Luis Manuel Irizarry Pabón (b. Ponce, Puerto Rico; 12 November 1958[3]) is a former mayor of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Luis Irizarry Pabón | |
|---|---|
| 136th Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico | |
| Assumed office 11 January 2021[1][a] | |
| Preceded by | María Meléndez |
| Succeeded by | Marlese Sifre |
| Member of the Municipal Assembly of Ponce, Puerto Rico | |
| In office 12 January 2009[3] – 10 January 2021 | |
| Minority leader of Municipal Assembly of Ponce, Puerto Rico | |
| In office 12 January 2009[citation needed] – 10 January 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Roberto Gonzaléz Rosa[citation needed] |
| Succeeded by | Gloryvee Berenguer Garcia[citation needed] |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 November 1958[3] Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Political party | Partido Popular Democrático (PPD) |
| Spouse | Miyady Velazquez[3][4] |
| Relations | Félix Irizarry and Carmen Lydia Pabón (parents) |
| Children | Alma, Luis Manuel, María Isabel, and Yaniel[3] |
| Education | M.D. |
| Alma mater | University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine |
| Profession | Politician, internist |
| Website | Municipality of Ponce (Spanish) |
Marlese Sifre was appointed as Vice-Mayor which granted to be the third woman in charge.
Biography
editLuis Manuel Irizarry Pabón was born on 12 November 1958[3] in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His parents were Félix Irizarry and Carmen Lydia Pabón.[3][5] A graduate of the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine,[3][5] Irizarry Pabón was an internal medicine physician prior to becoming Ponce's mayor-elect in November 2020.[6] He was also a municipal legislator in the Ponce Municipal Legislature for 12 years (2009 to 2021),[3][7] and minority leader in said legislative body.[8] Winning by a landslide against Partido Nuevo Progresista incumbent mayor María Meléndez, Irizarry Pabón was scheduled to take office on 11 January 2021.[1] He was sworn on 13 January 2021.[2] He is a graduate of the School of Medicine of the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ciencias Medicas.[5]
Political
editUpon completion of the 2020 Ponce municipal election vote count Irizarry Pabón had received 28,728 votes (62%) to incumbent mayor María Meléndez Altieri's 12,314 votes (26.6%). The rest of the votes cast were for MVC and PIP.[9] Irizarry Pabón is the first mayoral candidate in the modern history of Ponce to win with more than 60% of votes cast. His 16,414 vote margin was also historic being the largest since 1996, when then-mayor Rafael Cordero Santiago had a lead of over 19,000 votes versus José Dapena Thompson.[10] Irizarry Pabón recovered the Ponce mayoral office for his PPD party after 12 years under the control of the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP).[11]
The municipal executive was suspended from his position on November 1, 2023 after cause was found for arrest against him on four charges presented precisely by the Office of the Panel on the Special Independent Prosecutor (OPFEI), which accuse him of violations of Article 4.2 of the Government Ethics Law and Article 251 of the Penal Code, for alleged unjustified enrichment. (Source: Primera Hora, https://www.primerahora.com/noticias/gobierno-politica/notas/luis-irizarry-pabon-continuara-suspendido-al-cargo-de-alcalde-de-ponce/)
In June 2004, Puerto Rico newspaper El Nuevo Dia, reported, "Suspended Ponce Mayor Luis Irizarry Pabón will face a jury trial after August for allegedly coercing municipal agency heads to pay his personal debt that amounted to more than $53,000." (Source: El Nuevo Dia)
Family and personal
editAs of 11 November 2020, Irizarry Pabón was 62 years old.[10] He has four children: Alma, Luis Manuel, María Isabel, and Yaniel.[5]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Luis Irizarry Pabón". Ballotpedia. 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ a b Sara R. Marrero Caban (2 January – 4 February 2021). "Anuncian nuevos planes para La Guancha". Es Noticia. Vol. 5, no. 136. p. 13. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sandra Caquias Cruz (24 March – 6 April 2023). "Momento álgido para Ponce". Es Noticia. Vol. 7, no. 192. p. 4. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
- ^ "Nueva Primera Dama de Ponce orientada hacia la voluntariedad". El Sol de Puerto Rico. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d Sandra Torres Guzmán (4 November 2020). "Alcalde electo de Ponce resalta su orgullo por el caserío: Luis Manuel Irizarry Pabón recordó cuáles fueron los motivos por los que aceptó lanzarse a lo que para muchos parecía imposible". Primera Hora. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ Jason Rodríguez Grafal (4–10 November 2020). "Contundente derrota electoral pone fin a la era de María Meléndez Altieri: Al cierre de esta edición, Luis Irizarry Pabón dominaba la contienda por la alcaldía de Ponce, con más del 62.8 por ciento de los votos emitidos (27,936), mientras que la alcaldesa apenas acumulaba el 25.5 por ciento, con 96.1 por ciento de los votos escrutados". La Perla del Sur. Vol. 38, no. 1927. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ "Reclama Irizarry Pabón agilizar proceso de transición en Ponce: El alcalde electo, Luis Irizarry Pabón, urge a María Meléndez Altieri reunirse para iniciar el pase de batón en la Ciudad Señorial". El Sol de Puerto Rico. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ "Proponen proyectos de alivio contributivo ponceño por desastres". CyberNews. 17 February 2020. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "Mayoral election in Ponce, Puerto Rico (2020): General election for Mayor of Ponce". Ballotpedia. 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ a b Jason Rodríguez Grafal (11–17 November 2020). "Luis Irizarry Pabón: Prevé escabroso proceso de transición tras su victoria en las urnas: En enero, Irizarry Pabón tomará el control de una alcaldía que arrastra un déficit operacional de $48.3 millones y una deuda acumulada de $293.4 millones, según detalla la auditoria externa del año 2018". La Perla del Sur. Vol. 38, no. 1928. pp. 4–5. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ "Alcaldesa de Ponce, María 'Mayita' Meléndez, acepta su derrota: Según la Comisión Estatal de Elecciones (CEE), el 59.85% fue para Luis Irizarry, mientras que el 30.57%% fue a favor de Meléndez". Univision Puerto Rico. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.