Bethaida González

Last updated

Bethaida Carmen "Bea" Gonzalez is a Latina politician and university administrator in Syracuse, New York. She was the first Latina elected to the Syracuse School Board (1991) and Common Council (2001), and was a candidate for mayor of Syracuse, New York in 2009.

Contents

Early life

González was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico in 1954 but moved with her family to central New York when she was three years old. [1] Her migrant farmworker parents moved frequently (González estimates that she attended thirteen elementary schools), but by the time she reached middle school, González’s father had found work in construction and the family settled permanently in Syracuse. She attended Corcoran High School in Syracuse. [2] The first member of her family to receive a high school diploma, Gonzalez received her B.A. in political science and Latin American studies from Binghamton University through the HEOP program and an MPA from Syracuse University. [3]

Career

González stayed at Binghamton for eight years as a counselor in the HEOP program. In 1984, González began working for Syracuse University as an academic advisor. She held various positions in the university’s administration including interim dean of University College (2004–2007) and dean of the University College (2007–2016). [4] [5] [6]

Community service and politics

González became active in community and Latino politics in the 1980s; by the early 1990s, education had also become a priority. She participated in local committees and wards and was a member of the Association of Neighbors for Latino Advancement (ANCLA), Spanish Action League, and Latinos Concerned for Latino Advancement. In 1990, González served on the mayor’s Latino Task Force and the Minority Affairs Advisory Council for the city of Syracuse. More recently, she co-founded the Onondaga Latino Caucus.

In early 1991, González's service on the mayor's Latino Task Force drew the attention of Syracuse Mayor Thomas Young, who nominated González to the school board after the board’s president resigned. The first Hispanic to hold a citywide position, González was elected to the board later that year, becoming the first Latina elected to a citywide office in Syracuse. [2] González served as a school board member until 1994. After a hiatus from politics to focus on raising her son, she reentered politics in July 2001 when she was selected to fill the vacant position of Syracuse Common Council president, becoming the first Latina to serve on the Common Council. González narrowly won a four-year term as council president in November 2001, and was reelected to her second and final term in 2005. [3]

González served as Syracuse University’s vice president for community engagement from 2017 until her retirement in July 2020. [3]

Candidacy for mayor of Syracuse

In October 2008, Gonzalez announced her candidacy for mayor of Syracuse in the 2009 election cycle. [7] She withdrew from the race in March 2009, citing her mother's continuing health problems. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syracuse, New York</span> City in New York, United States

Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13th-most populated municipality in the state of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Gonzalez</span> American politician (born 1965)

Matthew Edward Gonzalez is an American politician, lawyer, and activist. He served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from 2001 to 2005 and was president of the Board. In 2003, Gonzalez, running as a member of the Green Party, lost a race for mayor of San Francisco to Democrat Gavin Newsom. In the 2008 presidential election, Gonzalez ran for vice president as the running mate of candidate Ralph Nader. As of February 2024, he works as the Chief Attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender's Office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Molina</span> American politician (1948–2023)

Jesús Gloria Molina was an American politician who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council, the California State Assembly, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Matthew John Driscoll is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation from 2015 until 2017. He served as the 52nd Mayor of Syracuse, New York from July 10, 2001, until December 31, 2009. Currently he serves as the Executive Director of the New York State Thruway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambda Upsilon Lambda</span> American Latino interest collegiate fraternity

La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. is a Latino and multicultural interest collegiate fraternity. It was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York on February 19, 1982, and has 78 active undergraduate chapters and sixteen graduate alumni professional chapters in universities and cities across the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Salas</span> American politician from California

Mary Casillas Salas is an American politician who served as the 40th mayor of Chula Vista, California from 2014 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as a member of the Chula Vista City Council from 2012 to 2014 and as a member of the California State Assembly from 2006 to 2010, representing the 79th Assembly District. She was an unsuccessful candidate for California's 40th senatorial district in 2010, losing narrowly to fellow Democrat Juan Vargas.

Joanne M. "Joanie" Mahoney is the fifth president of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), in Syracuse, New York. Prior to this, she served as the County Executive of Onondaga County, New York. The first woman to hold, and be elected to, that position, she served from January 1, 2008, through November 1, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jovita Idar</span> American journalist, teacher, and activist (1885–1946)

Jovita Idar Vivero was an American journalist, teacher, political activist, and civil rights worker who championed the cause of Mexican Americans and Mexican immigrants. Against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution, which lasted a decade from 1910 through 1920, she worked for a series of newspapers, using her writing to work towards making a meaningful and effective change. She began her career in journalism at La Crónica, her father's newspaper in Laredo, Texas, her hometown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephanie Miner</span> American politician and attorney

Stephanie Ann Miner is an American attorney, politician, and former Mayor of Syracuse, New York. Miner served as Mayor of Syracuse from 2010 to 2018, and is the first woman to have held that office. Prior to her mayoralty, she was a member of the Syracuse City Council. Miner co-chaired the New York State Democratic Party from 2012 to 2014. In 2018, Miner ran unsuccessfully for Governor of New York on the newly created Serve America Movement line.

