Benjamin Cole
Encyclopedia
Benjamín Cole Vázquez was a Puerto Rican
politician
and the longest serving Mayor of the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
. He is regarded as one of the strongest leaders of the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
(PDP). He was also a postal administrator, legislator, and composer (Tito Puente
recorded one of his songs, although he is much better known for being the brother of composer Roberto Cole).
of the city of Mayagüez during the late 1950s. Eventually, he ran (and won) as Mayagüez district representative for the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
(PDP). His use of clever slogans and phrases, early use of electronic media, as well as his strong political machinery and astute use of political tools, gave him a strong voice within the PDP. Cole was a very skilled and eloquent public speaker, as well as a talented, quick-thinking debater and interviewee.
Cole coined a phrase to depict the PDP's esprit de corps that is still used to this day: "¡Fuego Popular!" ("Popular Fire"), a play on words that capitalized on the PDP's traditional campaign color (red), and the fact that the strength of his political power was in fact the average citizen. Some political historians claim that Luis Negrón López's poor acceptance levels as PDP gubernatorial candidate in 1968 were a direct consequence of Cole's use of the phrase "¡Juégame el 315!" ("Play me 315") to depict him as a numbers game
runner or "bolitero".
Cole won the election for mayor of Mayagüez in 1968, and was subsequently reelected in 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984 and 1988. He won these contests using the same political tactics that, in part, derailed Negrón's candidacy. Cole's strongest contender for the Mayagüez mayoralship, Jan García, was depicted by Cole as a "fake", since, in Cole's view, Dr. Garcia misrepresented himself to the citizens of Mayagüez by using the prefix "Dr." (most voters had assumed Dr. Garcia was a medical doctor, when in fact he had a Ph.D.
in Chemistry and was also a Juris Doctor
). In Cole's view, Dr. Garcia's unwillingness to clarify this misrepresented him to the general voter. In another mayoral contest, Cole is known for saying: "I'd say my opponent is a thief and a liar... but I don't use that kind of language!".
Benjamin Cole was a populist
, often relating to the social needs of the poor and working classes of his city. This earned him many political enemies, from inside and outside his political party. His administration was repeatedly accused of corruption, and cleared of most charges. One accusation that was not cleared , involved a person on city payroll working at the local PDP
party clubhouse, although the charges behind this were also politically skewed and only settled many years after Cole's death.
while describing his accomplishments. He appealed to common sense when describing current events and explaining public administration strategies, something that political observers acknowledged as being extremely effective, while critics dismissed as demagogy
.
An example of his style of campaigning is evidenced by his self-made political slogans. On latter campaigns for reelection, Cole's simple campaign motto was "Cole sigue" ("Cole continues"). Cole's best known musical jingle, a march, was composed by him; its main refrain: "Porque Cole es el alcalde / que ha hecho más por Mayagüez / decimos con alegria: Cole sigue en la alcaldia" ("Since Cole is the mayor / who has done the most for Mayagüez / we gladly say / Cole goes on at City Hall") was featured in his weekly campaign TV show. In one airing, the show opened with the children from his family (his own kids, nieces and nephews) singing the jingle.
Cole made extensive use of electronic media for campaigning, and refused to use posters, flyers or painted signs as part of his campaign propaganda, since he felt like such use would make his city dirty. Instead, he focused on neighborhood-specific community "rallies" and meetings, loudspeaker vehicles, television, radio and media outlets.
On the other hand, Cole's political organization in Mayagüez was perceived by many to be the strongest of any mayoral candidate in Puerto Rico. Some of his ward leaders claim (to this day) to know the political affiliation of every one of their neighbors, a tactic that could allow scientific targeting of voters by background.
