Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla announced Friday that he is replacing his chief of staff.
The governor said that Grace Santana Balado would take this role on Dec. 9, replacing Victor Suárez Melendez. Suárez Melendez will be starting as Secretary of State immediately and will also be chief of staff until Dec. 9.
In the governor's administration, the chief of staff has, among other things, worked on economic and fiscal issues. Suárez Melendez was a member of the governor's Working Group for the Fiscal and Economic Recovery of Puerto Rico that created the governor's current road map for action, the Fiscal and Economic Grown Plan.
Santana Balado currently works as executive director of both the Infrastructure and Financing Authority and the Authority for Public-Private Partnerships. In these roles she would have become familiar with debt issues.
"I am convinced that her knowledge, commitment, dedication and exceptional organizational and analytical skills will be of great help in advancing the development of public policy and the relationship with the other government branches," García Padilla said.
Santana Balado has a J.D. degree from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico and a B.A. in political science from the University of Puerto Rico. She has a background working as a lawyer and as a consultant to public entities.
Even as chief of staff, Santana Balado will continue to lead the Infrastructure Financing Authority and the Public-Private Partnerships Authority.
Suárez Melendez took over the position of chief of staff from Ingrid Vila Biaggi, who served from January 2013 to September 2014.
As secretary of state, Suárez Melendez will meet with the representatives of foreign nations and promote Puerto Rico's trade and other interests with them.
According to Kenneth McClintock, who served as Puerto Rico’s secretary of state from January 2009 to January 2013, meeting with foreign representatives is a small part of the secretary of state job. The person who holds this position "serves as the commonwealth's lieutenant governor, troubleshoots issues delegated by the governor and manages the State Department and a myriad of business-related services. The services include the commonwealth"s Corporate Registry, Trademarks Registry, our state-level Copyright Registry and licenses [for] over two dozen non-health related professions."
Suárez Melendez replaces David Bernier in the Secretary of State role. Bernier resigned at the end of October.
There has been open speculation in Puerto Rico that Bernier resigned in preparation for a run to become governor. The next gubernatorial election is in November 2016 and the deadline to declare a candidacy is the end of December.
There is speculation that García Padilla will choose not to run for reelection and will endorse Bernier.
