:Felipe Reinoso

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Felipe Reinoso

|image =

|state_house = Connecticut

|district = 130th

|term_start = 2001

|term_end = 2009

|predecessor = Héctor A. Díaz

|successor = Ezequiel Santiago

|birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1950}}

|birth_place = Arequipa, Peru

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Democratic Party
Popular Force

|spouse =

|children =

|father = Cirilo Reinoso

|mother = Angelica Cervantes Reinoso

|alma_mater = Sacred Heart University
Fairfield University
John F. Kennedy School of Government

|profession = Teacher

}}

Felipe Reinoso Cervantes (born {{circa|1950}}) is a Peruvian-American politician. He was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives between 2001 and 2009. In 2016, he unsuccessfully contested a seat in the Congress of the Republic of Peru.

Early life, education, and career

Reinoso was born in Arequipa, Peru,{{cite news |title=Foreign-born state and municipal officers |url=https://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-R-0574.htm |access-date=18 March 2019 |agency=Connecticut General Assembly |date=14 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403104425/https://www.cga.ct.gov/2006/rpt/2006-R-0574.htm |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live}} one of five sons to parents Cirilo Reinoso and Angelica Cervantes Reinoso.{{cite news |title=Angelica Reinoso |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ctpost/obituary.aspx?n=angelica-reinoso&pid=166185959&fhid=24233 |access-date=17 March 2019 |work=Connecticut Post |date=3 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403104612/https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ctpost/obituary.aspx?n=angelica-reinoso&pid=166185959&fhid=24233 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }} He lived in Peru for nineteen years,{{cite news |last1=Keating |first1=Christopher |last2=Pazniokas |first2=Mark |last3=Lender |first3=Jon |title=Lowest wage will rise |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2008-06-24-minimum0624-art-story.html |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=Hartford Courant |date=24 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403092438/https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2008-06-24-minimum0624-art-story.html |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }} Republished as {{cite news |url=http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/documents/employment/htfd_courant_062408.asp |last1=Keating |first1=Christopher |last2=Pazniokas |first2=Mark |last3=Lender |first3=Jon |title=Legislature Overrides Rell's Veto Of Minimum-Wage Increase |access-date=17 March 2019 |work=Hartford Courant |date=24 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403104625/http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/documents/employment/htfd_courant_062408.asp |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live}} before he and his family immigrated to the United States in 1969, settling in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He earned a bachelor's degree at Sacred Heart University in 1984, followed by a master's degree from Fairfield University in 1987.

Reinoso taught social studies in two languages at Warren Harding High School for fourteen years. Starting in 1989, he served as founding director of the Saturday Hispanic Academy in Science at Sacred Heart University. In 1998, Rachel Allison, Tim Dutton, and Reinoso established in Bridgeport the Bridge Academy High School, a charter high school.{{cite news |last1=Lambeck |first1=Linda Conner |title=Bridge Academy in Bridgeport on a mission to improve |url=https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bridge-Academy-in-Bridgeport-on-a-mission-to-11193665.php |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=Connecticut Post |date=4 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403092233/https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bridge-Academy-in-Bridgeport-on-a-mission-to-11193665.php |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }} Reinoso served as the institution's principal at least through 2006.{{cite news |title=Three area residents to receive first Martin Luther King, Jr. Vision Awards |url=https://www.fairfield.edu/news/press-releases/2001/january/three-area-residents-to-receive-first-martin-luther-king-jr-vision-awards.html |access-date=18 March 2019 |publisher=Fairfield University |date=January 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403104513/https://www.fairfield.edu/news/press-releases/2001/january/three-area-residents-to-receive-first-martin-luther-king-jr-vision-awards.html |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Premiados con el Latino de Oro 2006 politico |url=http://identidadlatina.com/premiados-con-el-latino-de-oro-2006politico/ |accessdate=4 April 2019 |work=Identidad Latina |date=8 November 2006 |language=es}} In 2005, Reinoso completed a master's degree in public administration at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.{{cite journal |last1=Reyes |first1=Hillmer H. |title=Political Dynamics of Small Latino Groups in New Places: Interview with Felipe Reinoso Connecticut State Representative, 130th District (D-Bridgeport) |journal=Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy |date=2005 |volume=17 |url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-216412666/political-dynamics-of-small-latino-groups-in-new-places |access-date=17 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403110026/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-216412666/political-dynamics-of-small-latino-groups-in-new-places |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }} [https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA216412666&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10741917&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E25a5ec05 Alternative URL]

