Márcia Sousa and João Correia elected to the Council of the Portuguese Communities

Lurdes C. da Silva, O Jornal

WASHINGTON - It's official.

Márcia Vitória Furtado Sousa (da Ponte) and João Jacinto Faria Correia, both of List B and Rhode Island residents, are the two councilors who will be representing the New Bedford, Boston and Providence consular areas on the Council of Portuguese Communities (CCP).

The official election results were made public by the Embassy of Portugal in Washington on Monday. The voting took place on Nov. 26.

Incumbent Paulo Martins, a Massachusetts resident who has been a CCP councilor for eight years, headed List A but failed to win enough votes for re-election. Incumbent João Luis Morgado Pacheco, of Rhode Island, had decided not to seek reelection.

The Council of Portuguese Communities (CCP) is the Portuguese Government’s advisory board for policies relating to Portuguese communities abroad.

Who are the new local CCP councilors?

Márcia Sousa, a native of Rabo de Peixe, São Miguel, Azores, and former vice-consul of Portugal in Providence, was the leader of List B.

Holder of a degree in Business Administration from the University of the Azores, she came to the United States in 2008.

She currently works as a consultant at Portugal Solutions Professional Services in East Providence.

In addition to being active in several Portuguese-American cultural organizations, she is a member of the Azorean Diaspora Council, an advisory body to the Regional Government of the Azores with the aim of reinforcing political and cultural ties between the Azores and the communities abroad.

Her running mate João Correia, a former Rhode Island state senator, was also elected.

Born in Arrifes, São Miguel, in 1939, Correia came to the United States in 1965.

He worked as a plumber and eventually started his own company J.F. Correia Plumbing and Heating.

He was vice-president of the East Providence Credit Union and co-founder and first president of the Casa dos Açores of Rhode Island.

In 1983, he became the first and only Portuguese immigrant thus far to be elected to the Rhode Island Senate. He ran for four more terms, becoming President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

What are the duties of the CCP?

Made up of 90 members scattered around the world, CCP is the Portuguese Government’s advisory body for policies relating to emigration and Portuguese communities abroad.

CCP councilors are elected every four years.

One of the main duties of CCP members is to issue opinions, at the request of the Portuguese Government or the Assembly of the Republic, on bills and other legislative and administrative proposals, as well as on international agreements or regulations relating to Portuguese communities residing abroad.

Who else was elected in the U.S.?

Seven CCP members are elected in the United States, representing the following consular areas: New Bedford, Boston and Providence (2 councilors); Washington (1 councilor); Miami and Orlando (1 councilor); Newark and New York (2 councilors); and San Francisco (1 councilor).

In addition to Sousa and Correia, the following individuals were elected to represent the Portuguese communities in the United States:

  • Washington D.C. - Mário Francisco da Costa Ferreira

  • Miami and Orlando - Manuel Pinto Pereira Viegas

  • Newark and New York - Paulo Alexandre de Almeida Pereira and Carla Sofia Cabral Rodrigues da Silva

  • San Francisco - Manuel da Silva Bettencourt

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Márcia Sousa and João Correia elected to the CCP

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