Felix D. Arroyo

Felix D. Arroyo (born 1948) was a city councilor (at-large) in Boston, Massachusetts, United States from January 2003 to January 2008. He announced he was running for Register of Probate for Suffolk County on February 11th 2014 He won the Democratic nomination with over 53% of the vote on September 9th 2014, winning the uncontested general in November 2014. Becoming the first Latino to win a county wide race in Massachusetts.

He is the current Register of Probate for Suffolk County.

Felix D. Arroyo was raised in a public housing project in Puerto Rico by his late father, Felicito Arroyo, a World War II Veteran and police detective, and his late mother, Elisa Arroyo, a garment seamstress and an ILGWU member. Arroyo completed his undergraduate studies and received a Masters in Secondary Education at the University of Puerto Rico. Councillor Arroyo was the first member of his family to earn a college degree. Councilor Arroyo continued with his graduate studies at Harvard University, MIT, and the University of Puerto Rico.

A long-time resident of Boston, he taught at Springfield College, UMass Boston, Roxbury Community College, Boston University, and Emmanuel College. Arroyo ran for the Boston School Committee in 1981 and 1983, becoming the first Latino to ever run citywide and the first Latino to ever pass a primary. In 1984 Arroyo founded the Latino Democratic Committee, the first statewide Latino political organization in Massachusetts. In 1984 Arroyo served as the Latin American Affairs Director for United States Senator John Kerry. Served in Mayor Raymond L. Flynn's cabinet from 1985 until 1992. In 1992, he resigned his salaried position as the Director of Personnel for the City of Boston to take an unpaid position as a member of the Boston School Committee. Arroyo would later serve as Vice President and President of the Boston School Committee where he served from 1992 until 1999.

Arroyo joined the City Council as one of its four at-large members in January 2003, after placing fifth in the 2001 election. Arroyo was seated when one of the four at-large council members resigned. He was re-elected in 2003 and 2005, but narrowly lost in November 2007, placing fifth in a field of nine candidates. His loss has been blamed on low turnout among nonwhite communities, coupled with disproportionately strong turnout in traditionally white, Irish enclaves; overall turnout was only 13.6%.

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