By The Star Staff
A group of mayors under the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) banner asked the island Senate on Tuesday to confirm Dr. Yanira Raíces Vega as secretary of the Department of Education, pointing out that “she has the preparation and experience,” among other arguments.
Loíza Mayor Julia Nazario Fuentes, who attended Raíces Vega’s confirmation hearing in the Senate last week, said that during her time in the Education Department (DE) she worked with the secretary-designate and “I can attest to her commitment to education.”
“She is an academic who has more than 20 years of experience in her work,” the president of the Popular Women’s Organization said. “It is time for us to have a person in ownership in that agency.”
Comerío Mayor Josian Santiago Rivera said “confirmation is necessary to end the uncertainty due to the lack of a permanent Secretary.”
“It is one of the most important departments of the government and the Legislature must prevent the people from having the perception that by not confirming [the secretary post], they are obstructing the governor’s management,” he said. “Let the governor and his team take responsibility as they should. The function of the opposition is to monitor and demand accountability.”
Morovis Mayor Carmen Maldonado González said she evaluated the governor’s appointee based on the experience she had with her as director of the Bayamón educational region, to which the municipality of Morovis belongs.
“My experience is that Raíces was effective in leading the region,” Maldonado González said. “When I called her regarding a need in our Moroveña schools, she responded and took action. I ask the PDP senators to vote in favor. Partisan politics should not have a place in this issue. Having an interim [secretary] in the DE for the rest of the four-year term does no one any good. The priority is the education of our children and adolescents.”
Guayama Mayor O’brain Vázquez Molina, who also attended the confirmation hearing last week, received the nominee last Friday at City Hall along with a group of school directors in Guayama, who presented their visions for the DE. Then they visited one of the schools.
“She has the commitment and the experience, too,” Vázquez Molina said. “Our endorsement of Dr. Raíces includes, of course, that in the year and three months remaining to this four-year period, she fulfills her work plan. You have to be realistic.”
Comments