Carlos Méndez Martínez (born June 26, 1943) is a Puerto Rican politician and former mayor of

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a Aguadilla barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of ...

for 24 years.

Early life and education

Carlos Méndez-Martínez was born in

to Pablo Méndez-Ellinger, a

tobacconist A tobacconist, also called a tobacco shop, a tobacconist's shop or a smoke shop, is a retail business that sells tobacco products in various forms and the related accoutrements, such as pipes, lighters, matches, pipe cleaners, and pipe tampe ...

from

and Rosa Martínez-Rosa, a housewife from

Rincón, Puerto Rico Rincón (; ) is a popular beach Rincón barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico founded in 1771 by Don Luis de Añasco, who previously founded Añasco, Puerto Rico, Añasco in 1733. It is located in the ...

. His dad died when Méndez was one year old and his mother died when he was 9 years old. Without having graduated from high school, at age 17, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, becoming a veteran at the age of 19. He studied

silversmithing A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

and

gemology Gemology or gemmology is the science dealing with natural and artificial gemstone materials. It is a specific interdisciplinary branch of mineralogy. Some jewellery, jewelers (and many non-jewelers) are academically trained gemologists and are qua ...

and worked in both. He also worked in the real estate business. At the age of 45, Méndez took the

GED Ged or GED may refer to: Places * Ged, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States * Ged, a village in Bichiwara Tehsil, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan, India * Delaware Coastal Airport, in Delaware, US, callsign GED People * Ged B ...

and studied an Associate of Arts in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at a community college and continued to study a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, graduating in 1992. Méndez, wrote a book titled ''Tuve que contar mi historia'' which was published in 2009 by ''Editorial Tiempo Nuevo''.

Political career

In 1995, he returned to Puerto Rico, and ran for mayor of Aguadilla at the

1996 general elections General elections were held in India on 27 April, 2 May and 7 May 1996 to elect the members of the 11th Lok Sabha, eleventh Lok Sabha. The elections resulted in a hung parliament with no single party having a clear majority. The Bharatiya Jan ...

. He has been reelected in 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016. In the 2008 elections, he received almost 70% of the votes. His margin of victory was one of the largest among elected mayors in that election. He was the president of the

Republican Party of Puerto Rico The Republican Party of Puerto Rico () is the local affiliate of the national Republican Party (United States), United States Republican Party in Puerto Rico. The affiliation started in 1903. The party does not participate in the November elect ...

from 2007 to 2015 and president of the

Puerto Rico Mayors Federation The mayors of Puerto Rico encompass the different mayors of the municipalities of Puerto Rico; each mayor being the highest-ranking officer of their corresponding municipality. Several laws existed that created the post of mayor in each municipal ...

. In 2012, Méndez endorsed the nomination of

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

for president of the United States in the

2012 Republican National Convention The 2012 Republican National Convention was a gathering held by the Republican Party (United States), U.S. Republican Party during which Delegate (American politics), delegates officially nominated former Governor of Massachusetts, Massachuset ...

. 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 Aguadilla Ice Skating Arena, A.I.S.A., is a multi-use facility in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. The arena was the only ice skating facility in the Caribbean region. The facility is owned and administered by the city. The Ice Skating rink has been clos ...

, Ramey Base Bowling Alley, Aguadilla Electronic Library, Atlantic Garden Veterans Cemetery, Paseo Real Marina, Las Cascadas Hotel, Aguadilla City Center, Skate and Splash Park, and Tres Palmas Park. While the "Las Cascadas Hotel" was constructed the hotel was not completed under the mayor's tenure and in 2019 reports indicated the mayor placed the property along with the Aguadilla Ice Skating Arena for sale. In 2019, Aguadilla received the City Livability Award from the

United States Conference of Mayors The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. The cities are each represented by their mayors or other chief elected officials. The organization was founded ...

and honored the efforts spearheaded by Carlos Méndez Martínez.

Personal life

He married on January 1, 1977, with Heidi G. Méndez (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Mayer) at

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

King County, Washington King County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of counties in Washington, most populo ...

. 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.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez Martinez, Carlos 1943 births Living people Mayors of places in Puerto Rico New Progressive Party (Puerto Rico) politicians People from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico Republican Party (Puerto Rico) politicians United States Army soldiers University of Washington alumni