José Manuel "Conny" Varela Fernández (born February 13, 1954) is a Puerto Rican

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party (PPD). He has been a member of the

Puerto Rico House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Puerto Rico ( es, Cámara de Representantes de Puerto Rico) is the lower house of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, the bicameral territorial legislature of Puerto Rico. The House, together with the Senat ...

since 1997 representing District 32.

Early years and studies

Varela was born on February 13, 1954 in Cayey. He studied in Notre Dame College of

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founded ...

and graduated from Miguel Meléndez Muñoz High School, where he received a medal for leadership. Varela completed a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in political science from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

, graduating

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

in 1974. In 1977, he received a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Puerto Rico School of Law The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is a law school in Puerto Rico. It is one of the professional graduate schools of University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus and the only law school in the University of Puerto Rico System. It ...

. During his first year studying there, he served as president of his class. During his last year, he worked at the

Puerto Rico Department of Justice The Puerto Rico Department of Justice (PR DOJ) is the Executive Department of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico responsible for the enforcement of the local law in the commonwealth and the administration of justice. The Department is equivalent ...

, specifically at the Office of the District Attorney.

Professional career

From 1977 to 1996, Varela was a partner in the Varela & Varela

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...

. In 1978, he worked as professor of criminology at Puerto Rico Junior College. He was also a professor of commercial law in Caguas City College from 1979 to 1980. From 1989 to 1991, he served as legal advisor of the Government Commission of the

. In 1982, he presided the Great Olympic Crusade, and received a special recognition from the

Puerto Rico Olympic Committee The Puerto Rico Olympic Committee (COPUR, es, Comité Olímpico de Puerto Rico) is the National Olympic Committee for Puerto Rico. It oversees Olympic-sports in Puerto Rico, and selects the Olympic team which represents the island. It was founde ...

for his work. In 1987, he was selected by the

Puerto Rico Department of Sports and Recreation The Puerto Rico Department of Sports and Recreation is the executive department of the government of Puerto Rico responsible of sports and recreation in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The department's headquarters complex is located in ...

as Distinguished Youth of Caguas, in the category of law.

Political career

Varela began his political career in 1993, when he was elected as member of the Municipal Assembly of

. In

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, Varela was elected for the first time to the House of Representatives for the District 32. During his first term, he was the minority speaker in the Commissions of Criminal Law, Municipal Affairs, and Retirement Systems. He was also a member of the Commissions of Government, Civil Law, and the Special Commission to Fight Crime. Varela was reelected in the 2000 general election. During his second term, he presided the Commissions of Government, and served as vice-president of the Treasury Commission. He was again reelected in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, after which he served as member of the Commissions of Government, Budget, and Socioeconomic Development. At the 2008 general elections, Varela was reelected for his fourth consecutive term, and served as minority speaker in the Commissions of Socioeconomic Development, as well as member of the Commissions of Government, Integral Development of the East Region, Public Safety, Housing, and Federal Affairs. In 2010, with the death of longtime mayor of

William Miranda Marín William "Willie" Miranda Marín (September 23, 1940 – June 4, 2010) was the mayor of Caguas, Puerto Rico, from 1997 until his death in 2010. Personal life The son of José Miranda Gómez, a sugar cane cutter, and Rafaela Marín, a tobacco str ...

, Varela unexpectedly presented his candidacy to the seat, challenging Miranda's son,

William Miranda Torres William Edgardo Miranda Torres, also known as "Willito", is a Puerto Rican politician and current mayor of Caguas. Miranda is the son of longtime mayor of Caguas, William Miranda Marín and Carmen Sara Torres. When his father died on June 4, 201 ...

. After an impromptu election within the Delegates Assembly, Varela received the majority of votes (35-30) to become mayor. Upon his exit from the Assembly, Varela was attacked by a crowd of people who threw bottles at him. However, due to irregularities in the process, he wasn't certified and the party ended up annulling the voting. Miranda Torres was elected shortly afterwards. Varela was reelected for his fifth term as representative in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Personal life

Although he was born in Cayey, Varela has lived in

since 1976. He is married and has three children.

References

External links

José "Conny" Varela
on CamaraDeRepresentantes.org
José "Conny" Varela Profile
on

WAPA-TV WAPA-TV (channel 4) is a Spanish language in the United States, Spanish-language Independent station (North America), independent television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is owned by :es:Hemisphere Media Group, Hemisphere Media Group, w ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Varela, Conny 1954 births Living people People from Cayey, Puerto Rico Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni