 1993 – January 3, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Jimmy Morales |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 23, 1935 Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Died | September 19, 2019 (aged 84) Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Mercedes Ferré[1] |
| Residence(s) | Miami, Florida |
| Alma mater | University of Miami |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | ferre2010.com |
Early years
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Ferré was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was the son of businessman José Ferré and nephew of governor of Puerto Rico Luis A. Ferré (1904–2003). Ferre's father José visited Miami, Florida in the 1920s and wondered why the city did not have any tall buildings.[2] He then ventured into construction and real estate development in Miami. Ferré was born when José and his family returned to their hometown, Ponce in Puerto Rico. Ferré was a graduate of the University of Miami.
Ferré served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1967 to 1968.[3] He served as mayor of Miami from 1973 to 1985.
From 1993 to 1993, Ferré served in the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners and was Vice-Chairman of the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners. He was active in national political campaigns, and was a member of several presidential advisory boards. Ferré also worked as a banker and business consultant, and held various research and teaching posts.
On December 20, 1995, Francisco Ferré Malaussena, Mariana Gómez de Ferré, and Felipe Antonio Ferré Gómez, the son, daughter-in-law, and grandson of Ferré, died when American Airlines Flight 965 crashed into a mountain in Colombia.[4][5]
Ferré ran for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 1996, finishing in third against fellow Commissioners Alex Penelas and Arthur Teele. Ferré won 20% and did not make it to the runoff.[6]
In November 2001, Ferré lost his bid to be reelected Mayor of Miami.[7]
Ferré attempted his second run for mayor of Miami-Dade County in 2004; however, he won only 17.76% of the vote, and did not make the run-off.[8]
Later years
editFerré was on a fellowship at Princeton University and was writing a book about the contributions that Hispanics have made to American culture. Ferré was one of the driving forces behind the intermestic (an abbreviation of international and domestic) dialogue, which attempts to seek consensus regarding Puerto Rico's political status problem from both an international and domestic vantage point. He spoke about this effort to deal with Puerto Rico's political status in an address to the Puerto Rico Senate as keynote speaker during the Governors' Day special session on February 16, 2006.[9]
In October 2009, Ferré announced that he was running for the open U.S. Senate seat of Mel Martinez.[10] He finished in fourth place (last place) in the Democratic primary, with only 4.9% of the vote.[11][circular reference]
Ferré is sometimes referred to as the "father of modern-day Miami." To pay tribute to him and his legacy, a park district in Miami, formerly called Museum Park, was named after him in early 2019.[12][13][14]
Ferré died in Miami on September 19, 2019, from spinal cancer. He was 84 years of age.[15][16]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "MAURICE A. FERRE AND MERCEDES M. FERRE v. CITY NATIONAL BANK MIAMI | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 07-25-1989 | www.anylaw.com". August 22, 2022. Archived from the original on August 22, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ The Ferre Family: Puerto Rican by Birth, Yanqui in Spirit Archived February 25, 2006, at archive.today
- ^ House counties myfloridahouse.gov [dead link]
- ^ "The List of the 164 People on Flight 965," The New York Times
- ^ "CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—Extensions of Remarks Archived December 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine," U.S. Government Printing Office
- ^ "Our Campaigns - Dade County Mayor - Primary Race - Sep 02, 1996". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ "Ego Without End Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine." Miami New Times.
- ^ "Our Campaigns - Miami-Dade County Mayor Race - Aug 31, 2004". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ "Puerto Rico's political status". Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ "Kendrick Meek's primary challenge emerges | Florida politics blog: The Buzz". Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
- ^ 2010 United States Senate election in Florida
- ^ "Maurice A. Ferre Park". www.miamigov.com. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
- ^ "23-Acre Park in Downtown Miami Dedicated to Former Mayor Maurice Ferre". January 31, 2019.
- ^ Viglucci, Andres (September 19, 2019). "Former mayor Maurice Ferré, considered the father of modern-day Miami, dies at 84". Miami Herald. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
- ^ Mazzei, Patricia (September 19, 2019). "Maurice Ferré, Miami's First Hispanic Mayor, Dies at 84". The New York Times.
- ^ "Former Miami mayor Maurice Ferré is dead | Miami Herald". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019.