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Jose Menendez

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For other people named Jose Menendez, see Jose Menendez (murder victim).
Jose Antonio Menendez
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 26 district
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 2015
Preceded byLeticia Van de Putte
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 124th district
In office
January 9, 2001 – February 2015
Preceded byJuan Solis III
Succeeded byIna Minjarez
San Antonio City Councilman District 6[1]
In office
1997–2000
Zoning Commissioner District 6[1]
In office
1994–1997
Personal details
Born (1969-03-11) March 11, 1969 (age 55)
San Juan, Hidalgo County
Texas, U.S
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseCehlia Newman-Menendez[1]
Children3
Residence(s)San Antonio, Texas
Alma materSouthern Methodist University[1]

Jose Antonio Menendez (born March 11, 1969) is a member of the Texas Senate for District 26.[1][2] A member of the Democratic Party, he is a former member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 124. He won a special election on February 17, 2015, for the state Senate, to replace Leticia Van de Putte. She resigned to run, unsuccessfully as it developed, against the short-term incumbent, Ivy Taylor, for mayor of San Antonio, Texas.[3] Menendez handily defeated fellow Democratic State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer for the right to succeed Van de Putte. Even though Menendez and Fischer remain political opponents, their relationship appears to have been civil.

Menendez served in the Texas House from 2001 to 2015. Prior to his service in the State House, he was a member of the San Antonio City Council for District 6.[1]

Background

Jose Menendez was born in San Juan in Hidalgo County in south Texas. He graduated in 1987 from Central Catholic Marianist High School.[1] Four years later, he graduated from Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas, where he received his Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies.[1] He returned to San Antonio, where he took over his family business in 1991.

Menendez and his wife, Cehlia Newman-Menendez, have three children: Dominic Newman-Menendez, Victoria Newman-Menendez, & Austin Newman-Menendez.[1] Menendez and his family reside in San Antonio and Austin, Texas.[1]

Political career

Menendez was appointed to the San Antonio Zoning Commission for District 6 in 1994. In 1997, after a heated campaign, he was elected to the District 6 seat on the city council.[1]

In 1999, Menendez was re-elected to the council with more than 84 percent of the vote. He served on the Small Business, International, and Ethics committees. He also was the chairman of the City's Community Revitalization Action Group (CRAG).[1] In 2000, term-limited on the council, he ran for the state House of Representatives and was sworn into his first term in 2001.[1] As a representative, Menendez headed the House Committee on Defense and Veterans' Affairs, which put him in contact with thousands of Texas veterans and provided a basis for his successful run thereafter for the Texas Senate.[4]

Menendez won election to a full term in the state Senate in the Democratic primary on March 1, 2016, when he defeated his former opponent, Trey Martinez Fischer,[5] who, this time gave up the District 116 House seat, Fischer held, to run for the Senate. A number of lobbyists and political action committees which had supported Martinez Fischer switched allegiance to the incumbent Menendez, whose campaign chairman, Colin Strother, worked in numerous successful campaigns; among them U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar of Laredo in Texas' 28th congressional district. Menendez faced no Republican opposition in his heavily Democratic district.[6]

In a debate before the American Association of Retired Persons in San Antonio, Menendez noted that Martinez Fischer would have become dean of the Bexar County state House delegation had he remained in the House. Martinez Fischer did assume the Bexar County legislative dean's position on February 1, 2016, with the retirement of colleague Ruth McClendon. "Trey did a great job in the House killing many, many bills... We have differences of opinion, we debate. We're passionate about it, but we're also respectful about it," said Menendez.[7]

Buoyed by the power of incumbency for just a year, Menendez defeated Martinez Fischer, 31,046 votes (59.2 percent) to 21,383 (40.8 percent).[5]

On the last day of the regular legislative session in 2017, Menendez used a filibuster to kill a bill supported by Republican Donna Campbell of New Braunfels, which would have made it more difficult for municipalities to annex surrounding territory.[8]

In the 2017 special legislative session, Menendez spoke against a bill to increase the penalty from misdemeanor to felony when one is convicted of intentionally submitting false information on a mail-in ballot application. Menendez argued that such legislation would lead to "unintended consequences." Kelly Hancock, a Republican senator from North Richland Hills in Tarrant County, argued that the legislation is needed because mail-in voting has been linked to illegal voting and election fraud.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "House Membership: Representative José Menéndez: Biographical Information". Texas House of Representatives. 2008-04-15. Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2009-01-25. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Rauf, David Saleh. Menendez takes oath in Senate, San Antonio Express-News, March 4, 2015.
  3. ^ Gonzalez, John W. Menéndez captures Texas Senate District 26, San Antonio Express-News, February 17, 2015.
  4. ^ Gilbert Garcia, "Uresti's troubles could open the door for a Gutierrez run" (opinion), San Antonio Express-News, February 19, 2017, p. A2.
  5. ^ a b "Democratic primary returns". Texas Secretary of State. March 1, 2016. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 2, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ David Saleh Rauf, "Pair expected to battle again: Quest for Senate seat may prove pricey", San Antonio Express-News, January 15, 2016
  7. ^ John W. Gonzalez, "Contenders for Senate seat duel at AARP debate: Menendez, Martinez Fischer have similar position on senior issues", San Antonio Express-News, January 30, 2016, p. 2
  8. ^ "Another Texas Democrat launches a state Senate filibuster". Laredo Morning Times. May 29, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)[permanent dead link‍]
  9. ^ Allie Morris and Peggy Fikac, "Legislature sends 4 bills to gov as finish line nears: Tree, annexation changes await voters," San Antonio Express-News, August 11, 2017, pp. 1, A21.
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