political status in an address to the Puerto Rico Senate as keynote speaker during the Governors' Day special session on February 16, 2006. In October 2009, Ferré announced that he was running for the open U.S. Senate seat of Mel Martinez. He finished in fourth place (last place) in the Democratic primary, with only 4.9% of the vote. Ferré is sometimes referred to as the "father of modern-day Miami." To pay tribute to him and his legacy, a park district in Miami, formerly called Museum Park, was named after him in early 2019. Ferré died in Miami on September 19, 2019, from spinal cancer. He was 84 years of age. See also List of Puerto Ricans References 1935 births 2019 deaths American politicians of Puerto Rican descent Hispanic and Latino American mayors in Florida Mayors of Miami County commissioners in Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Politicians from Ponce Puerto Rican people of Catalan descent University of Miami alumni Neurological disease deaths in Florida Deaths from cancer in Florida Deaths from spinal cancer