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| Affiliation | Republican |
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| Name | Olga Mendez |
| Address |
New York, New York , United States |
| Email | None |
| Website | None |
| Born |
February 05, 1925
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| Died | July 29, 2009
(84 years)
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| Contributor | nystate63 |
| Last Modifed | David
Feb 06, 2021 10:53am |
| Tags |
Widowed - Cancer -
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| Info | Mrs. Olga Arán Méndez
Olga A. Mendez was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to a State Legislature in the United States mainland. Senator Mendez was also the longest-serving Puerto Rican state legislator in the United States. Senator Mendez represents the 28th Senate District, encompassing parts of the South and West Bronx, East Harlem, and Roosevelt Island.
Senator Mendez was first elected to the Senate in 1978, winning a special election with 89% of the vote. She has been reelected for twelve consecutive terms with consistently increasing margins. In fact, the latest election results showed Senator Mendez winning with over 95% of the vote. Born in the City of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, Senator Mendez received her B.S. from the University of Puerto Rico. In 1960, she was awarded her Master's Degree in Psychology from the Teacher's College at Columbia University and in 1975 she successfully defended her Doctoral Dissertation in Educational Psychology from Yeshiva University.
Prior to her election to the Senate, Senator Mendez devoted her time and energy to volunteer work with organizations that promoted good government and fair and sound public policy. The Senator is well known for her active leadership in the area of voter registration drives throughout the Nation.
In recognition of her dedication and commitment to representative government, Senator Mendez has been both elected and appointed to the following positions: Elected Delegate committed to Senator George McGovern to the 1972 Democratic Convention (served as Whip to the then 19th Congressional Delegation), Elected Delegate to the Democratic Mini-Convention in Kansas in 1974, Elected Delegate to the National Conference of Women in Houston, Elected Member of the Board of Community School District; #4 in East Harlem, Chairperson of the Executive Committee of Manhattan County, Delegate to the White House Conference on Families; Delegate to the 1980 Democratic National Convention (serving as Vice-Chair for the New York State Delegation), Delegate to the 1984 Democratic National Convention, and Female District Leader of the 68th Assembly District Part C. Senator Mendez was an appointed Delegate for the Reverend Jesse Jackson in the 1988 Democratic National Convention. She had the honor of nominating Reverend Jackson for President of the United States. She was elected Secretary of the Senate Minority Conference in 1984, making her the first Puerto Rican woman to hold that distinction. In 1993 as always setting trends and knocking down barriers the Senator was unanimously chosen as Chairperson of the Minority Conference once again holding true to her "first" status, as the "first Puerto Rican woman" elected to this prestigious position.
The Senator's impressive record of service to the people of the State of New York has won her a variety of awards. She has been on the Civil Liberties Union Honor Roll and was bestowed the Operation Push National Citizenship Award for, as stated on the award "commitment to remove limits and increase benefits for the Nation, as through your efforts you have been a force for social change and human dignity". The Senator has received the Effective Leadership Golden Age Award for her many contributions to the Puerto Rican/Hispanic community, presented by the Latino/ Gerontological Center. In Hunter College's Commencement Exercises of 1994, Senator Mendez received the prestigious Hunter College Presidential Medal of Honor, for her tireless efforts on behalf of promoting continuing education for all citizens.
A full-time legislator, Senator Mendez has devoted herself to supporting and promoting legislation which fights discrimination and removes many of the existing barriers faced by minorities and women. Her deep commitment to good government has been in the promotion of the highest standard of ethics in public elected officials.
[Link] href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/.../mendez-former-bronx-senator-is-dead-at-84" target="_blank" >[Link]
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