(the local sports arena), the Parque de los Próceres (Mayagüez's largest park), the Ciudad del Retiro apartment complex for retirees, two public transportation terminals, a multi-storied parking garage, a state of the art Little League
baseball stadium, plus the acquisition and reconstruction of the Teatro Yagüez
(the local municipal theater) and the remodeling of the city's center square -the Plaza Colón
- Mayagüez City Hall, the Asilo de Beneficencia (better known for being the first home of Salvador Agron
) and the Plaza del Mercado, the local site for the farmer's and produce market. The Cole administrations demolished two slums (the Palmita section of Barrio Barcelona, traditionally a municipal dump since the mid-1840s, and the Rabo del Buey slum in downtown Mayagüez) and promoted community redevelopment of these areas. Most recent development projects in Mayagüez have centered around "renovating" the projects developed by Cole.
Mayagüez was repeatedly awarded the status of Puerto Rico's Cleanest City during Cole's tenure.
(PBS) Public television station in the city. None were involved in politics.
After marrying his second wife, Nereida Falto, Cole's involvement in politics fully included his family, often campaigning with Falto and their three children (two daughters and a son). Away from the limelight he was a rather quiet, devoted family man.
Given many ad honorem roles by her husband as both advisor and co-campaigner, Nereida Falto de Cole gained a reputation for being a frank (sometimes blunt) public campaigner, a tenacious networker and a strong public administrator. At times, political adversaries tried to gain leverage of this by stating that Cole was merely a front man for his wife, and that the city of Mayagüez was being run by a woman (at a time when sexism
was very prevalent in politics and public life in Puerto Rico). Cole's public acknowledgment of his wife as his most trusted advisor was an innovation in Puerto Rican politics that has rarely occurred before or since. Their teamwork as public administrators and political campaigners resonated with voters and supporters.
After Cole's death, many wanted Mrs. Cole to run for mayor of Mayagüez, she declined the offer repeatedly and has chosen to work as a private entrepreneur managing public housing projects in the western part of the island.
(his local party organization was allegedly the Puerto Rican equivalent of the Chicago Democratic Machine
) in the United States
. Cole's political acumen and strong populist
government made him the subject of a biographical book, Benjamin Cole - the Last Cacique: Leadership and Politics in a Puerto Rican City (a book of published by the University of Pittsburgh
Press in 1994). The book was written by the current Chile
an ambassador to India
(also a former ambassador to South Africa
), and former professor at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez, Jorge Heine.
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and the longest serving Mayor of the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
Mayagüez is the eighth-largest municipality of Puerto Rico. Originally founded as "Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria" it is also known as "La Sultana del Oeste" , "Ciudad de las Aguas Puras" , or "Ciudad del Mangó"...
. He is regarded as one of the strongest leaders of the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that supports Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and sovereignty, through the enhancement of Puerto Rico's current status as a commonwealth....
(PDP). He was also a postal administrator, legislator, and composer (Tito Puente
Tito Puente
Tito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
recorded one of his songs, although he is much better known for being the brother of composer Roberto Cole).
Cole's Ancestry
Cole's father, Frank Cole, was part of the United States Army regiments that invaded the city of Mayagüez on August 11, 1898, during the Spanish-American War. He married Puerto Rican Belisa Vázquez and stayed in the city the rest of his life. The last name took on the Spanish pronunciation and "Cole" became [ˈkole].Political Beginnings
Benjamin Cole was the postmasterPostmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...
of the city of Mayagüez during the late 1950s. Eventually, he ran (and won) as Mayagüez district representative for the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that supports Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and sovereignty, through the enhancement of Puerto Rico's current status as a commonwealth....
(PDP). His use of clever slogans and phrases, early use of electronic media, as well as his strong political machinery and astute use of political tools, gave him a strong voice within the PDP. Cole was a very skilled and eloquent public speaker, as well as a talented, quick-thinking debater and interviewee.
Cole coined a phrase to depict the PDP's esprit de corps that is still used to this day: "¡Fuego Popular!" ("Popular Fire"), a play on words that capitalized on the PDP's traditional campaign color (red), and the fact that the strength of his political power was in fact the average citizen. Some political historians claim that Luis Negrón López's poor acceptance levels as PDP gubernatorial candidate in 1968 were a direct consequence of Cole's use of the phrase "¡Juégame el 315!" ("Play me 315") to depict him as a numbers game
Numbers game
Numbers game, also known as a numbers racket, policy racket or Italian lottery, is an illegal lottery played mostly in poor neighborhoods in the United States, wherein a bettor attempts to pick three digits to match those that will be randomly drawn the following day...
runner or "bolitero".
