Héctor Ferrer

Héctor Jose Ferrer Ríos[lower-alpha 1] (March 27, 1970 – November 5, 2018) was a Puerto Rican politician and attorney. He served as a legislator in the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2012 for three consecutive terms. He was the president of the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PPD) from 2008 to 2011, and later from 2017 to October 2018 [1]

Héctor Ferrer
Chair of the Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party
In office February 26, 2017 – October 15, 2018
Preceded by	David Bernier
Succeeded by	Brenda López de Arrarás (Acting)
In office November 10, 2008 – April 4, 2011
Preceded by	Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Succeeded by	Alejandro García Padilla
Minority Leader of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives
In office January 2, 2005 – March 15, 2012
Preceded by	Aníbal Vega Borges
Succeeded by	Luis Raúl Torres Cruz
Majority Whip of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives
In office January 2, 2001 – January 1, 2005
Preceded by	Iris Ruiz
Succeeded by	María Ramos Rivera
Member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from the at-large district
In office January 2, 2005 – March 15, 2012
Member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from the 29th district
In office January 2, 2001 – January 1, 2005
Preceded by	Luis Aramburu Díaz
Succeeded by	Pedro Cintrón Rodríguez
Personal details
Born	(1970-03-27)March 27, 1970 San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S.
Died	November 5, 2018(2018-11-05) (aged 48) San Juan, Puerto Rico, U.S.
Political party	Popular Democratic
Other political affiliations	Democratic
Children	3
Relatives	Eduardo Ferrer (Brother)
Education	University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (BA) Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, San Juan (JD)

Early life

Ferrer was born on March 27, 1970 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was the second son of Eugenio Ferrer Colom and Maria Elisa Ríos Candelas .[2] When he was 16 years old, Ferrer played at the Puerto Rico Amateur Baseball Federation. He played mostly as an infielder and was a member of several teams like Cupey, Vega Alta, San Lorenzo, Aibonito, Cidra, and Cayey. Ferrer finished his amateur baseball career with a batting average of .250, and 32 hits in 128 at-bats.[3] Ferrer received a sports scholarship in baseball to study at the University of North Carolina. There, he received a Bachelor's degree with a major in Economics and Industrial Relations. He then received a Juris doctor from the School of Law of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico. In March 1997, he was one of the top 10 grades at the bar exam.[4]

After graduating, Ferrer worked as a private attorney.

Political career

Ferrer was elected to the Puerto Rico House of Representatives at the 2000 general elections, to represent District 29.[5] During his first term, he served as Majority Whip for the PPD, and presided the Committees of Ethics, Federal and International Affairs, and Consumer Affairs.[6]

Ferrer was reelected at the 2004 general elections, this time as a Representative At-large.[7] After his party lost the Majority in both the Senate and the House, Ferrer took over as Minority Speaker.

In 2008, Ferrer was reelected for a third consecutive term, being the candidate with the most votes for the position among all candidates.[8] Due to the defeat of the PPD in the race for Governor and both the Senate and the House, Ferrer remained as Minority Speaker.

The defeat of the PPD led to the resignation of Aníbal Acevedo Vilá as President. Héctor Ferrer became President of the party in November 10, 2008 after a meeting of the Board of Directors which included veteran leaders like Héctor Luis Acevedo, Rafael Hernández Colón, and Miguel Hernández Agosto.[6]

In 2011, he surrendered the presidency of the party to new gubernatorial candidate, Alejandro García Padilla. He had initially announced his intentions to run for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, but then announced his decision to run for mayor of San Juan, against incumbent Jorge Santini at the 2012 general elections. However, after being arrested for alleged domestic abuse,[9] he dropped his candidacy and moved away from politics. Five months later, the case against Ferrer was archived and no charges were presented against him.[10]

During his time away from politics, Ferrer continued to work as an attorney. He also served as a panelist and commentator on the TV program Los Seis de la Tarde, transmitted via Univision Puerto Rico.[11] In 2016, Ferrer returned to politics and ran for Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico along Gubernatorial candidate David Bernier. He lost to Jenniffer González.[12]

In February 2017, Ferrer was reelected by his party as President.[13] In October 2018, he surrendered the presidency to Aníbal José Torres.

Personal life

He was married to Sonia Marie Santiago with whom he had two children, Hector Enrique Ferrer Santiago and Marielisa Ferrer Santiago. After his divorce he had a brief marriage to Attorney Jacqueline Martinez. Once divorced, he had a relationship Elisa "Beba" Hernández for seven years, with whom he had a son, Eduardo José Ferrer Hernandez. Ferrer's brother, Eduardo, was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012.

Ferrer was an avid athlete and practiced a variety of sports, including baseball, jogging, cycling, and swimming, among others.

