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And there were no Puerto-Ricans in your party district?

No, my district leadership -- no.

Did you nonetheless have any relationships with any Puerto Rican leaders before you became a Congressman or before you ran for Congress?

The only relationship I had was with Bert Aponte, who became a part of my district I think in ‘72 when that area was added, and the question was whether or not Bella was going to run against me. That particular section of the district had been hers, and so it was important that I line up as many district leaders as possible saying no matter who ran against me they would be supporting me, because she was looking for a place to run and she dislikes me intensely. Bella and I just dislike one another intensely, personally as well as politically. So I asked all the district leaders in my district, the old ones as well as the new ones -- that was Bert Aponte -- to sign a statement that they supported me in the reelection no matter who came into the race. That was obviously pointed against her. He was very important. I had lunch with him, and I was very appreciative. I'm really very pleased that he never asked me to support him in the race against Arturo, because I had told Arturo, “I owe a lot to Bert, and if Bert asks me to support him, I will support him even though I like you.” But Bert never asked me. It was