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As part of El American’s series of short interviews, our contributor Julio M. Shiling spoke with Alfredo Ortega Rubio, who is currently running for a seat on the Weston City Council in Florida. If successful, Ortega Rubio would be the only Hispanic on the local institution.
Our interviewee worked for more than six years as chief of staff for the two mayors of the City of Doral, but always as a resident of Weston, a city where half of the population is of Hispanic origin, so he considers that being Venezuelan is an “added value” for his candidacy.
“My experience being Venezuelan could signify an added value to what’s going on today in the city, where we have a Commission composed of one mayor and four commissioners, and they’re all from here, from the United Stated,” Ortega Rubio said. “While that’s perfect, because we are here as Americans, I believe it could be an added value to have a person that represents part of that community, coming from the same culture.”
Married to a Colombian woman, Ortega Rubio sees his knowledge of Latin American culture as a “great opportunity” to represent Weston. “What unite us is that we’re all Americans, we’re all working for the benefit of the city,” he commented.
As a Second Amendment advocate, Ortega Rubio considers it crucial that Florida schools are protected by properly armed law enforcement officers, whose role is to protect school districts from potential threats. In his view, “we protect with guns everybody in society.”
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Julio M Shiling, political scientist, writer, director of Patria de Martí and The Cuban American Voice, lecturer and media commentator. A native of Cuba, he currently lives in the United States. Twitter: @JulioMShiling // Julio es politólogo, escritor, director de Patria de Martí y The Cuban American Voice. Conferenciante y comentarista en los medios. Natural de Cuba, vive actualmente en EE UU.
Tomás Lugo, journalist and writer. Born in Venezuela and graduated in Social Communication. Has written for international media outlets. Currently living in Colombia // Tomás Lugo, periodista y articulista. Nacido en Venezuela y graduado en Comunicación Social. Ha escrito para medios internacionales. Actualmente reside en Colombia.