Texas Politics
Each one of us, as a citizen of Texas and
of the United States of America, has
certain responsibilities and tasks to
accomplish. Included in such tasks are the
roles we are given and those we
choose: the role of a father, an aunt, a doctor,
or an elected official. In
the role of an elected official, one has minimum
standards of conduct and
performance to adhere to--they are the basis of what
one is judged by when it
comes down to election time. Texas State Representative
One of the Texas
state representatives is Roberto Gutierrez. Gutierrez
represents district 41
in the state of Texas. This district consists of the
southwest portion of
Hidalgo count, representing such cities as McAllen,
Mission, and Pharr.
Gutierrez has been a state representative since January,
1991. He was
born and raised in Mission, Texas and has spent a large part of his
life
living in the Rio Grande Valley. He attended the University of
Texas
Pan-American. Before being elected as a state representative,
Gutierrez was a
secondary school teacher. As a state representative,
Gutierrez serves on the
Committees of Apportionment, Local and Consent
Calenders, and Public Safety.
U.S. Representative One of the United
States representatives from Texas is Ruben
Hinojosa. Hinojosa,
representative for Texas'15th district, has been in office
since 1996. He was
born in Edcouch, Texas and lives in Mercedes, TX. Hinojosa
received his BBA
from the University of Texas at Austin and his MBA from the
University of
Texas-- Pan American. Before being elected as a representative, he
worked at
the Chief Financial Officer of H&H Foods, his family's business.
As
United States Representative from Texas, Hinojosa has served on the
Small
Business Committee, and the Committee for Education and the
Workforce.
"Representative" A representative is a person elected by a group
of
people, such as a city or county, so that they (the group) will have a
voice in
the decisions that are going to be made that effect them. To be
a
representative, one must be close to their constituents. It helps to be
from the
same town, city, or state of the people that they hope to represent.
A effective
representative should have extensive experience within their
district. This
means living and working in the area that they represent. By
doing this, they
have a first hand knowledge of the area, the people, and the
culture. This
insures that the people's needs will not be ignored. Are they
qualified? Roberto
Gutierrez Roberto Gutierrez was born and raised in
Mission, Texas, and he has
spent his life in the Rio Grande Valley, the area
that he represents. He is an
effective representative because he is familiar
with the people and their
concerns. Gutierrez invests his time with civic
entities such as Our Lady of
Sorrows Catholic Church. He has been a
member of the McAllen Palm City Lions
Club, the McAllen and Pharr Rotary
Clubs, Parent Teacher Association, and he
also served as former
vice-president of the governing board of the McAllen
Medical Center. His
efforts as a member of these organizations has brought
Gutierrez
widespread recognition. He has been recognized by various public and
private
organizations, including The Friends of the UT-Pan American Library,
and
Amigos de Bomberos. Ruben Hinojosa Ruben Hinojosa was born in
Edcouch, Texas. He
also attended public school in the Rio Grande Valley. As
an executive and owner
of H&H Foods, Hinojosa has helped to provide his
community over 300 jobs. He
has served on the Board of Directors for the
South Texas High School for Health
Professions and was very instrumental
in the success of that school. Hinojosa is
an effective representative
because he has been the Rio Grande Valley. He has
grown up there and has been
surrounded by its' people. Since being elected,
Hinojosa has helped with
the creation of The Women's Empowerment Business Center
at UTPA. This center
is accessible to all women who wish to start up a business
and want
information on different types of businesses, assistance with a
business
plan, or help with identifying financing alternatives. He has also
helped
increase access to capital and loans to small businesses as well as
lessening
the tax and regulatory burdens these businesses encounter. He has been
a
strong force in business growth promotion in the economically depressed
areas
of the Rio Grande Valley. Being involved in such programs has brought
Hinojosa
recognition from notable government agencies. In 1999, he was
selected as the
Minority Business Advocate of the Year by the Minority
Business Development
Agency and the Small Business Administration. He was
also awared the Annual
Champion for Children Award from the HOSTS
Corporation. Reelection in the
future? One of the main things that help in
reelection is incumbency. The fact
the they, Hinojosa and Gutierrez, have
been in office consecutively for a few
years heightens their chance for
reelection. They are known within their
counties and cities. They have
established a rapport with the voting population.
Within their years of
being an elected official, they have established programs
that benefit their
respective districts. Hinojosa and Gutierrez both have a
great chance for
reelection. For the reasons that I have stated above, their
chances for
reelections and almost ensured. They are very representative of
their
constituents, and they are able to meet their needs. This is proven by
their
number of years in office. Comparatively Speaking Gutierrez is one of
28
Hispanics serving in the House, compared to 108 Anglo- Saxon
representatives and
14 African-Americans. He is also one of 121 males,
and as a career, he was
worked in the Petroleum industry. As a Texas
Representative, Gutierrez earns
$7,200 per year. Hinojosa, also a Hispanic
representative, is one of 211
Democrats. He earns $136,673 per year as a
congressional representative.
Bibliography
Congressman Ruben
Hinojosa. U.S. House of Representatives.
*http://www.house.gov/hinojosa*
Current Congressional Profile. Office of
the Clerk. *http://clerkweb.house.gov/mbrcmtee/statsanswers.htm*
House
Membership Profile. Texas House of Representatives.
*http://www.house.state.tx.us/common/profile.htm*
Representative Roberto
Gutierrez. Texas House of Representatives.
*http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/dist41/dist41.htm*
State
Representative Roberto Gutierrez. Texas House of Representatives.
*http://www.house.state.tx.us/house/bios/dist41b.htm*
The Texas
Constitution--Article 3. The Texas Constitution.
*http://capitol.tlc.state.tx.us/txconst/sections/cn000300-000700.html*