YOUNG DEMOCRATS CELEBRATE PUERTO RICO STATEHOOD WIN

Tel: 212-877-6464 | Email: Emily@YDA.org

YDA labels statehood victory as “historic” and “long overdue.”

(November 7th,2012) The Young Democrats of America celebrated the clear mandate delivered by the people of Puerto Rico in favor of statehood for the island.

YDA Executive Vice President, Colmon Elridge, expressed the importance of this landmark in the political history of the United States: “It is with great pride that I congratulate the people of Puerto Rico for supporting and achieving a clear and irrefutable victory in favor full equality through statehood for the four million American citizens of Puerto Rico. The people of Puerto Rico have been disenfranchised from the political decision making process of our nation for more than a century , where they are unable to vote for the President of the United States and lack proportional and voting congressional representation despite of being proud American citizens. Last night, for the first time in history, the people of Puerto Rico let themselves be heard and delivered an overwhelming mandate with over 62%  in favor of statehood, thus rejecting the island’s current territorial political relationship with the United States. It is now time for the White House to lead Congress into  acting. YDA will play a major role to ensure that those results are implemented and Puerto Rico becomes the 51st state of our nation. The people of Puerto Rico have spoken and the YDA family joins today in the celebration that our nation is one step closer to having our 51st state. After the celebration has subsided however, we must continue to dedicate ourselves to the reality that while the road ahead is hard, statehood is an idea whose time has been long overdue. As young leaders in our nation, we are committed to building a bi-partisan coalition of our generation who will work together and work within our congressional and state delegations to make this long dream and reality.”

YDA Hispanic Caucus Chairman Phillip Arroyo stated: “This moment in Puerto Rico’s history reminds me of the success achieved during the civil rights movement of the 1960’s as a result of the efforts of Martin Luther King Jr., President John F. Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy to make sure that every American citizen be treated equal. Puerto Ricans have been treated as second class citizens for far too long and it is now time for Congress to act accordingly to make sure the clear mandate delivered by the people of Puerto Rico is respected. In addition, we are confident our re-elected President Barack Obama will make good on his word when he promised to set forth a process to implement the will of the people of Puerto Rico on its political status preference the day they sent a clear message to that effect. The people of Puerto Rico spoke loud and clear on the evening of November 6th, 2012 and we are certain our President will now act.’’

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If you’d like more information or would like to schedule an interview with either Mr. Arroyo or Ms. Garcia, please call Emily Sussman, YDA Executive Director, at 212-877-6464 or email at Emily@YDA.org

The Young Democrats of America (YDA) is the largest youth-led, national, partisan political organization. Founded in 1932, YDA has mobilized young people under the age of 36 to participate in the electoral process, influenced the ideals of the Democratic Party, and developed the skills of the youth generation to serve as leaders at the local and national level for over 80 years.

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