Eddie Pérez (politician)

Eduardo Alberto Perez (born 1957) is an American politician and the present Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut. Prior to entering politics, Perez worked a variety of jobs ranging from organized crime during his youth to a community activist as he matured. In 2007, Perez was brought before a grand jury on unresolved charges of corruption.

Youth

Perez was born in Corozal, Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican family who would later emigrate to the United States in search of a better life for their children. Perez grew up in the North End of Hartford and quickly began to associate with the Ghetto Brothers, an organized crime syndicate which supported Puerto Rican nationalism and was especially involved with the then fledgling Puerto Rican Socialist Party. He would continue to participate in the gang after graduating Hartford Public High School in 1976 and is considered in some circles to have been a founding member of the Ghetto Brothers in New England due to Perez's close ties with other Latino street gangs in The Bronx. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/01/03/hartford.mayor.ap/ CNN.com - From gang leader to strong mayor - Jan. 3, 2004 ] ]

Career

After having been arrested and later acquitted in the late 1970s as an accessory on various charges, Perez began to engage in community service in order to encourage loyalty to his gang from the local community. Perez's programme was successful, and in 1986 began to take courses from Capital Community Technical College located in the Central Business District of Hartford.

In the late 1980s, Perez began working as a fry cook at Trinity College while taking classes at the college as a part of Trinity's community outreach programme. He would ultimately finish his undergraduate degree twelve years after he began to study at the college. In 1989, Trinity appointed Perez as Director of Community Relations in order to establish better relations with the local community. Despite serving in this post for several years, Trinity is still viewed as having some of the worst town and gown relations in the nation. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Northeast/01/03/hartford.mayor.ap/ CNN.com - From gang leader to strong mayor - Jan. 3, 2004 ] ]

In 1999, Perez became the President of the Southside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance, an organization sponsored by Trinity College and Hartford Hospital. The organization ultimately absorbed nearly a quarter of Trinity's endowment and over a hundred-million dollars from the Hospital in an urban renewal programme that has been described as an "absolute failure" by the Hartford Courant.

Mayor

Perez was elected as the first Latino mayor of Hartford in 2001. Under 2002 changes to the city charter, he became the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Hartford. He was re-elected in 2003. Since his tenure as mayor Perez has come under fire for alleged corruption.

In August 2007, Perez announced that his home had been searched by investigators probing work done on his home by a contractor who had received city business. [ [http://www.courant.com/news/local/statewire/hc-10055035.apds.m0331.bc-ct--hartoct10,0,4280366.story] ] . He was re-elected despite the controversy with 49% of the vote. [ [http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-hfdmayor1107.artnov07,0,5215452.story?track=rss] ]

Perez is currently under investigation by a state grand jury for alleged corruption. He received a new bathroom and kitchen in his home at the expense of contractor Carlos Costa, who has done millions of dollars of business with the city of Hartford, but whom was recently declared an unfit contractor by a city auditor.

The grand jury is also investigating Perez's influence on deals for the purchase of property in downtown, and for no-bid contracts for parking lot management awarded to city political boss Abraham L. Giles.

External links

* [http://www.hartford.gov/government/mayor/default.htm Hartford's Mayor]
* [http://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org Mayors Against Illegal Guns homepage]
* [http://www.the40yearplan.com/Mayor_Eddie_Perez.php Commentary and reporting on Mayor Eddie Perez]