Dante Perez
Dante Perez | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 40th Governor of Manteria | |
| Assumed office January 5, 2023 | |
| Lieutenant | Austin Saunderd |
| Preceded by | Heather Perez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Dante Luca Perez March 18, 2002 Blue Mesa, Manteria, Caregon |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Relatives | Perez family |
| Occupation |
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Dante Luca Perez (born March 18, 2002) is an American politician serving since 2023 as the 40th governor of Manteria. He is a member of the Federalist Party.
Early life and education
Dante Luca Perez was born on March 18, 2002, Blue Mesa, Manteria, the eldest of five children of Luca Perez and Valentina Sánchez. From 2016 to 2020, he attended Everett-Douglas High School in Blue Mesa, participating on the school's football team as quarterback.
After graduating from Everett-Douglas, Perez enrolled at Santa Clara University to study psychology, with the intent of becoming a pediatric psychologist. But he dropped out in 2022 to run for the Governorship of Manteria.
Early career
Governorship of Manteria
Campaign
On August 23, 2022, Perez announced he would run in the 2022 Manteria special gubernatorial race after his grandmother, Heather Perez, gained the Federalist nomination for presidential candidate. In the September 2022 primary, Perez became the Federalist nominee, winning 59% of the vote and defeating Jillian Hurley, who took 34%, and Kamar Hall, who took 7%.
While campaigning in 2022, Perez said that, if elected, he would continue his grandmother legacy and focus on improving Manteria's "fundamentals"; he named schools, roads, and water systems as priorities. Perez's main opponent was Constitutionalist Jacob Barnett. The two candidates debated twice.
Perez defeated Barnett in the December 18 election by nearly a 10-point margin.
Tenure
Perez describes himself as a progressive Federalist, who can work with state legislators from different political perspectives.
Policies and political positions
Abortion
Perez strongly supported 2023 Manterian Proposal 2, a ballot proposal that amended the Manterian Constitution to include the right to reproductive freedom, which the measure defined as "the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management and infertility care." The proposal was approved by a wide margin in the 2022 election. Abortion is legal at all stages of pregnancy in Manteria.
LGBT rights
Perez has been a longtime advocate for expanding Manteria's civil rights law to include LGBT individuals. The Human Rights Campaign endorsed him during his 2022 campaign for governor.
In May 2023, Perez signed legislation to expand the Rees-Murphy Civil Rights Act to include protections against discrimination in employment and housing, based on sexual orientation and gender identity.