Posted on 11/09/2004 10:30:56 AM PST by rrstar96
For the last several days, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for Governor of Puerto Rico -- and preliminarily certified winner of the office for the term beginning in January of 2005 -- has been taking on the role of an unambiguously victorious candidate, even though it is possible that his razor-thin winning plurality of votes could be changed after an official recount is finished. It is to begin on Monday and could take a month to conclude.
Meanwhile, Acevedo Vilá’s rival -- NPP ex-Governor Pedro Rosselló and, so far, losing candidate for a term to replace PDP outgoing Governor Sila Calderón – disputes the fact that he actually is behind in the voting. In a press conference held yesterday, he cited the some 14,000 regular votes which, as of Wednesday afternoon had yet to be counted and the some 6000 votes that were cast but protested for one reason or another. By the NPP’s calculation, a sufficient number of these ballots are likely to go for Rosselló, resulting in a total that could exceed that of Acevedo Vilá, even before the official recount is begun.
His spokesperson and campaign director, Frances Rodríguez, was highly critical of Acevedo Vilá for speaking about a "transition" before the official recount is complete. One NPP official, former senator Charlie Rodríguez, accused him of attempting a "democratic coup d’etat."
At a San Juan press conference on Wednesday, Acevedo announced that he is ready to assume the duties of the island’s Chief Executive and that he is trying to reach out to newly elected members of the rival New Progressive Party (NPP), asking them to accept a "patriotic union" across party lines for the good of the island.
The results of Tuesday’s voting established both houses of Puerto Rico’s next legislature in the firm control of the NPP. The Party won 18 seats in the 27-member Senate and 34 in the 51-member House, according to the Elections Commission’s count. A majority of island municipalities remained with or changed hands to NPP candidates. Also in control of the NPP is the post of Resident Commissioner, the island’s non-voting representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. In spite of the recount, PDP candidate Roberto Pratts on Wednesday conceded victory to his NPP rival Luis Fortuño, saying that he did not wish any longer to "keep the island in suspense."
At his press conference, Acevedo Vilá proclaimed that "the people have given the mandate (of governor) to me." He also said that he had spoken by telephone with the NPP winning candidate for the post of Resident Commissioner, Luis Fortuño, with whom he would serve as one of the two top elected officials of Puerto Rico, should his narrow lead in the vote count (0.2%) be sustained by the new vote count. He reported that he had asked the Resident Commissioner Elect for cooperation in the transition phase leading up to the assumption of powers for the newly elected officials, now just two months away.
In spite of the Rosselló campaign protests, the Provisional Governor-Elect has already begun to form a transition team.
The recount is required by law should the voting margin between candidates be less than 0.5%. As the count stood when the Elections Commission declared Acevedo Vilá the provisional winner, he had 953,459 (48.38%) votes island-wide and Pedro Rosselló 949,579 (48.18%). The Puerto Rico Independence Party (PIP) candidate for Governor, Ruben Berríos, polled only 52,660 (2.67%) votes, or less than the 3% minimum number of votes required for a political party to remain official in Puerto Rico.
The interim policy of both candidates seems clear. While Acevedo Vilá is rushing to appear confident and "executive," Pedro Rosselló is putting a "responsible" face on the situation presently existing in Island politics. Through his spokespeople he is saying that Acevedo’s posture is "imprudent" and not in keeping with the very serious crisis that could result from a split government in Puerto Rico.
The implications of such a governing arrangement could have unintended consequences as Puerto Rico seeks solutions for the many issues facing the island and for the territory’s relations with the federal government. With a majority – and perhaps "veto proof" – opposition in the Puerto Rico House and Senate, a PDP governor would have trouble getting legislation passed and appointments confirmed. Likewise, the legislature could see its budgetary priorities ignored.
In Washington, with a political rival sitting in the U.S. Congress, the Governor’s federal agenda could be sabotaged at every turn. Conversely, any initiative of the Resident Commissioner could be blocked by the Government’s Washington lobbyists and by the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFFA), the huge mainland bureaucracy controlled by La Fortaleza.
