Conny Varela

José Manuel Varela Fernández was born in Cayey, Puerto Rico, on February 13, 1954, and has lived in Caguas, Puerto Rico, since 1976. He attended Miguel Meléndez Muñoz High School and Colegio Católico Notre Dame. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Puerto Rico with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974, and from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law, where he was class president as a freshman, with a Juris Doctor in 1977.{{sfn|House of Representatives of Puerto Rico}}

Varela worked for the Puerto Rico Department of Justice during his senior year at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. He was a partner at Varela & Varela from 1977 to 1996. At Puerto Rico Junior College he was criminology professor in 1978, and a commercial law and political science professor at Caguas City College from 1979 to 1980. From 1989 to 1991, Varela worked as a legal advisor to the Government Commission of the House of Representatives.{{sfn|House of Representatives of Puerto Rico}}

In 1993, Varela became a municipal legislator in Caguas. He was elected to the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico from the 32nd district in 1996.{{sfn|House of Representatives of Puerto Rico}}

During Varela's tenure in the house he has served on the Criminal Law, Municipal Affairs, and Retirement Systems committees. He was chair of the Government Commission and vice president of the Finance Commission.{{sfn|House of Representatives of Puerto Rico}}

William Miranda Marín, the mayor of Caguas, died in 2010. Varela ran for the mayoralty and defeated Marín's son William Miranda Torres. The Popular Democratic Party's municipal committee voted 35 to 30 in favor of Varela. As Varela was leaving the committee he was attacked by a crowd throwing bottles.{{sfn|Rivera|2010}}{{sfn|Primera Hora|2010}} However, his election was not certified due to irregularities and annulled.{{sfn|Marrero|2010}}{{sfn|Hernández|Rosario|2010}}

Varela is married and is the father of three children.{{sfn|House of Representatives of Puerto Rico}}

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• {{Cite news |date=June 12, 2010 |title="Conny" Varela es electo nuevo alcalde de Caguas |work=Primera Hora |url=https://www.primerahora.com/connyvarelaeselectonuevoalcaldedecaguas-393394.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615013051/https://www.primerahora.com/connyvarelaeselectonuevoalcaldedecaguas-393394.html |archive-date=June 15, 2010 |ref={{harvid|Primera Hora|2010}}}}
• {{Cite news |last1=Hernández |first1=Yanira |last2=Rosario |first2=Frances |date=June 18, 2010 |title=Sacan a Conny Varela de Caguas |work=El Nuevo Día |url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/sacanaconnyvareladecaguas-725891.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621042722/https://www.elnuevodia.com/sacanaconnyvareladecaguas-725891.html |archive-date=June 21, 2010}}
• {{Cite news |last=Marrero |first=Rosita |date=June 18, 2010 |title=Certificación de Conny Varela como alcalde electo de Caguas no será tan sencilla |work=Primera Hora |url=https://www.primerahora.com/certificaciondeconnyvarelacomoalcaldeelectodecaguasnoseratansencilla-394689.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722092036/https://www.primerahora.com/certificaciondeconnyvarelacomoalcaldeelectodecaguasnoseratansencilla-394689.html |archive-date=July 22, 2010}}
• {{Cite news |last=Rivera |first=Joel |date=June 12, 2010 |title=Conny Varela es el nuevo alcalde de Caguas |work=El Nuevo Día |url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/varelaviralatortillaencaguas-722570.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615172303/http://www.elnuevodia.com:80/varelaviralatortillaencaguas-722570.html |archive-date=June 15, 2010}}

• {{Cite web |title=José "Conny" Varela |publisher=House of Representatives of Puerto Rico |url=https://www.camara.pr.gov/team/jose-varela/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250601095149/https://www.camara.pr.gov/team/jose-varela/ |archive-date=June 1, 2025 |ref={{harvid|House of Representatives of Puerto Rico}}}}

{{refend}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120111154507/http://www.camaraderepresentantes.org/legs2.asp?r=03534CDW4S José "Conny" Varela] on CamaraDeRepresentantes.org
• [http://decision2012.wapa.tv/candidato/jose-m-varela-ortiz/ José "Conny" Varela Profile] on WAPA-TV

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{{s-bef|before=Luis Hernández Santiago}}

{{s-ttl|title=Member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives
from the 32nd district|years=1997–present}}

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|-

{{s-bef|before=Pichy Torres}}

{{s-ttl|title=Speaker pro tempore of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives|years=2021–2025}}

{{s-aft|after=Angel Peña Ramírez}}

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{{Current members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varela, Conny}}

Category:1954 births

Category:21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico

Category:Living people

Category:People from Cayey, Puerto Rico

Category:Popular Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico

Category:University of Puerto Rico alumni