Sila María Calderón
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| Sila Calderón Serra | |
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| In office January 2, 2001 – January 2, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Pedro Rosselló González |
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| Succeeded by | Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
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| Born | September 23, 1942 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Political party | Popular Democratic Party |
| Spouse | none |
| Profession | Business Woman |
Sila María Calderón Serra (born September 23, 1942) was the seventh Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She is the only woman ever elected to that office. Prior to being Governor, Calderón held various positions in the Government of Puerto Rico, including Secretary of State and Chief of Staff. She was also Mayor of San Juan, the Capital of Puerto Rico.
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[edit] Early life and education
Sila María grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico into an upper class family (her father was a successful ice cream industrialist and real estate developer) and attended high school at the Sacred Heart Academy in Santurce. In 1960 she attended Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. In 1964 she graduated with a degree in Political Science.
[edit] Political career
Her political career began in 1973 when she was named executive assistant to the Labor Secretary and Special Assistant to then Governor, Rafael Hernández Colón. Calderón became the first woman Chief of Staff in Puerto Rico in 1985. Later, she served as Secretary of State, a position which includes the responsibilities of a Lieutenant Governor.
She resigned in 1989 to devote her efforts to non profit and community work, most notably the innovative Peninsula de Cantera Project, which sought to foster the grass roots redevelopment of one of the most poverty striken sectors of San Juan, located only steps away from the financial sector of the city. During those years, she also devoted time to some public service, appointed as President of the Board of the Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation. During those years, she also served on the board of major local corporations such as Banco Popular and Pueblo International and helping non-profit organizations such as The Sister Isolina Ferré Foundation.
[edit] Mayor of San Juan
She returned to public life in 1995, running in the 1995 Popular Democratic Party primary for Mayor of San Juan, winning handily over her three opponents by a huge margin, and then being elected Mayor of the city of San Juan in 1996, becoming the second woman in the city's history to serve in that office. As mayor, she undertook one of the largest public works program in the city to date, sponsoring various urban redevelopment projects to revitalize Rio Piedras, Santurce, Condado and other deteriorated sections of the city. She also initiated a "Special Communities Program" to assist poor communities and foster community volunteering.
During her time as mayor of San Juan, she received numerous distinctions and was granted several high profile audiences, including one with then-president Bill Clinton. She also became one of the leading voices in the fight for the Island of Vieques, where the residents had undertaken a struggle against the U. S. Navy bombing practices.
In 2000 she set her sights for the governor's seat. She led the Popular Democratic Party (PPD) during a heated and close campaign for Governor against Carlos Pesquera (PNP) and Ruben Berrios (PIP). With her victory, she became the first elected female governor in the history of Puerto Rico
[edit] Governor
Calderón's administration objectives dealt with issues such as Vieques (see Navy-Vieques protests), the fight against drugs and the extension to the rest of the island of the "Special Communities Programs". During her campaign for the governorship, she promised to "get the Navy out of Vieques in 6 months", but the Navy left as agreed in the historic Clinton-Rosselló agreement, on May 1, 2003.
Although a firm believer in the current political status of the island, an attempt to discuss mechanisms to resolve the status dispute that faces Puerto Rico among the three major political parties was unsuccessful.
Her administration was characterized by frequent changes of the members of her cabinet; including four different Police Superintendents. During her term, crime became a major issue.
Even though Calderón had won the 2000 elections with a cry to end government corruption, her administration had to face many corruption scandals right away. Among her Party's leaders who quickly got in trouble were Senators Maribel Rodríguez, Julio Rodríguez Gómez, Bruno Ramos, and Modesto Agosto Alicea; Representatives Tony Méndez, Alida Arizmendi, and José Luis Colón, and the mayors of Vega Alta, Hormigueros, and Villalba. The corruption issue that many analysts claim brought about Calderón's decision to retire from office was the so-called Lavatón, a money-laundering scheme allegedly designed by the Popular Democratic Party to spend more money than what the Puerto Rico Electoral Law permitted, through various political action committees (PAC) from various candidates for the Legislature. While these scandals are vastly outnumbered by those of the Rosselló administrations preceding Calderón's, she was rather uncomfortable with having to deal with corruption in her own (under her administration, for example, Justice department prosecutors obtained a 12-year sentence for an NPP legislator accused of misappropriating a $600 air conditioning unit, which demonstrates Calderón's extreme zeal in dealing with the subject, and the considerable discomfort she experienced with the Lavatón charges).
Calderón announced in the summer of 2003 that she would not seek re-election in the 2004 Puerto Rican elections. After divorcing long-time husband Adolfo Krans, she married Ramón Cantero-Frau, a member of her cabinet on September 13, 2003. It was only the second time a wedding ceremony had been carried at La Fortaleza, official residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico, since Roberto Sánchez Vilella did so in 1967. The ceremony became a media event that was transmitted live on Puerto Rican television.
On May 26, 2004, Calderón had to deal with a man who entered La Fortaleza, governor's mansion, with a knife and took a receptionist hostage, demanding to speak directly with Calderón. After Calderón negotiated with the hostage taker, the man dropped the knife and surrendered to police.
Calderón's daughter, Sila Mari Gonzalez along with her sister, María Elena González served as "First Ladies" of the Commonwealth. Sila Mari Gonzalez was elected to the Senate of Puerto Rico in November 2004 just as her mother completed her term of office as Governor. Sila Mari currently serves as Minority Whip in the Puerto Rico Senate.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Sila M. Calderón Biography at La Fortaleza Website - official site.
- (English) Sila María Calderón on the Internet Movie Database
[edit] References
- La Fortaleza. Nuestra Gobernadora. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Government of Puerto Rico. 2001.
| Preceded by Pedro Juan Rosselló González |
Governor of Puerto Rico 2001-2005 |
Succeeded by Aníbal Acevedo Vilá |
| Popular Democratic Party Gubernatorial Nominees | |
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| Muñoz Marín | Sánchez Vilella | Negrón López | Hernández Colón | Muñoz Mendoza | Acevedo | Calderón | Hernández Mayoral | Acevedo Vilá |