Political career

In the 1970s, Reinoso joined the Puerto Rican Democratic Club. He later worked for politician Americo Santiago. Reinoso contested his first state legislative election in 1995, seeking Santiago's open seat, but was not elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives, losing to Héctor A. Díaz. Reinoso first won election as a representative of state house district 130 in November 2000,{{cite news |last1=Swift |first1=Mike |last2=D'Arcy |first2=Janice |title=Hispanic population growing, changing |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2000-11-26-0011261400-story.html |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=Hartford Courant |date=26 November 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324092308/https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2000-11-26-0011261400-story.html |archive-date=24 March 2019 |url-status=live }} unseating Díaz.{{cite news |title=Latino Elected Officials of the Connecticut General Assembly Post 2014 Mid-Term Election Results |url=https://www.cga.ct.gov/lprac/docs/2015/Latino%20Elected%20Officials%20of%20the%20Connecticut%20General%20Assembly.pdf |access-date=20 March 2019 |publisher=Connecticut General Assembly |date=6 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303134408/https://www.cga.ct.gov/lprac/docs/2015/Latino%20Elected%20Officials%20of%20the%20Connecticut%20General%20Assembly.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2017 |url-status=live }} Upon taking office, Reinoso became the first Peruvian-American to be seated in any U.S. state legislature.{{cite journal |title=The Hon. Robert Mendez |journal=Congressional Record |date=1 March 2001 |page=2743 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kTqki1Ci2PQC&pg=PA2743 |publisher=Government Printing Office |isbn=9780160118449 |access-date=18 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324092308/https://books.google.com/books?id=kTqki1Ci2PQC&pg=PA2743 |archive-date=24 March 2019 |url-status=live }}

During his third state legislative term in 2004, Reinoso worked to pass a bill that allowed undocumented immigrants to attend Connecticut universities at the in-state tuition rate{{cite news |last1=Chedekel |first1=Lisa |title=UConn reviewing ban on illegal immigrants |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2004-02-27-0402270096-story.html |access-date=17 March 2019 |work=Hartford Courant |date=27 February 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403162526/https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2004-02-27-0402270096-story.html |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Ahles |first1=Dick |title=UConn to Assess a Policy On Illegal Immigrants |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/nyregion/worth-noting-uconn-to-assess-a-policy-on-illegal-immigrants.html |access-date=17 March 2019 |work=New York Times |date=7 March 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403172333/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/07/nyregion/worth-noting-uconn-to-assess-a-policy-on-illegal-immigrants.html |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }} if they had received at least two years of schooling in Connecticut and graduated from a secondary school or equivalent.{{cite news |last1=Tuohy |first1=Lynne |title=Group Supports Bills To Assist Immigrants |url=http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/documents/immigrants/htfd_courant_022805.asp |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=Hartford Courant |date=28 February 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403174512/http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/documents/immigrants/htfd_courant_022805.asp |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }} The bill was voted down in 2005, and Reinoso tried to propose similar bills for discussion in 2007 and 2008.*{{cite news |last1=Spencer |first1=Mark |title=In-State Conflict On Tuition |url=http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/documents/Immigrants/htfd_courant_050207.asp |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=Hartford Courant |date=2 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403174514/http://www.hartfordinfo.org/issues/documents/Immigrants/htfd_courant_050207.asp |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }}

