PR Supreme Court asked to rule this week on DACO chief’s eligibility to run for Cataño mayor
By THE STAR STAFF
Three Cataño assembly members have asked the commonwealth Supreme Court to intervene in a fast‑moving dispute over whether Consumer Affairs (DACO by its acronym in Spanish) Secretary Hiram Torres Montalvo is legally qualified to run in Sunday’s special mayoral election.
The petition, filed Monday by Gustavo Grana Martínez, Damián Claudio Miranda and José L. Ortega Rodríguez, seeks an intrajurisdictional certification and an emergency order asserting that Puerto Rico’s electoral code requires Torres Montalvo to resign his executive branch post before submitting his candidacy. They argue that the statute, amended earlier this year, applies to all electoral processes, including special elections, and therefore bars Torres Montalvo from appearing on the ballot while still serving as DACO secretary.
Court filings show that Torres Montalvo has not resigned from his position, a fact undisputed by the parties.
On Sept. 18, the Court of First Instance dismissed the legislators’ original complaint with prejudice, ruling that they lacked standing and that the resignation requirement does not extend to special elections. The lawmakers immediately appealed to the Court of Appeals, where the case remains active.
Now, with the special election only days away, they are asking the Supreme Court to take the case directly and issue a ruling no later than this Friday, two days before voters in Cataño choose a new mayor.
The petition stresses that the lawmakers are not seeking to delay or suspend the Sunday, Sept. 27 vote triggered by the death of Mayor Julio Alicea Vasallo. Instead, they are challenging only the qualification of Torres Montalvo as a candidate.
If the Supreme Court agrees to evaluate the case, the dispute would be unfolding simultaneously in two forums, which are the Court of Appeals, where the appeal filed on Sept. 18 is still pending, and the Supreme Court, which is being asked to resolve the matter before Sunday’s vote.
At issue is Article 7.2(5)(c) of the Electoral Code, as amended by Law 39‑2026, which requires secretaries of executive‑branch agencies to step down before running for elected office. The legislators argue the statute makes no distinction between general elections and special elections, and therefore applies to the Cataño process.
The case has advanced rapidly: the trial court’s dismissal on Sept. 18, the immediate appeal that same day, and now the request for Supreme Court intervention on Sept. 21.
As of Monday, the case record shows no resignation letter from Torres Montalvo.
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