- Roberto Prats
Roberto Prats Palerm (born
1966 ) is a formerSenator of Puerto Rico , alawyer , and a former candidate forResident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in the elections of 2004. He is affiliated and a member of the Governing Board of the Popular Democratic Party and chairman of theDemocratic Party (United States) in Puerto Rico.Education
Prats received his Bachelor's Degree in Policy Analysis and Management from
Cornell University in1990 . He received his Juris Doctor degree from theInteramerican University School of Law .Political career
Prats began working in his early twenties with the
Government of Puerto Rico . He worked closely withSila M. Calderón , then Mayor of San Juan, being the city's Public Affairs and Federal Relations Advisor.In the
2000 elections, Prats was elected as an at-large Senator, becoming the youngest at-large member that year of thePuerto Rican Senate . During his tenure, Prats pushed legislation that sought to help low-income people, environmental statutes and transportation legislation, and was considered a consensus-builder.In
2003 , Sila M. Calderón announced she would not seek a second term as Governor. The Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico,Aníbal Acevedo Vilá was chosen to run for Governor in the elections of 2004. Senator Roberto Prats became the Popular Democratic Party's nomineee for Resident Commissioner for the upcoming elections, which he lost toLuis Fortuño .Prats got a big boost for his congressional campaign, when the
Democratic National Committee ChairmanTerry McAuliffe endorsed him inMarch of 2004 . He subsequently was elected State Chair of the Democratic Party in Puerto Rico, a position he currently holds, under DNC ChairmanHoward Dean , with whom he also has a close relationship.One of Puerto Rico's "superdelegates", Prats announced his support in January of 2008 of Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton 's presidential bid and serves, along with Puerto Rico Senate PresidentKenneth McClintock , as co-chair of her Hispanic Leadership Council, in spite of his former running mate's (Gov. Acevedo Vilá's) endorsement of Sen.Barack Obama .ee also
*
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico External links
* [http://www.pratsawashington.com/site/biografia.asp Biography @ Prats campaign website] - official site, in Spanish.
* [http://www.senadoelapr.org/senadores/robertoprats.htm Biography at the Senate of Puerto Rico] - official site of the Senate, in Spanish.
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