William Miranda Marín

William "Willie" Miranda Marín (September 23, 1940 – June 4, 2010) was the mayor of Caguas, Puerto Rico from 1997 until his death in 2010.

Personal life
The son of José Miranda Gómez, a sugar cane cutter, and Rafaela Marín, a tobacco stripper, Miranda Marín was born in the Tomás de Castro sector of rural Caguas. and graduated from the José Gautier Benítez High School in Caguas in 1957. Four years later, he earned a bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras. In 1969 he completed his law degree at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras and was admitted to the bar in 1970.

Miranda Marín and his wife had three children: William Edgardo, Luis Alexander, and José Juan. They resided in the sector of Bairoa in Caguas.

On September 18, 2009, Miranda Marín announced he was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer. On June 4, 2010 at 7:45 in the morning, Miranda Marín died in the Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico after battling his illness.

Businessman
Miranda Marín held top positions at Empresas Díaz and the San Juan Cement Co. from 1979 to 1990, among them treasurer, executive vice-president, and co-chairman of the board. Before seeking public office for the first time in 1996, he devoted three years to housing and commercial development. Miranda Marín also served as member and treasurer of the board of the Puerto Rico Health Services Corp., as chairman of the board of the San Juan Children's Choir, and as chairman of the board of the Community Services Institute.

Political career
He served as executive vice president of the Government Development Bank from 1973 to 1975, as executive director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority from 1975 to 1976, and as Adjutant General of the Puerto Rico National Guard with the rank of Major General (1990–1992). While commanding the Puerto Rico National Guard, MG William Miranda Marin founded the PRNG Institutional Trust (FIGNA). He also served as executive director of the Office for Improvement of the Public Schools of Puerto Rico from 1990 to 1992.

Miranda Marín also was the chairman of the U.S. Democratic Party Chapter of Puerto Rico, secretary-general of the Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (PPD), chairman of the PPD Status Commission, and president of the Puerto Rico Mayors Association. Until his death, he was chairman of the board of the Municipal Revenue Collections Center (CRIM by its acronym in Spanish). His candidacy had been considered by the Popular Democratic Party (PPD by its acronym in Spanish) to be a viable contender for the Governorship of Puerto Rico.

Political Views
Miranda Marín's views were regarded as soberanista, which seeks more sovereign political powers from the US outside the current framework of E.L.A. (Estado Libre Asociado).

Mayor of Caguas
On January 13, 1997 Miranda Marín became the mayor of Caguas and had since won re-election in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

In 2002, Miranda Marín was voted the "Caribbean Business' Public Sector Person of the Year." In 2005 Miranda Marín announced a 1% municipal tax surcharge in his town of Caguas, which allegedly was necessary in order to meet municipal payrolls, particularly for garbage collectors. The tax was nicknamed the Willie Tax by Puerto Ricans, and proved to be an enormous success in financial terms that provoked other municipalities to follow.