Benjamin Cole (mayor)

Benjamín Cole Vázquez (1919–1997) was a Puerto Rican politician and the longest serving Mayor of the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico (1969–1993). He is regarded as one of the strongest leaders of the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PDP). He was also a postal administrator, legislator, and composer (Tito Puente recorded one of his songs, although he is much better known for being the brother of composer Roberto Cole).

Benjamin Cole's father Frank belonged to an English family that emigrated to the United States when he was just a child. As an adult, Frank traveled to Puerto Rico when the United States established a provisional government there following its invasion of the island during the Spanish–American War of 1898. Cole was employed in the Federal Courts in San Juan, where he served as translator and marshall. He married Isabel Maria Vazquez, daughter of a prominent attorney from the city of Ponce. The couple established their home in Mayaguez. Belisa, as she was known to her family and friends, was a music teacher who taught her children to play piano, guitar, and other instruments from an early age. She and Frank had three sons, Robert, Benjamin and Lester, divorcing after the birth of the third one. Several years after their divorce Frank retired to San Jose, California, where he lived until his death. His last name took on the Spanish pronunciation and "Cole" became [ˈkole].

Benjamin Cole had an interest in politics from a very early age, starting with an inclination towards the liberal tendencies of the leaders that favored independence for the island. He was one of the youngest members of the original Partido Popular Democratico when it was founded in 1938, and since then followed the leadership of Luis Munoz Marin.

In his early career as a civil servant, Cole was a postmaster general for Mayaguez, for which he won the national award of Postmaster of the Year among all his cohorts in the United States. In 1960 cole ran for office for the first time, to a position in the House of Representatives. His use of clever slogans and phrases, early use of electronic media, as well as his strong political machinery and astute use of political tools, gave him a strong voice within the PDP and in the island's political environment, and he won handily. Cole was a very skilled and eloquent public speaker, as well as a talented, quick-thinking debater and interviewee.

...
Wikipedia