Carlos Méndez Martínez

Carlos Méndez Martínez (born June 26, 1943) is a Puerto Rican politician and former mayor of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, for 24 years.

Early life and education

Carlos Méndez-Martínez was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, to Pablo Méndez-Ellinger, a tobacconist from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and Rosa Martínez-Rosa, a housewife from Rincón, Puerto Rico. His father died when Méndez was one year old and his mother died when he was nine years old. Without having graduated from high school, at the age of 17, he joined the United States Army, becoming a veteran at the age of 19. He studied silversmithing and gemology and worked in both. He also worked in the real estate business.

At the age of 45, Méndez took the GED and studied an Associate of Arts in Political Science at a community college, and continued to study for a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Washington, graduating in 1992. Méndez wrote a book titled Tuve que contar mi historia, which was published in 2009 by Editorial Tiempo Nuevo. He was the president of the Republican Party of Puerto Rico from 2007 to 2015 and president of the Puerto Rico Mayors Federation. In 2012, Méndez endorsed the nomination of Mitt Romney for president of the United States in the 2012 Republican National Convention. After 24 years as mayor, Méndez announced he would not seek re-election in 2020.

Among his notable works as mayor is the Aguadilla Ice Skating Arena, Paseo Real Marina, Las Cascadas Hotel, Aguadilla City Center, Skate and Splash Park, and Tres Palmas Park.

In 2019, Aguadilla received the City Livability Award from the United States Conference of Mayors and honored the efforts spearheaded by Carlos Méndez Martínez.

Personal life

He was married on January 1, 1977, to Heidi G. Méndez (née Mayer) at Seattle in King County, Washington. They had a son, Mark A. Méndez. Méndez divorced in 1998, after 21 years of marriage. In 1999, he met his current wife Mildred Cortes-Ramos.