On the recordJune 15, 2015
I thank Ms. Plaskett for the time, and thank both Mr. Walker and Ms. Plaskett for that wonderful presentation of the life of one of my predecessors, Herman Badillo. And so rather than get into the details that have already been mentioned, let me just tell you personally what it means to me, what he meant to me, and what this loss of his passing means to all of us. Herman came along at a time when Puerto Ricans in New York were seen as good, hard-working people, but some people were not crazy about the idea of us being in public office or in government, and he showed the way. Having been valedictorian at law school, he came and he immediately got involved in local politics. It is said that by the age of 18, he was already running for local office in East Harlem. He became the first Bronx Borough president. That is equivalent to a county executive of Puerto Rican background. Then he ran for Congress, being the first voting Member of Congress. Let me just explain that for a second. There has been a Member of Congress from Puerto Rico since 1998, but none, to this day, has had full voting rights. He was the first one of Puerto Rican background with full voting rights in 1970. He left this place that he loved so much to become deputy mayor because he felt that he could make a difference in New York, and he served under the administration of Ed Koch.…
