By The Star Staff
Proposals to involve young people in the political process and increase the number of talks related to statehood were some of the proposals presented by members of the New Progressive Party (NPP) who participated in a public hearing held earlier this week in Fajardo to develop new party regulations, which will be presented to the NPP general assembly Sunday, Sept. 22.
Among the proposals from party members from the Carolina and Fajardo regions, one by Esteban Bartolomey of Ceiba stood out. Bartolomey proposed to integrate young people into the party process from the age of 14 in various party organizations. Migdalia Canales, meanwhile, suggested increasing the number of statehood talks on the island focused on youth.
“What we want is for the regulations to be as inclusive as possible, in terms of the ideas from you, the members of the NPP, our group’s reason for being,” said Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez, the NPP minority leader in the island House of Representatives and a vice president of the party. “The regulations are the document that governs the work of the party, so what you tell us is what we are going to do to achieve the ideal of all, statehood. It is important to incorporate youth in this process; that is why ideas like Esteban’s should be seriously evaluated, among many others.”
Gurabo Mayor and NPP Vice President Rosachley Rivera, who chaired the meeting as head of the party’s regulations committee, said “[o]ur president and future governor, Jenniffer González, wants you, the party’s base, to be the ones who have a say in decisions, to return the NPP to its roots, and these public hearings are focused on that.”
Among the presenters were Fajardo Mayor José Aníbal Meléndez, Carolina District Sen. Marissa Jiménez Santoni and Deputy Secretary Raúl Torres, among others.
It was the third public hearing on NPP regulations, following hearings in the Ponce and Mayagüez regions. Other municipalities represented on Tuesday in Fajardo were Loíza, Canóvanas, Trujillo Alto, Vieques, Culebra, Ceiba, Luquillo and Río Grande.
The next regulatory hearing was to be held in Orocovis (central region) on Wednesday, with hearings in Bayamón and San Juan today, and in the Guayama region on Friday. A hearing next Monday will cover the Caguas-Humacao region, while Arecibo, Manatí and the mountain towns will have a hearing next Tuesday. The process will culminate with an islandwide hearing on Sept. 11 at the NPP Central Committee in Hato Rey.
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