Olga Aran Méndez (February 5, 1925 – July 29, 2009) was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to a state legislature in the United States mainland, when, in 1978, she became a member of the New York State Senate.

Early years

Olga Aran Méndez was born in

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is the ninth-largest Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez (Township of Virgin of Candelaria, Our Lady of Candelaria), and is also ...

. One of eight children, she was raised on the island in a middle class and highly educated family. Her mother, Ursula Garcia Fernández (b. 1894), was heir to a substantial family fortune along with her three sisters; she died when Olga was nine years old. Olga's father, Gonzalo Aran Soler (d. 1948), was a Clerk of the Court. His family, the Arans, were among the first French families to immigrate to Puerto Rico in the 19th century. In 1950, Méndez received a Bachelor of Science degree from the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

, afterwards teaching high school chemistry on the island. In 1960, she earned her

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

from the Teacher's College at Columbia University. In 1975, she defended her

Doctoral Dissertation A thesis (: theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: D ...

in Educational Psychology and received her Ph.D. from

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

.''New York Times'' report on Olga Méndez
/ref> Méndez married into a respected

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem, or , is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City, north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fifth Avenue to the west, and the East and Harlem Rivers to the eas ...

political family. Her father-in-law, Antonio "Tony" Méndez was the first Puerto Rican district leader in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. She became involved in the fight for better government through her family members and became an active leader in the area of voter registration drives throughout the nation.

Political career

In 1972, Méndez was elected as a New York Delegate, committed to Senator

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

at the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

. In 1974, she was elected to the "National Conference of Women" in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. On April 11, 1978, she was elected to the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

, to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Robert García to the U.S. Congress. She was re-elected several times, and remained in the State Senate until 2004, sitting in the 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th and

195th New York State Legislature The 195th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 8, 2003, to December 31, 2004, during the ninth and tenth years of George Pataki's Governor of New York, governorshi ...

s. Méndez was a delegate to the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

and

1988 Democratic National Convention The 1988 Democratic National Convention was held at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, from July 18 to 21, 1988, to select candidates for the 1988 presidential election. At the convention Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts was nominated for pr ...

s.. Méndez was a delegate to the

and

s. In 1984, she was chosen as Secretary of the Senate Minority Conference. In 1993, Méndez became the first Puerto Rican woman to be chosen Chairperson of the Senate Minority Conference. At times Méndez offered her political support to Republicans when doing so would have been beneficial to her district. She was often criticized by her peers for this bi-partisanship. In December 2002, Méndez left the Democratic Party and joined the Republican Party, as she felt that "she and the voters had been taken for granted by the Democrats." Switching parties made re-election very tenuous in her heavily Democratic and majority-Hispanic district. On November 4, 2004, Méndez was heavily defeated by José M. Serrano, son of U.S. Congressman

José E. Serrano José Enrique Serrano (born October 24, 1943) is an American politician who was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1990 until his retirement in 2021. Serrano, a Democrat from New York, represented a district that is one of the ...

, taking only 18 percent of the vote. During her final six months in office she served as the Chairwoman of the Senate Labor Committee.

Death and legacy

Méndez was diagnosed with

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in 1993 and underwent surgery. She said that she shared her story in order to educate others. She died after a 16-year battle at her East Harlem apartment on July 29, 2009, aged 84. New York City's Mayor,

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

, an Independent, who was both a former Democrat and a former Republican, credited Méndez with impressing upon him the "importance of reaching across partisan lines to do what's right for your constituents." Bloomberg stated the following:

Legacy

Among the many awards and recognitions which Méndez was awarded were the following: *the Operation Push National Citizenship Award, *Effective Leadership Golden Age Award *Hunter College Presidential Medal of Honor She was also named to the Civil Liberties Honor Roll. A public housing building which bears her name was constructed in Spanish Harlem in Manhattan.Corbnell Pace, Inc.
/ref>

References

External links

New York Times coverage of Méndez
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendez, Olga A. 1925 births 2009 deaths Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Deaths from breast cancer in New York (state) Teachers College, Columbia University alumni New York (state) Democrats New York (state) Republicans New York (state) state senators People from East Harlem Politicians from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico University of Puerto Rico alumni Yeshiva University alumni Women state legislators in New York (state) Puerto Rican people in New York (state) politics American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in New York (state) 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature