Pedro Pierluisi

Pedro R. Pierluisi Urrutia (born 1959) is a lawyer and politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party (PNP) and the United States Democratic Party. He is currently the frontrunner in the race for the office of Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico to the United States Congress, having won the March 9, 2008 primary.cite web |url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gpzz4Rl5kO3y-rhwOAdZf2AR_wdQD8VAC3PO0 |title= Fortuno Wins Puerto Rico Primary|accessdate=2008-03-09 |author=Yaisha Vargas |date=2008-03-09 |work= |publisher=Associated Press]

Education and early life

Pierluisi was born in 1959 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He attended Colegio Marista of Guaynabo, graduating in 1977. In 1981, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in American History from Tulane University, and later earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from George Washington University in 1984. He was President of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association chapter at Tulane University. Later, he was President of the George Washington University International Law Society from 1982-1983. During his studies at George Washington University, Pierluisi interned at the congressional office of then Resident Commissioner Baltasar Corrada del Rio.

Pierluisi first practiced law as a private attorney in Washington, D.C. from 1984 until 1990. Notably, Mr. Pierluisi was one of the lead attorneys representing the government of Peru in its lawsuit against the Hunt brothers for trying to corner the silver market in the late 1970's. The lawsuit resulted in a $180 million damages award for the plaintiff. He then practiced law in Puerto Rico from 1990 until 1993. He is married to María Elena Carrión and has three sons, Anthony, Michael,and Rafael, and one daughter, Jacqueline.

Secretary of Justice

In 1993, recently elected Governor of Puerto Rico Pedro Rosselló appointed Pierluisi Secretary of Justice (Attorney General) of his new administration. The Senate of Puerto Rico unanimously confirmed him. As Secretary, Pierluisi presided over 500 prosecutors and recruited 50 additional prosecutors for the Puerto Rico Department of Justice, attained a level of criminal convictions in court of up to 96% of cases, increased prosecution of cases referred by the Office of the Puerto Rico Controller by 400%, and increased referrals to the Puerto Rico Special Independent Prosecutor by 50%. In 1994, Pierluisi worked with President Bill Clinton's administration in promoting what eventually became the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. Unfortunately, Pierluisi's own brother, José Jaime Pierluisi, also an economic productivity advisor to Governor Rosselló, was murdered during a carjacking outside his home on June 7, 1994.

Crime Prevention and Security became the administration's top priority, and Pierluisi intensely lobbied in Congress for specialized funds towards the fight against crime. On November 2, 1994, Pierluisi and the Rosselló Administration achieved Puerto Rico's designation as the United States' seventh High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), which enabled Puerto Rico to receive millions of dollars in funding to stem drug trafficking in Puerto Rico. He also served as Vice President of the Interagency Office of HIDTA. He was also active in the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and was elected Chair of the organization's Eastern Region in 1996. Pierluisi served as Secretary of Justice until the end of Governor Rosselló's first term.

Private practice

Pierluisi returned to private practice in 1997 as a partner in the prestigious Puerto Rico law firm O'Neill & Borges. At O'Neill & Borges, Pierluisi's practice concentrated in complex commercial and construction litigation, alternative dispute resolution and legislative and regulatory affairs. In addition, he served as Director of the University of Puerto Rico Foundation (1997-2001) and Director of the Puerto Rico Homebuilders Association (1993-2003). Pierluisi also worked as Director of the José Jaime Pierluisi Foundation, dedicated to the memory of his slain brother, and was its president from 2003-2006. He also worked as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association's International Centre for Dispute Resolution and for the New York Stock Exchange during this time.

Political career

On May 18, 2007, Pierluisi announced his candidacy for Resident Commissioner, Puerto Rico's sole delegate to the United States Congress in the November 2008 elections. He accompanied current Resident Commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Luis Fortuño in the March 9, 2008 NPP primary ticket. Fortuño was a classmate at Colegio Marista, a fellow founding member of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association in 1979, and also a fellow cabinet member of Pierluisi's during Governor Rosselló's first term from 1993-1996.

According to the candidate reports filed before the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) cite web |url= http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/cancomsrs/?_08+H8PR00062 |title= Pedro Pierluisi Total Receipts|accessdate=2008-06-11 |author=FEC 2007-2008 Cycle |date=2008-06-11 |work= |publisher=FEC] , Pierluisi led the other NPP candidates by a ten-to-one margin in fundraising, having raised over $450,000 in 2007, while opponent Charlie Rodriguez had only raised $47,000 and Dr. Miriam Ramírez had not reported any fundraising. He also leads in fundraising among the four candidates to succeed Resident Commissioner Fortuño in the Nov. 4, 2008 general election.

On March 9, 2008, Pierluisi won the primary with 61% of the vote against former Senate President Charlie Rodriguez, who polled 33%, and former Sen. Miriam Ramírez, who obtained 6% of the vote. Pierluisi's runningmate, Luis Fortuño, also won the NPP nomination for governor with nearly 60% of primary votes.

Pedro Pierluisi endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama to the United States Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. He served as co-chair of Obama's campaign in Puerto Rico.

References