Luis Irizarry Pabón

Luis Manuel Irizarry Pabón was born on 12 November 1958[9] in Ponce, Puerto Rico. His parents were Félix Irizarry and Carmen Lydia Pabón.[10][11] A graduate of the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine,[12][13] Irizarry Pabón was an internal medicine physician prior to becoming Ponce's mayor-elect in November 2020.[14] He was also a municipal legislator in the Ponce Municipal Legislature for 12 years (2009 to 2021),[15][16] and minority leader in said legislative body.[17] Winning by a landslide against Partido Nuevo Progresista incumbent mayor María Meléndez, Irizarry Pabón was scheduled to take office on 11 January 2021;[18] He was sworn on 13 January 2021.[19] He is a graduate of the School of Medicine of the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ciencias Medicas.[20]

Upon completion of the 2020 Ponce municipal election vote count Irizarry Pabón had received 28,728 votes (62%) to incumbent mayor María Meléndez Altieri's 12,314 votes (26.6%). The rest of the votes cast were for MVC and PIP.[21] Irizarry Pabón is the first mayoral candidate in the modern history of Ponce to win with more than 60% of votes cast. His 16,414 vote margin was also historic being the largest since 1996, when then-mayor Rafael Cordero Santiago had a lead of over 19,000 votes versus José Dapena Thompson.[22] Irizarry Pabón recovered the Ponce mayoral office for his PPD party after 12 years under the control of the Partido Nuevo Progresista (PNP).[23]

As of 11 November 2020, Irizarry Pabón was 62 years old.[24] He has four children: Alma, Luis Manuel, María Isabel, and Yaniel.[25]