Mary Edna González is an American politician who serves in the Texas House of Representatives from House District 75. She is a member of the Democratic Party and was elected in November 2012 to represent an area that includes eastern El Paso County, parts of the city of El Paso and the towns of Socorro, Clint, Fabens, Horizon City, San Elizario and Tornillo. She is also the first openly pansexual elected official in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmen Pola</span> American politician and activist

Carmen Pola is a long-time Puerto Rican politician and community activist in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the first Latina to run for statewide office and the first Director of the Office of Constituent Services, a citywide office formed under Mayor Raymond Flynn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorena González (Seattle politician)</span> American politician

Maria Lorena González is an American lawyer and former politician who was a member of the Seattle City Council from position 9. She was the first Latino elected to the council. She was a candidate for mayor of Seattle in 2021 but was defeated by Bruce Harrell 59 percent to 41 percent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanca Alvarado</span> American social activist and politician

Blanca Alvarado is an American social activist and former politician. She was the first Latina elected to the San Jose City Council and the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and the first Latina to serve as the board's chairperson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Walsh</span> American politician

Benjamin Walsh is an American politician currently serving as the 54th Mayor of Syracuse, New York. Walsh assumed office on January 1, 2018 as the first independent mayor of Syracuse and the second without major party support since Louis Will in 1913.

Maria Guajardo Lucero is an American educator and advocate for children and the Latino community. Born to illiterate Mexican migrant workers in California, she earned her undergraduate degree in psychology and social relations at Harvard University and her master's degree and doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Denver. From 1988 to 2013, she worked in several state and national government-level positions to increase opportunities for low-income children and Latinos, and served as executive director of the Latin American Research and Service Agency. In 2013 she moved to Tokyo, Japan, to develop a new degree program in international liberal arts at Sōka University. She served as dean of the program from 2013 to 2016, when she was promoted to vice president of the university (2016-2020). She is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, and was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valerie Biden Owens</span> American political strategist

Valerie Biden Owens is an American political strategist, campaign manager and former educator. She is the younger sister of Joe Biden, the 46th and current president of the United States. In 2016, President Barack Obama nominated her as alternate representative of the United States to the 71st Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Navarro</span> Venezuelan-American politician in Maryland

Nancy Navarro is a Venezuelan-American politician and the first Latina county council member in Montgomery County, Maryland. She served on the county council from 2009 to 2022, representing District 4, the largest and most diverse district in the county.

Linda M. LeMura is an American scientist and academic who is the current and 14th President of Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., the youngest of the 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. She is the first female layperson to be named the president of a Jesuit institution of higher education in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayoral elections in Syracuse, New York</span>

Elections are held in Syracuse, New York, to election the city's mayor. Currently, these elections are regularly scheduled to be held once every four years, with the elections taking place in the off-year immediately after United States presidential election years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Javiera Caballero</span> American politician

Javiera Caballero is a Chilean-born American politician and former educator. She is the first Latina member of the Durham City Council, having been appointed to the council in 2018. In 2021, she had an unsuccessful campaign to run for Mayor of Durham, but lost to Elaine O'Neal.

References

  1. ↑ "Bethaida Gonzalez - Bio". Homes and Community Renewal. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 Carlson, Chris (3 June 2020). "Former city councilwoman Bea González will retire from Syracuse University after 36 years". syracuse.com. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 Homan Rodoski, Kelly (June 3, 2020). "Bea González to Retire After 36 Years of Creating Opportunity for Syracuse University Students, Connecting the University with the Greater Community". SU News. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  4. ↑ "City of Syracuse". 2008-09-15. Archived from the original on 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  5. ↑ Ogozalek, Sam (22 September 2017). "Michael Frasciello appointed dean of University College". The Daily Orange. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  6. ↑ Alessandrini, Sarah (8 July 2020). "Bea González increased access to education as an SU administrator". The Daily Orange. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  7. ↑ Rubado, Meghan (10 October 2008). "Bea Gonzalez is first city official to enter mayoral race". syracuse. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  8. ↑ Rubado, Meghan (28 March 2009). "Bea Gonzalez drops out of race for Syracuse mayor". syracuse.com. Retrieved 5 June 2020.

Additional Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.