BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA – Palm Bay Mayor William Capote, who was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, shared his thoughts about President Obama’s announcement on normalizing U.S.-Cuba relations.
Capote was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba in July 1962 and attended school there until the third grade.
William Capote
“I support communication and dialogue that would help move my native homeland towards freedom and democracy,” said Capote.
“I hope we as a nation can embrace change and progress and focus on positive relations that empower the people of Cuba to be free and prosperous. I believe we can benefit from improved relations, less restrictions and free enterprise that can potentially bolster both economies and pave the way for new opportunities and partnerships. I also believe we must be careful as we move forward to make sure this is a move toward democracy and not a move toward bolstering a historically oppressive regime.”
The Capote family, including William and two other siblings left Cuba in October 1970 during the famed “Freedom Flights” that brought more than 245,000 Cuban refugees to the United States.
The family first arrived in Miami, but after a week, migrated to Hoboken, New Jersey where Capote’s parents still reside.
Capote was elected to council in November 2008 and then mayor in 2012. He is Palm Bay’s first Latino of Afro-Cuban descent to serve as mayor of east Central Florida’s second-largest city.
