Simón Moret Gallart (1853–1923) was Mayor of

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

, from 1907 to 1914.

Early years

Moret Gallart was born in Ponce, in 1853. He was a descendant of French immigrant Clemente Moret and the Spaniard Francisca Gallart who settled in Puerto Rico in 1816.

Mayoral tenure

He was elected mayor of Ponce in 1906 and took the oath of office in 1907. He was a member of the

Union of Puerto Rico The Union of Puerto Rico ( es, Unión de Puerto Rico, UPR), also known as the Unionist PartyBolivar Pagan. ''Historia de los Partidos Políticos Puertorriqueños (1898-1956).'' San Juan, Puerto Rico: Litografía Real Hermanos, Inc. 1959. Tomo I. p ...

Party and defeated

Manuel V. Domenech Manuel V. Domenech Ferrer (23 March 1869 – 15 March 1942) was a Puerto Rican politician and engineer. He was mayor of Ponce in 1904, and designer of Casa Armstrong-Poventud, Rosaly-Batiz House, and the 1898 Casas Gemelas (Twin Houses) built ...

of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

in a contested election. In 1911, Mayor Moret received from the

Government of the United States of America The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fed ...

a franchise for the City of Ponce to operate the

Port of Ponce The Rafael Cordero Santiago Port of the Americas es, Puerto de las Américas Rafael Cordero Santiago (PLA) is a megaport currently under construction in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The project aims to convert the current Port of Ponce into a value-add ...

in perpetuity. The port of Ponce has been operated by the municipality since then. It is the only sea port in Puerto Rico owned and administered by a municipal body. Among Moret's mayoral accomplishments are the construction of the Ponce Firefighters Mausoleum at

Cementerio Civil de Ponce Cementerio Civil de Ponce (Ponce Civil Cemetery), a.k.a., Cementerio Municipal de Ponce, is a historic burial ground in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1901. It was designed by Manuel V. Domenech. Some of the people buried at Cementerio ...

, which was completed on 2 April 1911. He also built the

following an ordinance approved by the Consejo Ejecutivo de Puerto Rico in 1911.

Family life

On 11 December 1906, Simón Moret Gallart married Matilde Perdomo Morales. He was 53 and she was 26 when they married. Simón and Matilde had three daughters from their marriage: Josefa, Ana Maria, and Carmen L. In 1910, while mayor, he was a resident of

Barrio Segundo Segundo (''Barrio Segundo'') is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Primero, Tercero, Cuarto, Quinto, and Sexto, Segundo is one of the municipality's six core urban barrios. It was organized in 1878. ...

, and later, in 1920, he lived in Barrio Quebrada Limón.

Death

He died in Ponce on 30 March 1923 and was buried at

Cementerio Católico San Vicente de Paul The Cementerio Católico San Vicente de Paul ( en, Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic Cemetery) is a cemetery in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is the only cemetery in Puerto Rico with a group of niches built forming a basement, in which the bur ...

. In Ponce there was a public school named after him, Elementary School Simón Moret Gallart, located at Carr 504, Km. 0.8, in barrio Portugues. The school ceased operations in 2013 and as of 2015 the Government had put out bids for its demolition.

Honors

Moret Gallard is honored at Ponce's Park of Illustrious Ponce Citizens. Only six other mayors, of over 100 former Ponce mayors, are honored there.''Politics.''
TravelPonce. Retrieved 18 June 2012.

Notes

References

* Fay Fowlie de Flores. ''Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada.'' Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 216. Item 1109. * Cayetano Coll y Toste. ''Boletín Histórico de Puerto Rico.'' San Juan, Puerto Rico: Cantera Fernandez. 1914–1927. (Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Ponce, CUTPO). * Fay Fowlie de Flores. ''Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada.'' Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 109. Item 560. * ''The Representative Men of Puerto Rico.'' Compiled and edited by F.E. Jackson & Son. C. Frederiksen, artist and photographer. s.l.: F.E. Jackson & Son. 1901. (PUCPR; Universidad Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras, UPR). * Fay Fowlie de Flores. ''Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada.'' Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 336. Item 1675. * Ponce. Gobierno Municipal. ''Informe actividades administrativas y económicas del Municipio de Ponce.'' (Also titled ''Informe del Alcalde de la Ciudad de Ponce'') Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tip. Pasarell. 1908. (Archivo Histórico Municipal de Ponce) * Fay Fowlie de Flores. ''Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada.'' Segunda Edición. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 337. Item 1678. * Ponce. ''Proyecto de un Empréstito para obras municipales...'' Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta La Defensa. 1911 (Archivo Histórico Municipal de Ponce, AHMP) {{DEFAULTSORT:Moret Gallart, Simon Mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico 19th-century Puerto Rican people 1853 births 1923 deaths Burials at Cementerio Católico San Vicente de Paul Union of Puerto Rico politicians 20th-century Puerto Rican politicians