Herman Badillo

Herman Badillo (, ; August 21, 1929 – December 3, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician who served as borough president of The Bronx and United States Representative, and ran for Mayor of New York City.

He was the first Puerto Rican elected to these posts, and the first Puerto Rican mayoral candidate in a major city in the continental United States.

Badillo was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

When he was 11 years old, both of his parents died of tuberculosis and he was sent to live with his aunt in New York City.

After graduating from the public school system at Haaren High School, Badillo attended the City College of New York earning a Bachelor in Business Administration in 1951.

In 1954 he received an LL.B. from Brooklyn Law School, graduating first in his class.

The next year he was admitted to the New York State Bar.

In 1956, he also became a certified public accountant.

After joining the Caribe Democratic Club in 1958, Badillo held various offices within the City and State, including Bronx Borough President in 1966.

Prior to that he served as New York Commissioner of Housing Preservation and Development.

Periconi had, along with several historians, successfully attained landmark status for the building in October 1965, bestowed by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

It was then placed under final review by the Board of Estimate of New York City.

Embarking on his role as Bronx Borough President in January 1966, Badillo was met with the ongoing advocacy for the preservation of Bronx Borough Hall as a landmark, led by prior Bronx Borough President Joseph F. Periconi.

On January 27, 1966, the last day of the 90-day review period, the board voted to revoke the landmark status, deferring to the new incumbent's view on the matter.

In 1968 a mysterious fire burned part of the interior.

Though still repairable, it was demolished in 1969.

Badillo sought the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York in 1969, 1973, 1977, 1981 and 1985.

In 1970 Badillo was elected to the United States House of Representatives from New York's 21st District in the South Bronx, becoming the first Puerto Rican to so serve.

He was re-elected for three subsequent consecutive terms.

He was also a member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Largely by his efforts, job training for unemployed non-English speaking citizens was included in the "Comprehensive Manpower Act of 1973".

Badillo also served on the Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs Committee and the Small Business Committee, where he had a seat on the Minority Enterprise and General Oversight Sub-committee.

During his time in office he supported legislation intended to counteract various types of discrimination in employment, including discrimination base on age and marital status.

Although he would later become a vociferous opponent of bilingual education, as a congressman Badillo was one of the first champions of funding for bilingual education programs.

Some proponents of bilingual and ESL education, and opponents of English immersion, attacked Badillo for his newfound opposition to Spanish-language teaching.

He was also a critical player in the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act and the inclusion of its language access provisions.

During his tenure in Congress, he became an important national spokesperson for Federal investment in urban centers.

In the 1973 Democratic primary he came in second with 29% of the vote behind Abe Beame (34%) and ahead of Mario Biaggi (21%) and Albert H. Blumenthal (16%).

His closest contest came in his second attempt when he was defeated by then-New York City Comptroller Abe Beame in a runoff primary, in 1973.

This was the first election with a primary run off.

In 1976 he was challenged by South Bronx Councilman Ramon Velez in a contest for the Democratic Party nomination for Congressman of the 21st District.

Badillo was reelected easily with 75 percent of the vote.

In December of that year, he was one of the five Latino members of Congress who established the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Badillo resigned from Congress on December 31, 1977, to become deputy mayor of New York City under Mayor Ed Koch, a position he held until September 1979.

Badillo was one of seven deputy mayors appointed by Koch for the first portion of his administration.

He served alongside Basil Paterson.

As a deputy mayor Badillo handled labor relations and community outreach for Koch.

In a major public disagreement with Mayor Koch over the lack of support for his program to revitalize the South Bronx, Badillo resigned his post.

In 1981 and 1985 he did not appear on the ballot, dropping out after early moves to stage a campaign failed to generate broad enough support.

Badillo unsuccessfully sought a Republican mayoral nomination in 2001, losing in a landslide vote for billionaire businessman and political neophyte Michael Bloomberg who would later prevail in that general election.