{"id":5061541,"date":"2024-11-11T17:01:39","date_gmt":"2024-11-11T22:01:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malatinonews.com\/?p=5061541"},"modified":"2024-11-11T17:01:39","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T22:01:39","slug":"presente-boston-city-councilor-enrique-j-pepen-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/2024\/11\/11\/presente-boston-city-councilor-enrique-j-pepen-2\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a1Presente! Boston City Councilor Enrique J. Pep\u00e9n"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u00a1Presente!, where we speak with leaders who are showing up for our community by actively fostering grassroots solutions to challenging social problems.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reporter\/Editor Bel\u00e9n Dumont speaks with Boston City Councilor Enrique J. Pep\u00e9n on his responsibilities as city councilor, civically engaging residents, and school transportation safety.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Serving his first term as an elected official, Pep\u00e9n joined the Boston City Council this past January. His passion for civics emerged at an early age and was fostered through his participation in student council, model united nations, and formative internships.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs a Latino\u2026[and] the youngest city councilor right now, there\u2019s a lot of things to learn here, there\u2019s a lot of perspectives to bring to the city council,\u201d said Pep\u00e9n.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"!PRESENTE! Enrique J. Pep\u00e9n\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/eLrvzVvR8do?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pep\u00e9n said his first internship, which was with former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson, taught him the importance of constituent services\u2014which includes connecting residents to city services, helping them navigate city hall, and sharing about any passed legislation or grant opportunities with the public.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a first-generation Dominican American, Pep\u00e9n shared how his cultural identity and personal experiences have shaped his career\u2014leading him to serve such diverse communities. With a wide range of duties, Pep\u00e9n said he has been focused on listening to his community&#8217;s needs and is passionate about making city hall easier to navigate for residents.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI was able to really live with that upbringing of being proudly Latino\/Hispano here in the city of Boston where, luckily, it is a very diverse city but still with a lot of obstacles,\u201d said Pep\u00e9n. \u201c[I\u2019m] just happy to serve and represent our community here in the Boston City Council, where I\u2019m now one of three Latinos. So, we\u2019re making progress here in the city of Boston in terms of representation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pep\u00e9n emphasized the importance of Latino representation when it comes to building trust and engaging Boston\u2019s Hispanic\/Latino communities.&nbsp;<br>\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to have this position, pero when you are Latino\u2014in a community where 20% of the population is identified as Latino or Latina\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter if I only represent Hyde Park, Roslindale, or Mattapan,\u201d said Pep\u00e9n. \u201cI have Latinos reaching out to me from Charlestown, East Boston, South Boston\u2026Because they see that I\u2019m a Latino, [they think] \u2018Oh, he understands me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"suggestion-opinion-revamping-boston-s-school-transportation-strategies-for-enhanced-safety-and-efficiency\">SUGGESTION: OPINION: Revamping Boston\u2019s School Transportation: Strategies for Enhanced Safety and Efficiency<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/opinion-revamping-bostons-school-transportation-strategies-for-enhanced-safety-and-efficiency\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"629\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/11\/2-1-1024x629.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5061545\" srcset=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/11\/2-1-1024x629.png 1024w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/11\/2-1-300x184.png 300w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/11\/2-1-768x472.png 768w, https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/maln\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2024\/11\/2-1.png 1170w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a first-generation Dominican American, Pep\u00e9n shared how his cultural identity and personal experiences have shaped his career.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5061554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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