Domestic abuse scandal

In February 2012, Ferrer was detained after allegations of domestic abuse against his long-term partner, Elisa Hernández.[9] Initially, Hernández was granted a protection order against Ferrer for one year. Shortly after, however, she asked for it to be rescinded.[14] With conflicting versions surrounding the circumstances of the event and how it was handled, Ferrer resigned all of his political positions five days after the accusation.[15] Several months later, the Office of the Special Independent Prosecutor's Panel (FEI in Spanish) determined there was insufficient evidence against Ferrer and opted not to press any charges against him.[16] Several days after Ferrer's arrest, Hernández presented a sworn statement in which she claimed she was "coaxed by government figures to accuse" Ferrer.[17][18]

Health and death

In September 2015, Ferrer announced that he was diagnosed with cancer in the esophagus.[19] He went under numerous treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. In 2016, Ferrer announced he was free of cancer.[20][21]

In September 2018, Ferrer had a relapse for which he was hospitalized.[22] He suffered some complications after a surgical procedure, but was released from the hospital after a week.[23] Ferrer died almost two months later, on November 5, 2018, at the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in Hato Rey after surgery. At the moment of Ferrer's death, his parents and youngest son were beside him.[24] Carlos Delgado Altieri, Secretary General for the PPD and mayor of Isabela, Puerto Rico, confirmed the news and called it "something quick and unexpected".[25] As a result, Governor Ricardo Rosselló declared five days of mourning in honor of Ferrer.[26]

Notes

1. This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Ferrer and the second or maternal family name is Ríos.

References

1. http://ppdpr.net/partido/presidente/ PDP Party President Biography
2. Bauzá, Nydia (October 23, 2018). "Madre de Ferrer: "Héctor José va a salir de esto"". Primera Hora.
3. "Héctor Ferrer y su paso por el béisbol Doble A". Primera Hora. November 6, 2018.
4. "Héctor Ferrer" (PDF). CamaraDeRepresentantes.
5. "Elecciones Generales de 2000: Representante de Distrito 29". CEEPUR.
6. "Trayectoria de Héctor Ferrer". El Nuevo Díadate=February 23, 2012.
7. Elecciones Generales 2004: Representantes por Acumulación Archived 2014-08-24 at the Wayback Machine on CEEPUR
8. "Elecciones Generales 2008: Representante por Acumulación". CEEPUR.
9. Maribel Hernández (February 23, 2012). "Héctor Ferrer arrestado por violencia doméstica". El Nuevo Día.
10. "FEI archiva caso contra Héctor Ferrer sin cargos". NotiCel. July 6, 2012.
11. Marrero Rodríguez, Rosalina (April 28, 2015). "Buen arranque para Los 6 de la tarde". El Nuevo Día.
12. ""Por poco logramos lo imposible" afirma Héctor Ferrer". El Nuevo Día. November 8, 2016.
13. Colón, María de los Milagros (February 26, 2017). "Elegido el nuevo presidente del PPD". Primera Hora.
14. Santiago, Yaritza (February 26, 2012). ""Revive" Héctor Ferrer". El Nuevo Día.
15. "Héctor Ferrer renuncia a todos sus puestos políticos". El Nuevo Día. February 28, 2012.
16. "Héctor Ferrer no descarta aspirar a la gobernación en 2016". NotiCel (in Spanish). CyberNews. 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2015-12-27.
17. "Elisa Hernández alega presiones del gobierno". El Nuevo Día. February 27, 2012.
18. "Héctor Ferrer romperá el silencio". WAPA-TV.
19. Pacheco, Istra (2015-09-28). "Héctor Ferrer tiene cáncer de esófago". Primera Hora (in Spanish). Retrieved 2015-12-27.
20. "¡Llegaron los resultados! Héctor Ferrer OFICIALMENTE libre de cáncer". Univision Puerto Rico. May 19, 2016.
21. Ruiz Kuilan, Gloria (May 3, 2016). "Héctor Ferrer confirma desaparición de tumor". El Nuevo Día.
22. Ruiz Kuilan, Gloria (September 17, 2018). "Hospitalizan a Héctor Ferrer tras sufrir una recaída". El Nuevo Día.
23. Ruiz Kuilan, Gloria (September 24, 2018). "Héctor Ferrer fue dado de alta del hospital". El Nuevo Día.
24. "Eduardo Ferrer: "Él sabía que el momento estaba cerca"". El Nuevo Día. November 6, 2018.
25. Ruiz Kuilan, Gloria (November 5, 2018). "Fallece el líder popular Héctor Ferrer". El Nuevo Día.
26. Ayala Gordian, José (November 5, 2018). "Rosselló decreta cinco días de duelo por la muerte de Héctor Ferrer". El Nuevo Día.

External links

• Héctor Ferrer Biography at the House of Representatives website

House of Representatives of Puerto Rico
Preceded by Luis Aramburu Díaz	Member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives from the 29th district 2001–2005	Succeeded by Pedro Cintrón Rodríguez
Preceded by Aníbal Vega Borges	Minority Leader of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives 2005–2012	Succeeded by Luis Raúl Torres Cruz
Party political offices
Preceded by Aníbal Acevedo Vilá	Chair of the Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party 2008–2011	Succeeded by Alejandro García Padilla
Preceded by David Bernier	Chair of the Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party 2017–2018	Succeeded by Brenda López de Arrarás Acting