Kendrys Vasquez

Kendrys Vasquez
President of Lawrence City Council
Assumed office
January 2016
Preceded by Modesto Maldonado
City Councilor of Lawrence, Massachusetts
Assumed office
January 2012
Preceded by Modesto Maldonado
Personal details
Born (1987-02-18) February 18, 1987
Tamboril, Santiago, Dominican Republic
Political party Democratic
Residence Lawrence, Massachusetts
Alma mater Merrimack College
Website www.kendrysvasquez.com

Kendrys R. Vasquez (Born February 18, 1987) is a Dominican-American politician. He was elected City Councilor of the City of Lawrence, Massachusetts representing District C[1] (Arlington and Towerhill Neighborhoods) on November 8, 2011 becoming the youngest Dominican-American elected official and the youngest member of the incoming Lawrence City Council. [2]

Personal life

Kendrys is the second of three children and was raised by a single mother and grandmother in Tamboril, Dominican Republic. At the age of 13 he immigrated to the City of Lawrence where he attended the public schools and in 2004 graduated from Lawrence High School. He attended Merrimack College and graduated with bachelor's degrees in Political Science and Communications Studies with a minor in Woman's Studies.[3]

Political career

Prior to running for office Vasquez ran/coordinated multiple campaigns including but not limited to Niki Tsongas' Congressional Campaign in Lawrence (2007), Marcos Devers state representative campaign (2010), and his predecessor Modesto Maldonado's campaign for city council (2009).

Lawrence City Council

In 2011 incumbent city councilor Modesto Maldonado declined to run for re-election prompting Vasquez to run. In September 2011, Vasquez won the primary election against two former District C councilors with 61% of the vote.[4] In the general election in November 2011, he defeated his opponent and former District C councilor and school committee member Jorge Gonzalez with 69% of the popular vote.

Massachusetts Democratic State Committee

Two months after being sworn in as a freshman city councilor on March 6, 2012, Vasquez went on to win a seat on the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee, unseating William Lantigua incumbent Lawrence mayor and sitting Democratic State Committeeman. Vasquez won three out of four municipalities (Andover, Dracut and Tewksbury) and only lost against Lantigua in Lawrence by only 180 votes, giving Lantigua his first election loss. [5]

Recognitions and awards

Kendrys has received several awards including: "Young Leader of Today" by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, [6] "Outstanding Leader of the Class of 2008" by Merrimack College, and "Joven Dominicano Destacado en el Exterior" [7]

References

  1. ↑ "LAWRENCE: Vasquez elected District C Councilor » Latest News » EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA". Eagletribune.com. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
  2. ↑ http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2012/1/4/408603/Dominicano-mas-joven-con-un-puesto-electo-en-EEUU-es-juramentado
  3. ↑ http://www.merrimack.edu/academics/liberal_arts/PoliticalScience/Profiles/Pages/KendrysVasquez.aspx
  4. ↑ http://www.eagletribune.com/latestnews/x2039724954/LAWRENCE-Vasquez-elected-District-C-Councilor
  5. ↑ http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x1888231179/Freshman-councilor-deals-loss-to-mayor
  6. ↑ http://www.chci.org/ready_to_lead/youngleader/kendrys-vasquez
  7. ↑ http://generaciondigitalrd.wordpress.com/2012/02/01/premian-jovenes-meritorios-dominicanos/
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