San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the juri ...

, held an election for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

on November 5, 1996. It was held as part of the

1996 Puerto Rican general election General elections were held in Puerto Rico on 5 November 1996. Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p552 Pedro Rosselló of the New Progressive Party (PNP) was re-elected Governor, whilst the PNP also w ...

. It saw the election of

Sila María Calderón Sila María Calderón Serra (born September 23, 1942) is a Puerto Rican politician, businesswoman, and philanthropist who was the governor of Puerto Rico from 2001 to 2005. She is the first woman elected to that office. Prior to her term as gov ...

, a member of the Popular Democratic Party.

Nominations

New Progressive Party primary

The New Progressive Party nominated speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico Zaida Cucusa Hernández in a primary held by the party on April 2, 1995. This marked the first time that the party had ever held a mayoral primary. Out of roughly 30,000 votes cast, Calderon received roughly 90% of the vote in a landslide victory, defeating Jorge de Castro (former member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives) and Nicolas Gautier.

Popular Democratic Party

The Popular Democratic Party nominated former

secretary of state of Puerto Rico The secretary of state of Puerto Rico ( es, Secretario de Estado de Puerto Rico) leads all efforts that promote the cultural, political, and economical relations between Puerto Rico and foreign countries, and other jurisdictions of the United S ...

Puerto Rican Independence Party

The

Puerto Rican Independence Party The Puerto Rican Independence Party ( es, Partido Independentista Puertorriqueño, PIP) is a social-democratic political party in Puerto Rico that campaigns for the independence of Puerto Rico from the United States. Those who follow the PIP ...

nominated Irma Rodríguez

General election

This was the first mayoral election in the city's history in which the two leading candidates were both women.

Results

References

{{Puerto Rican elections 1996 San Juan, Puerto Rico mayoral