Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla announced Monday evening that he won't seek reelection, saying it would be a distraction from his effort to handle the island's fiscal crisis.
The governor announced the decision in a speech carried on the official Puerto Rico governor web site and on several local television stations.
During his tenure, García Padilla has taken several steps unpopular on the island including increasing taxes, cutting government worker pensions and proposing a 16% consumer tax (which the legislature scaled back to 11.5%). In addition the economy has generally contracted during his tenure, damaging his approval rating.
Several mayors in the governor's party, the Popular Democratic Party, have said that the governor shouldn't run.
In October Puerto Rico Secretary of State David Bernier resigned his position. Various sources said that the governor encouraged Bernier to resign the position so that Bernier might possibly run himself.
Since resigning, Bernier has said he may run to become governor, but only if the governor chose not to do so.
García Padilla started his four-year term as governor in January 2013. The members of Puerto Rico's House of Representatives and Senate will also be up for election in November 2016. The election primaries are scheduled for June.
In his speech the governor boasted of accomplishments including lowering unemployment and crime. He said that in the remainder of his term he wanted to focus on the commonwealth's fiscal crisis and on expanding its economy in the remainder of his term. Running for reelection would be a distraction, he said. García Padilla is scheduled to remain governor through early 2017.
If the governor doesn't run and Bernier runs in the PDP primary election, then others will also contend for the nomination, a Senate source said. She mentioned Puerto Rico Senate President Eduardo Bhatia Gautier and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz as probable candidates in the PDP primary.
U.S. Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi and activist Ricardo Rossell- Neváres are running for the 2016 gubernatorial nomination of the New Progressive Party, which is the primary opposition party. Puerto Rico Sen. Thomas Rivera Schatz may also seek the NPP nomination.
Puerto Rico residents have until the end of December to register as candidates for reelection.
