Ángel Pérez Otero (born September 18, 1970) 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 ...

, and former mayor of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. He was 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 Sen ...

from 2005 to 2012. Pérez was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 2004 general election. He represented District 6. He was reelected at the 2008 general election. In a special election to replace

Hector O'Neill In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...

in 2017, he was elected mayor of Guaynabo. Pérez is married to former fellow Representative and Senator

Liza Fernández Rodríguez Liza Fernández Rodríguez (born July 23, 1973) is a Puerto Rican attorney and politician affiliated with the New Progressive Party (PNP). Fernández was a member of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2012, and of the Sena ...

, who was appointed by Governor

Luis Fortuño Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset (born 31 October 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, from 2009 to 2013. Fortuño served as the first secretary of econom ...

in 2012 as a Superior Court Judge.

Early years and studies

Angel Pérez Otero was born September 18, 1970, in

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. He is the oldest of five siblings. Pérez completed his elementary and high school studies in

Guaynabo Guaynabo (, ) is a city, suburb of San Juan and municipality in the northern part of Puerto Rico, located in the northern coast of the island, north of Aguas Buenas, south of Cataño, east of Bayamón, and west of San Juan. Guaynabo is spr ...

, graduating from Margarita Janer High School. In 1992, Pérez 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 Business Management, with a major in Accounting, from the Metropolitan University. He graduated magna cum laude.

Public service

Pérez began working at the Office of Human Resources of Guaynabo in 1991. Two years later, he started working at the Office of the Comptroller of Puerto Rico, until 1995. That year, he returned to work at the Budget Office of Guaynabo.

Political career

Pérez began his political career as President of the NPP Youth, and then as Vicepresident of the party in Guaynabo. In January 2004, Pérez was elected to the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico representing

District 6 District Six is a place in Cape Town, South Africa. District Six may also refer to: :Government divisions * District 6, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * District 6 (New York City Council), in the United States * VI District, Turku, in Finland * Distri ...

, replacing the former Mayor of Cataño, Wilson Soto. That same year, Pérez was elected in the general election. During that term, he presided over the Commissions of Budget and Assignments, and was co-president of the Commission of Legislative Donations, among others. Pérez was reelected in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and was chosen as Majority Whip for his party in the House of Representatives. Pérez won the Special Election for mayor of

on August 5, 2017, by a large margin (69.96% to 30.04%) against Senate Majority Leader Carmelo Ríos (NPP).

Public scandals

Pérez was involved in a scandal, during the 2012 PNP primaries, when it was revealed that there were some irregularities in the voting process at his District. Some of the irregularities involved Mayor of

, Héctor O'Neill, forcing members of the municipal police to vote for Pérez' rival, Antonio Soto. In the end, Pérez' rival prevailed, preventing him from running at the upcoming elections. On December 9, 2021, Pérez was arrested by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI) on corruption charges, and relieved of his duties as mayor of Guaynabo by the Puerto Rico Office of the Special Independent Prosecutor's Panel.

Personal life

Pérez married fellow Representative and Senator

in 2006. They have two daughters together: Valeria Angélica (b. 2007) and Lorena Angeliz (b. 2008). Pérez has a son, Angel Gabriel, a member of the United States Armed Forces, from a previous marriage.

References

External links

Angel Pérez Otero Official biography
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez Otero, Angel Living people 1970 births Mayors of places in Puerto Rico New Progressive Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico People from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians