Córdova, Jorge L. (Jorge Luis), 1907-1994

<p>Jorge Luis Córdova Díaz (April 20, 1907 – September 16, 1994) served as Puerto Rico's eleventh Resident Commissioner. His father, Félix Córdova Dávila, had served as Puerto Rico's fourth Resident Commissioner from 1917 to 1932.</p>

<p>Born in Manatí, Puerto Rico, Córdova was a 1924 graduate of St. John's College High School in Washington, DC. He attained his A.B. in 1928 from Catholic University of America, and his LL.B. in 1931 from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a lawyer in private practice. He served as a Superior Court judge in San Juan from 1940 to 1945. He served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico from 1945 to 1946.</p>

<p>Córdova was unexpectedly elected, as the New Progressive Party candidate for Resident Commissioner, for a four-year term (1969–1973) that spanned the Ninety-First and Ninety-Second Congress. His victory as gubernatorial candidate Luis A. Ferré's running mate, was unexpected since the Popular Democratic Party had ruled Puerto Rico for 28 consecutive years. Although a Republican, he sat with the Democrats in caucus. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1972, and became a business executive.</p>

<p>In just one term, Jorge Luis Córdova-Díaz, a lifelong proponent of Puerto Rican statehood, did more to transform the office of Resident Commissioner than nearly all of his predecessors, including his father, Resident Commissioner Félix Córdova Dávila. In 1970 as the House overhauled its rules and procedures, Córdova-Díaz pushed for and won the right to vote in committee. Though still prohibited from voting on the floor, the Resident Commissioner was able for the first time to influence the national lawmaking process. Bolstered by his landmark legislation, Córdova-Díaz did everything he could to strengthen federal programs on the island, and his tireless work won him respect from the Caribbean to Washington. “Mr. Córdova is present on the floor of the House more than most other Members,” said Republican Robert McClory of Illinois in 1970, “and he is a most articulate and knowledgeable representative” of Puerto Rico’s diverse interests.</p>

<p>Córdova-Díaz was born in Manatí, Puerto Rico, on April 20, 1907, to Félix Córdova Dávila and Mercedes Díaz. As a boy, he attended the island’s public schools, where he learned English. When Jorge Luis was 10, his father was elected Resident Commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives, and in 1917 the Córdova-Díaz family moved to Washington, D.C., where Jorge Luis enrolled in the city’s schools. The Resident Commissioner allowed his family to speak only Spanish at home, and Córdova-Díaz’s bilingualism was the start of his political education. Early on, he wrote speeches in English for his father, accompanying him to House sessions during the Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover administrations. He remained in the nation’s capital for college, graduating with an A.B. from The Catholic University of America in 1928 and earning a law degree from Harvard University in 1931. Like his father, Córdova-Díaz returned to Puerto Rico and practiced law, until 1940, when he was selected to the supreme court of San Juan. In 1945 he was appointed to the bench of the supreme court of Puerto Rico, a move Resident Commissioner Jesús T. Piñero of the Partido Popular Democrático (Popular Democratic Party or PPD) adamantly opposed for political reasons. Córdova-Díaz sat on the island’s bench until 1946. He and his wife, Dora Rodríguez, had four children: Jorge Luis, Jr.; Elvira; Irene; and Fernando.</p>

<p>Córdova-Díaz was a loyal advocate for statehood, but during the buildup to the election of 1960, he helped found the Partido Acción Cristiana (Christian Action Party, or PAC), whose ranks included individuals frustrated by “a government-sponsored recession of morality and spirituality.” Church officials quickly adopted the party’s mantra. Though they reassured the public that its involvement would not violate the separation of church and state, many voters were soon unable “to distinguish between clerical objectives and the broader aspects of the PAC program,” asserts one historian. Like many third parties, the PAC was short-lived. But in 1960 Córdova-Díaz ran as its candidate for Resident Commissioner, placing a distant third with roughly 7 percent of the vote, well behind the victor, Antonio Fernós-Isern of the Partido Popular Democrático. After the election, Córdova-Díaz turned his attention back to Puerto Rican statehood. As a founding member of the nonpartisan Citizens for State 51, he was eventually catapulted back into the island’s political scene.</p>

CÓRDOVA DÍAZ, Jorge Luis, (Son of F&eacute;lix C&oacute;rdova D&aacute;vila), a Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico; born in Manatí, P.R., April 20, 1907; A.B., Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, 1928; LL.B., Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., 1931; lawyer, private practice; judge, Superior Court of San Juan, 1940-1945; justice, Supreme court of Puerto Rico, 1945-1946; elected as a New Progressive to the Ninety-First Congress to a four-year term (January 3, 1969-January 3, 1973); caucused with the Democratic Party in the Ninety-First Congress from 1969 to 1971, then caucused with the Republican Party in the Ninety-Second Congress from 1971 to 1973; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1972; business executive; died on September 16, 1994, in San Juan, P.R.