Shortly after the election, Provisional Governor Elect Aníbal Acevedo Vilá proclaimed that "the people said with their vote that they want a shared government."
I thought Rossello was supposed to have a commanding lead going into the election. What happened?
51
Ping
I have a very close friend who lives in Puerto Rico and worked for the Rosello campaign. (As background, the NPP is the pro-statehood party. Although most NPP politicians identify with the mainland Republicans, that is not a general rule. Rosello is an example of a statehooder who identifies with the mainland Democrats. The PDP is the pro-commonwealth party, which favors maintaining Puerto Rico's current limbo status as a U.S. colony but not a state). Yes, Rosello was leading in the polls going into election day. Here's what happened: Puerto Rico's small (and radical) pro-independence party made the difference. Less that five percent of Puerto Rico is pro-independence. But the Independence Party hates Rosello so much (mostly because of corruption scandals during his tenure as governor) that about half of the Independence Party's voters actually voted against their party's own candidate, and in favor of the PDP candidate, just to spite Rosello. The result was that the Independence Party candidate got so few votes that the Independence Party has lost its ballot line in the next election -- but Rosello lost, even though the statehooders swept most of the contested legislative races.
ClipperCFX
btt
Thank you.
My wife is from Puerto Rico, but many of her relatives have moved to the mainland over the years. She has one crazy old aunt who supports the Independence Party, but most seem to be relatively content with the status quo.
I guess we will just have to wait and see how this plays out.
Pretty good synopsis, but you forgot to mention that the NPP won 2/3 of the Senate seats and 64% of the House seats, plus a large majority of the mayorships (including those of the two largest cities, San Juan and Bayamón, in which the NPP mayors who are staunch Republicans were reelected). And even with the Independentistas voting for the Populares, the NPP candidate for Resident Commissioner, Luis Fortuño (a Republican National Committeeman), was elected. It is still not clear whether ex-Governor Pedro Rosselló will come out ahead in the gubernatorial vote, but the truth is that the NPP won an electoral sweep thanks to Rosselló motivating statehooders to go to the polls.
BTW, the polls showed Rosselló so far ahead that even with half of the Independentistas voting for Acevedo-Vilá it shouldn't have been enough to caude Rosselló to lose. What happened in the last week was that the Populares began an ad campaign saying that Rosselló would raise taxes because he was proposing a 3% sales tax, in spite of the fact that Rosselló's plan would have eliminated the 6.6% excise tax that serves as a hidden sales tax. The tax issue probably cost Rosselló 1%-2% of the vote, which could be his undoing unless the recount changes things by at least 0.2%. This is ironic, since Governor Rosselló cut taxes more than any previous governor in Puerto Rico history, and since Acevedo-Vilá's government raised taxes by bringing back the marriage tax penalty and increasing excise taxes.
This anti-statehood marriage of convenience between the "Populares" and "Independentistas" has been going on for years. Whenever the NPP is projected to win an election, the PIP followers panic and cast their lot with the PDP. Unfortunately, the NPP has not been able to counter this crossing-over effectively so as to avoid what happened on November 2.
Despite whatever spin he can put on the results, old-time PIP warhorse and gubernatorial candidate Rubén Berríos has to feel some humiliation at seeing how his followers abandoned him in droves in favor of Acevedo. I foresee a changing of the guard within the island's independence movement following the elections.
Ted Kennedy is more Conservative than most of the corrupt, Liberal/Socialist politicians in Puerto Rico.
Anyone who calls a politician in Puerto Rico a "staunch Republican" needs their head examined.
Pedro Rosello cuts taxes in Puerto Rico, for the resident Puerto Ricans, by demanding more billions from the stateside U.S. Taxpayers, NOT BY CONTROLLING OR CUTTING SPENDING IN PUERTO RICO!
Pedro, the flaming Socialist, wants to Socialize medicine in Puerto Rico. They call the Socialized medicine card the 'Rosello Card'!
Rosello and the rest of his PNP Party's politicians are going to use OUR money to pay for their Socialist crap.
When these dummies bust the budget in Puerto Rico, we're going to have to pay for it.
Does that really sound Conservative to you two?
LOL!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.