Rafael de Zárate y SequeraMunicipio de Ponce: Alcaldes en su Historia. Puerto Rico Encyclopedia. Fundación Puertorriqueña para las Humanidades. 2018. Accessed 2 May 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2009. (ca. 1824 – ca. 1904) was Mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, from 11 June 1884Verdadera y Auténtica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. 1913. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. p. 279. to 16 July 1886.Verdadera y Auténtica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. 1913. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. p. 279.
Mayoral term During his two-year mayoral term, Zárate y Sequera is credited with placing fire hydrants along the route from downtown Ponce to its Port at Playa de Ponce and enlarging Calle León further up northbound, both completed in 1884.Eduardo Neumann Gandia. Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. p. 269. He is also credited with starting construction of Hospital Civil de Ponce on 4 June 1885.Eduardo Neumann Gandia. Verdadera y Autentica Historia de la Ciudad de Ponce. p. 269.
While Zárate Sequera did achieve these goals, the Hospital Civil was not completed, only one of its two wings was. In addition, he had a bad temper and it did not take long before he started to lose the support of both Municipal Council members and the townspeople at large. Given this state of affairs, he presented his resignation to the Governor and, on 16 July 1886 he made the announcement that the Governor had named Elices Montes to replace him. The Municipal Council reacted by stating that, though they respected the decision of the Governor, they were disappointed as three council members, namely, Juan Mayoral, Joaquin P. Valdivieso, and Federico Leon y Cortes, were qualified for the position. In addition, it was argued, Mr. Elices Montes was "a stranger" to Ponce politics and municipal administration. As a consequence, the municipal council approved a resolution that condemned the appointment of Elices Montes for mayor.Félix Pubill. La Administración Municipal de Ponce: Memoria de las gestiones practicadas en la Administración Municipal de Ponce, por los Alcaldes y Ayuntamientos que ha tenido desde el año 1882 al 1900. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tipografía José Picó Matos. 1900. p. 20-21.
See also
List of Puerto Ricans List of mayors of Ponce, Puerto Rico
Notes
References
Further reading Ramon Marin. Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce. Editorial Universidad de Puerto Rico. 1994. Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliografía Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 335. Item 1671. Ponce. Presupuesto ordinario correspondiente al año económico venidero de 1884 a 85. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Tip. El Comercio, 1884. (Biblioteca del Congreso [Washington, D.C.]; Colegio Universitario Tecnológico de Ponce, CUTPO [fotocopia])
External links Guardia Civil española (c. 1898) (Includes military ranks in 1880s Spanish Empire.)