Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá

Accomplishments:

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá is the eighth and current democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico and was inaugurated on January 2, 2005.

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá is the second youngest governor in Puerto Rico’s history. When he took office, he appointed cabinet members of different political ideologies, attracting the best Puerto Rican talent above party lines. The priorities of his administration are: a new economy, a safe society and a first-rate education. During his tenure, he has distinguished himself for introducing the necessary changes to bring about true government reform. He has been recognized as a governor of consensus and dialog, with an agenda of change and future for Puerto Rico.

Because the executive and the legislative branches of the government are controlled by different political parties, Governor Acevedo Vilá has called his government a “shared government.” During the first months of his term, Acevedo concentrated his efforts on trying to reach bipartisan support for his projects and for the nominees of his cabinet. However, when Acevedo vetoed a legislative project proposed by the PNP the ideal of a peaceful “shared government” collapsed. Senators and Representatives from the PNP opted to oppose most of the persons nominated by the Governor for the cabinet.

A major controversy took place in May, 2005, when the House of Representatives voted on the confirmation of Marisara Pont for the post of Secretary of State. The final vote ended 24-16, in favor of the confirmation. Some members of the PNP voted for Pont. However, the Speaker of the House, Jose Aponte, concluded that in order for Pont to be confirmed, she needed an absolute majority. Therefore, Aponte announced that the House had vetoed the nomination of Pont.

Acevedo Vilá decided to oppose this decision by going to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. However, Aponte ordered to stop some of the procedures in the House of Representatives until Acevedo Vila publicly apologized for, what he called, “defying” the Puerto Rican Legislature. Although the Governor did not apologize, Aponte decided to continue with the House’s procedures. Eventually, the Supreme Court voted 5-1 in favor of Aponte and Pont was not confirmed as Secretary of State.

Later on the same month, confrontations between the executive and the legislative branches reached a new climax when the Puerto Rican Legislature voted to overwrite a veto by Acevedo Vilá. He became the first democratically elected governor to have a veto overwritten by the Legislature.

Preparation to serve:

Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá was born in Hato Rey on February 13, 1962.

The son of former judge and senator Salvador Acevedo and Elba Vila, he graduated from Colegio San Jose in Rio Piedras in 1979 and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science, magna cum laude, at the University of Puerto Rico in 1982.

In 1985, he received a law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Puerto Rico Law School, where he distinguished himself as a vice president of the Student Council and as Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. In 1987, he earned his master’s degree in law at Harvard University.

Aníbal Acevedo Vilá began his professional career as law clerk to then Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, Hon. Federico Hernandez-Denton, and later, as law clerk to the Chief Justice of the Federal Court for the First Circuit of Appeals in Boston, Hon. Levin Campbell.

From 1989 to 1992, he worked as legislative affairs advisor for then governor of Puerto Rico, Hon. Rafael Hernandez-Colon, charged with drafting and analyzing the most important legislation of the time, particularly bills on Education Reform and Municipal Reform.

In 1992, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá was elected representative at-large for the Popular Democratic Party. Re-elected in 1996, in the process obtaining the party’s largest number of votes, he was chosen minority leader by his delegation. In 1997, at the age of 35, he became president of the Popular Democratic Party. During this period, he led efforts to defeat the Young Bill on status in the U.S. Congress.

In the 2000 elections, he was elected Resident Commissioner in Washington D.C., becoming at 38, the first commissioner to be named to three congressional committees—-on Small Business, Agriculture and Resources. According to a study by the Congressional Research Service, he was the most productive Resident Commissioner in the last 20 years. Among his achievements was gaining parity with the states in federal programs for education, thus obtaining an unprecedented increase in Title 1 Funds for Puerto Rico, as well as extending Medicare Reform to Puerto Rico.

He is the author of “En Honor a la Verdad,” a compilation of public presentations and historic messages related to ongoing efforts in developing further the potential of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Governor Acevedo-Vila is married to Luisa “Piti” Gandara and the couple has two children, Gabriela and Juan Carlos.

Link to official website

Copyright & Paid for by The Democratic Governors Association

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