Cole won the election for mayor of Mayagüez in 1968, and was subsequently reelected in 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984 and 1988. He won these contests using the same political tactics that, in part, derailed Negrón's candidacy. Cole's strongest contender for the Mayagüez mayoralship, Jan García, was depicted by Cole as a "fake", since, in Cole's view, Dr. Garcia misrepresented himself to the citizens of Mayagüez by using the prefix "Dr." (most voters had assumed Dr. Garcia was a medical doctor, when in fact he had a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Chemistry and was also a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
). In Cole's view, Dr. Garcia's unwillingness to clarify this misrepresented him to the general voter. In another mayoral contest, Cole is known for saying: "I'd say my opponent is a thief and a liar... but I don't use that kind of language!".
Benjamin Cole was a populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, often relating to the social needs of the poor and working classes of his city. This earned him many political enemies, from inside and outside his political party. His administration was repeatedly accused of corruption, and cleared of most charges. One accusation that was not cleared , involved a person on city payroll working at the local PDP
Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico
The Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico is a political party that supports Puerto Rico's right to self-determination and sovereignty, through the enhancement of Puerto Rico's current status as a commonwealth....
party clubhouse, although the charges behind this were also politically skewed and only settled many years after Cole's death.
Slogans and Campaign Strategies
Cole's main campaign strategies captured the essence of him as a populist, and tried to appeal to working class people, picturing him as their "working class mayor". He made frequent use of refrains and slogans, and made a point of using simple language in public while almost always speaking in the third-personGrammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
while describing his accomplishments. He appealed to common sense when describing current events and explaining public administration strategies, something that political observers acknowledged as being extremely effective, while critics dismissed as demagogy
Demagogy
Demagogy or demagoguery is a strategy for gaining political power by appealing to the prejudices, emotions, fears, vanities and expectations of the public—typically via impassioned rhetoric and propaganda, and often using nationalist, populist or religious themes...
.
An example of his style of campaigning is evidenced by his self-made political slogans. On latter campaigns for reelection, Cole's simple campaign motto was "Cole sigue" ("Cole continues"). Cole's best known musical jingle, a march, was composed by him; its main refrain: "Porque Cole es el alcalde / que ha hecho más por Mayagüez / decimos con alegria: Cole sigue en la alcaldia" ("Since Cole is the mayor / who has done the most for Mayagüez / we gladly say / Cole goes on at City Hall") was featured in his weekly campaign TV show. In one airing, the show opened with the children from his family (his own kids, nieces and nephews) singing the jingle.
Cole made extensive use of electronic media for campaigning, and refused to use posters, flyers or painted signs as part of his campaign propaganda, since he felt like such use would make his city dirty. Instead, he focused on neighborhood-specific community "rallies" and meetings, loudspeaker vehicles, television, radio and media outlets.
On the other hand, Cole's political organization in Mayagüez was perceived by many to be the strongest of any mayoral candidate in Puerto Rico. Some of his ward leaders claim (to this day) to know the political affiliation of every one of their neighbors, a tactic that could allow scientific targeting of voters by background.
Cole's Mayagüez
Cole authored the law that created the Mayaguez Zoo (first and only zoo in Puerto Rico) when he was a legislator. During his tenure as a mayor, Cole put considerable emphasis in public works. As a result, his administration developed many local landmarks in Mayagüez: the Palacio de Recreación y DeportesPalacio de Recreación y Deportes
The Palacio de Recreación y Deportes is a sports arena in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. It was built under Benjamin Cole's administration as mayor. It has capacity for 5,500 spectators. It has recently been remodeled in preparation for the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games...