{{cite news |title=In-state tuition rates for illegals still at issue |url=https://www.thehour.com/norwalk/article/In-state-tuition-rates-for-illegals-still-at-issue-8253193.php |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=The Hour |date=4 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403174651/https://www.thehour.com/norwalk/article/In-state-tuition-rates-for-illegals-still-at-issue-8253193.php |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }} In 2005, Reinoso introduced a bill permitting non-U.S citizens living in Connecticut to obtain a drivers' license.{{cite news |last1=Leukhardt |first1=Bill |title=Driver's license restrictions debated |url=https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2005-03-01-0503010562-story.html |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=Hartford Courant |date=1 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403162444/https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2005-03-01-0503010562-story.html |archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live }} In 2005, Reinoso considered running for Ernie Newton's Connecticut Senate seat.{{cite news |title=Felipe Reinoso, Representante Estatal por Bridgeport (D-130): "Nuestra gente quiere trabajar y vivir decentemente" |url=http://identidadlatina.com/felipe-reinoso-representante-estatal-por-bridgeport-d-130/ |accessdate=3 April 2019 |work=Identidad Latina |date=1 October 2005 |language=es}} Instead, Reinoso remained on the Connecticut House of Representatives, from which he stepped down in 2009 and was succeeded in office by Ezequiel Santiago.{{cite news |last1=Pazniokas |first1=Mark |title=Lamont, lawmakers mourn lawmaker after sudden death |url=http://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/State/Lamont-lawmakers-mourn-lawmaker-after-sudden-death.html |access-date=19 March 2019 |work=Connecticut Mirror |via=Record-Journal |date=15 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324092315/http://www.myrecordjournal.com/News/State/Lamont-lawmakers-mourn-lawmaker-after-sudden-death.html |archive-date=24 March 2019 |url-status=live }}

Subsequently, Reinoso returned to Peru, settling in Lima.{{cite book |last1=Paerregaard |first1=Karsten |title=Return to Sender: The Moral Economy of Peru's Migrant Remittances |date=2015 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520284739 |pages=187–188 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QclDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA187}} In February 2016, he was named a replacement legislative candidate for Moisés Mieses. Reinoso represented the Popular Force in the 2016 general elections for a seat on the Congress of the Republic of Peru*{{cite news |last1=Espinosa |first1=Martín León |title=Partidos llevan a candidatos con cuestionamientos en sus listas |url=https://elcomercio.pe/politica/elecciones/partidos-llevan-candidatos-cuestionamientos-listas-392327 |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=El Comercio |date=12 February 2016 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329195115/https://elcomercio.pe/politica/elecciones/partidos-llevan-candidatos-cuestionamientos-listas-392327 |archive-date=29 March 2019 |url-status=live }}

{{cite news |title=Felipe Reinoso, ganador del LATINO DE ORO, postula al Congreso de Perú |url=http://identidadlatina.com/felipe-reinoso-ganador-del-latino-de-oro-postula-al-congreso-de-peru/ |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=Identidad Latina |date=12 April 2016 |language=es |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617134038/http://identidadlatina.com/felipe-reinoso-ganador-del-latino-de-oro-postula-al-congreso-de-peru/ |archive-date=17 June 2019 |url-status=live }} to represent Lima and residents abroad. He was not among the 14 representatives elected,{{Cite web|url=https://perureports.com/perus-fujimori-controlled-congress-2016-2021/4076/|title=This is Peru's Fujimori-controlled Congress for 2016-2021|date=2016-06-02|website=Perú Reports|language=en-US|access-date=2019-07-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717120556/https://perureports.com/perus-fujimori-controlled-congress-2016-2021/4076/|archive-date=17 July 2019|url-status=live}} having received the fewest votes from among the 36 candidates.{{Cite web|url=https://www.web.onpe.gob.pe/modElecciones/elecciones/elecciones2016/PRPCP2016/Resultados-Ubigeo-Congreso.html#posicion|title=Elecciones Generales 2016: Congresales|date=30 May 2016|website=Oficina Nacional de Procesos Electorales|language=es|access-date=17 July 2019|postscript=. Select "Lima + Residentes en el extranjero" for "Distrito Electoral" field and choose any political party. Leaving "Candidato" field as "Todos" shows a sortable table of all the candidates.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171227210651/https://www.web.onpe.gob.pe/modElecciones/elecciones/elecciones2016/PRPCP2016/Resultados-Ubigeo-Congreso.html#posicion|archive-date=27 December 2017|url-status=live}}