Badillo, Herman, 1929-2014

<p>Herman Badillo (pronounced bah-DEE-yoh; August 21, 1929 – December 3, 2014) was a trailblazing Puerto Rican 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.</p>

<p>Badillo was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico.</p>

<p>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's degree 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.</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>Herman Badillo compiled a series of historic firsts, becoming the first Hispanic borough president in New York City and the first voting Member elected to the U.S. House of Representatives who had been born in Puerto Rico. During his seven years in Congress, Badillo used his position to draw attention to the plight of the inner cities and to urge federal assistance for numerous impoverished minorities residing in New York City. A four-time New York City mayoral candidate—twice while a Member of the House—Badillo was a major figure in local politics and policy for more than 40 years. “I represent the original immigrant,” Badillo asserted. “Everybody says that their parents and grandparents came here and couldn’t speak English and they were poor. And in my case it wasn’t my parents and grandparents. It was me."</p>

<p>Herman Badillo was born on August 21, 1929, in Caguas, Puerto Rico. His father, Francisco Badillo, taught in a public school, and his mother, Carmen Rivera, spent her time on charitable activities. In 1934 a tuberculosis epidemic swept through the island, claiming the lives of Badillo’s parents and one of his grandmothers. Badillo’s grandfather and aunt, Aurelia Rivera, who had two children of her own, raised him for the next several years. In 1941 Aurelia Rivera moved to New York City, along with Badillo and one of her sons. His aunt’s financial problems forced young Badillo to move several times over the next few years, first to Chicago to live with an uncle and then to California to stay with another family member. Back in New York City in 1944, he attended Haaren High School. Placed in vocational classes because of his ethnicity, Badillo eventually switched to a more traditional academic track, and in 1947 he graduated with stellar grades.</p>

<p>In the years after World War II, City College of New York offered free tuition to students with high grades, and the school became known as the Harvard of the Poor. Badillo enrolled in City College in the fall of 1947, majored in business, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1951. He then worked as an accountant while attending night classes at Brooklyn Law School, where he won election to the law review. In 1954 he graduated as class valedictorian with an LL.B. He was admitted to the New York bar in 1955 and certified as a public accountant the following year; he worked as an accountant and a lawyer on Wall Street through the 1950s. In 1949 Badillo married Norma Lit. The couple had a son, David Alan, before divorcing in 1960. A year later Badillo married Irma Liebling, who had two children from a previous marriage. After Irma’s death in 1996, Badillo married Gail Roberts, a New York City schoolteacher.</p>

BADILLO, Herman, a Representative from New York; born in Caguas, P.R., August 21, 1929; attended the New York City public schools; B.B.A., City College of New York, New York City, N.Y., 1951; LL.B., Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, N.Y., 1954; admitted to the New York bar in 1955 and commenced practice in New York City; certified public accountant, 1956; commissioner, New York City department of relocation, 1962-1965; elected Bronx, N.Y., borough president, 1965-1969; delegate to New York state constitutional convention, 1967; delegate to Democratic National Convention, 1968; unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of New York City, 1969, 1973, and 1977; elected as a Democrat to the Ninety-second and to the three succeeding Congresses until his resignation on December 31, 1977 (January 3, 1971-December 31, 1977); deputy mayor, New York City, N.Y., 1978-1979; resumed the practice of law in New York City; chairman, board of directors of the state of New York mortgage agency, February 1984-May 1986; unsuccessful candidate for New York state comptroller in 1986; was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of New York City in 1993 until he withdrew from the race; unsuccessful Republican-Liberal Fusion candidate for New York City comptroller in 1993; unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for Mayor of New York City in 2001; died on December 3, 2014, in Manhattan, N.Y.