(the local sports arena), the Parque de los Próceres (Mayagüez's largest park), the Ciudad del Retiro apartment complex for retirees, two public transportation terminals, a multi-storied parking garage, a state of the art Little League
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
baseball stadium, plus the acquisition and reconstruction of the Teatro Yagüez
Teatro Yagüez
The Teatro Yagüez in Puerto Rico is a historic building that today is a performing arts theater. It is located at Candelaria and Dr. Basora Streets, in the city of Mayagüez. It consists of the Lucy Boscana Hall and the Roberto Cole Cafe Theater.-History:It was originally erected by Francisco...
(the local municipal theater) and the remodeling of the city's center square -the Plaza Colón
Plaza Colón
Plaza Colón is the main plaza in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. This plaza and its fountain commemorate the explorer Christopher Columbus, whose name in Spanish was Cristóbal Colón...
- Mayagüez City Hall, the Asilo de Beneficencia (better known for being the first home of Salvador Agron
Salvador Agron
Salvador Agron The correct spelling of his surname in Spanish is Agrón. But the biography by Jacoby, his personal friend, uses the americanized spelling Agron exclusively throughout...
) and the Plaza del Mercado, the local site for the farmer's and produce market. The Cole administrations demolished two slums (the Palmita section of Barrio Barcelona, traditionally a municipal dump since the mid-1840s, and the Rabo del Buey slum in downtown Mayagüez) and promoted community redevelopment of these areas. Most recent development projects in Mayagüez have centered around "renovating" the projects developed by Cole.
Mayagüez was repeatedly awarded the status of Puerto Rico's Cleanest City during Cole's tenure.
Cole's Family
Benjamín Cole had four children with his first wife, music teacher (and long-time organist for the Roman Catholic cathedral of Mayagüez) Angelina Simón. His sons with Simón were all professional musicians at one time or another, while his daughter was the voice-over announcer for WIPM-TV, the Public Broadcasting ServicePublic Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(PBS) Public television station in the city. None were involved in politics.
After marrying his second wife, Nereida Falto, Cole's involvement in politics fully included his family, often campaigning with Falto and their three children (two daughters and a son). Away from the limelight he was a rather quiet, devoted family man.
Given many ad honorem roles by her husband as both advisor and co-campaigner, Nereida Falto de Cole gained a reputation for being a frank (sometimes blunt) public campaigner, a tenacious networker and a strong public administrator. At times, political adversaries tried to gain leverage of this by stating that Cole was merely a front man for his wife, and that the city of Mayagüez was being run by a woman (at a time when sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
was very prevalent in politics and public life in Puerto Rico). Cole's public acknowledgment of his wife as his most trusted advisor was an innovation in Puerto Rican politics that has rarely occurred before or since. Their teamwork as public administrators and political campaigners resonated with voters and supporters.
After Cole's death, many wanted Mrs. Cole to run for mayor of Mayagüez, she declined the offer repeatedly and has chosen to work as a private entrepreneur managing public housing projects in the western part of the island.
Cole's Legacy
Some political observers have likened Cole's political campaigning style as a cross between those of George A. Smathers (in both his speaking style and way to address opponents) and Richard J. DaleyRichard J. Daley
Richard Joseph Daley served for 21 years as the mayor and undisputed Democratic boss of Chicago and is considered by historians to be the "last of the big city bosses." He played a major role in the history of the Democratic Party, especially with his support of John F...
(his local party organization was allegedly the Puerto Rican equivalent of the Chicago Democratic Machine
Cook County Democratic Organization
The Cook County Democratic Organization is one of the most powerful political machines in American history. Historically called the "Chicago Democratic machine", or simply the "Chicago Machine", the organization has dominated Chicago politics since the 1930s...
) in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Cole's political acumen and strong populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
government made him the subject of a biographical book, Benjamin Cole - the Last Cacique: Leadership and Politics in a Puerto Rican City (a book of published by the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
Press in 1994). The book was written by the current Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an ambassador to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(also a former ambassador to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
), and former professor at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez, Jorge Heine.