Puerto Rico Governor appoints newest members of pro-statehood Democracy Commission
(July 10, 2017 - Washington, DC) Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló today appointed former Governor Luis Fortuño (R), two-star General Félix Santoni (R) and National Committeewoman Zoraida Fonalledas (R) to the pro-statehood Democracy Commission. Puerto Rico's statehood push follows a political status plebiscite in which 97% of the voters supported joining the Union as its 51st state.
Luis Fortuño, a prominent Republican who led the Southern Governor's Association (SGA) and is on the Board of Directors of the Republican State Leadership Committee, served as Governor of Puerto Rico from 2009 until 2013. Fortuño was Puerto Rico's non-voting member of Congress from 2005 until 2009.
General Félix Santoni joined the US Army in 1955 and served the country in various roles, most notably as the Deputy Commander in Chief of the US Southern Command in Panama.
Zoraida Fonalledas, the GOP's National Committeewoman for Puerto Rico, was a member of the President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities under President George W. Bush.
The Commission, composed of seven officials appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico, highlights Puerto Rico's lack of Congressional representation by assigning its members to the US House of Representatives or the US Senate.
Last week, Governor Rosselló announced the first four members of the Commission: Former governors Carlos Romero Barceló (D) and Pedro Rosselló Nevares (D), former President of the Puerto Rico Senate Charles Rodríguez (D) and Hall of Famer Iván 'Pudge' Rodríguez (I).
